16:15 Southwell

Thursday 4 April 2019

All13:5514:3015:0015:3516:1516:5017:30

Play 4 To Score At Betway Handicap

Off time: 16:17 | Winning time: 1m 17.07s

(5)

Socialites Red^p⁸^{(ex 5)}

Age: 6| Weight: 9-10| J: Theodore Ladd⁽⁵⁾| T: S Dixon| OR: 53| CD

9/2

Beat today's rival Dream Ally by a head when winning at the 19th time of asking on the AW over C&D last week; clearly has returned in excellent shape from her winter break; holds every chance off a 4lb higher mark.

Form: 3408-41

(6)

Holy Tiber^t²²

Age: 4| Weight: 9-9| J: Joey Haynes| T: P Howling| OR: 57| D

20/1

Has saved her best for Chelmsford in recent months (twice a runner-up at that Essex track, 6f-7f); a total unknown as to how she'll handle Fibresand.

Form: 15-7270

(4)

Falcao^e/s1¹³

Age: 7| Weight: 9-7| J: K T O'Neill| T: J Butler| OR: 55| D

5/2

13-race AW maiden (1-25 on turf); on the premises on his penultimate start (6f Lingfield), albeit with no significant improvement for wind surgery; eye-shields newly applied.

Form: 0/54U-57

(11)

Major Crispies²³

Age: 8| Weight: 9-6| J: S W Kelly| T: Ronald Thompson| OR: 54| D

12/1

Dropping down the weights at a rate of knots after a prolonged spell of moderate form; nothing to suggest that he's a major fan of Southwell just yet (0-2).

Form: 7-96655

(10)

Jazz Legend²⁸

Age: 6| Weight: 9-5| J: Liam Keniry| T: Miss M E Rowland| OR: 53| CD

13/2

Front-runner, and now a dual C&D scorer after seeing off a trio of moderate rivals during the prize-money disputes of early March; handicapper has taken the sensible approach with a 2lb rise; place shout.

Form: 0516-21

(8)

Ace Master^b¹³⁹

Age: 11| Weight: 9-4| J: Tim Clark⁽³⁾| T: S R Bowring| OR: 52| BF| CD

16/1

Veteran; 13-82 career (with nine wins on the AW); rolled back the years with a dominant display at Wolverhampton in November beating Little Miss Kodi by 1L; now rated 2lb higher.

Form: 972519-

(12)

Kris Black^t⁶

Age: 6| Weight: 8-13| J: B A Curtis| T: K P Cotter| OR: 47

14/1

Irish raider; 0-5 on the Polytrack at Dundalk, and is seemingly of very limited ability; only becomes of any significant interest if attracting market support.

Form: 000-069

(2)

Black Truffle^p⁵⁰

Age: 9| Weight: 8-13| J: Ellie Mackenzie⁽⁷⁾| T: M D I Usher| OR: 47| D

20/1

Veteran of 101 races; marked the century by beating Baby Gal by a neck at Wolverhampton (7f) in February; makes his first ever start on Fibresand at Southwell today.

Form: 63-8410

(9)

Dream Ally⁸

Age: 9| Weight: 8-12| J: Phil Dennis| T: J R Weymes| OR: 46| CD

13/2

Without a win since turning over the odds-on Gleaming Sun over C&D in April 2018; back to form with a close second-placed finish behind re-opposing rival Socialites Red latest; strictly speaking is weighted to reverse (not guaranteed).

Form: 9-08372

(3)

Diamond Pursuit^p,t²¹

Age: 4| Weight: 8-12| J: Gabriele Malune⁽³⁾| T: I Furtado| OR: 46

11/1

Twice knocked at the door at this track (6f-7f) around the turn of the year, but her form has tailed off since then and she's now actually rated 6lb lower in the handicap; can she bounce back?

Form: 377496

(7)

Space War^t¹¹²

Age: 12| Weight: 8-12| J: Josh Quinn⁽⁷⁾| T: M & D Easterby| OR: 46| BF| C| D

8/1

Veteran of 103 races (5-27 on the AW); returns from a short break having struggled badly for form (over 7f) in late 2018.

Form: 335559-

(1)

Intense Starlet^p³⁴

Age: 8| Weight: 8-12| J: Ben Robinson⁽³⁾| T: B Ellison| OR: 45| BF| D

16/1

Fairly useful on Tapeta (5f-6f) for Marjorie Fife once upon a time; lost her way in Ireland and back on these shores now in Malton; ran reasonably well on stable debut over 5f here in February; poor at Newcastle since.

Form: 7069-30

Forecasts

Falcao (5/2), Socialites Red (9/2), Jazz Legend (13/2), Dream Ally (13/2), Space War (8/1), Diamond Pursuit (11/1), Major Crispies (12/1), Kris Black (14/1), Intense Starlet (16/1), Ace Master (16/1), Black Truffle (20/1), Holy Tiber (20/1)

A poor contest, so we'll keep things simple and stick with the recent C&D winner SOCIALITES RED despite the fact that strictly speaking the runner-up Dream Ally is weighted to reverse those placings. Scott Dixon has his mare in excellent shape at present, and with progressive opponents thin on the ground she can cope with a 4lb rise in the weights. If seeking to throw a more speculative dart, one could do far worse than aiming towards the healthily-weighted duo Diamond Pursuit and Intense Starlet.