14:05 Taunton

Thursday 4 April 2019

All14:0514:4015:1015:5016:2517:0017:35

Racing To School Handicap Hurdle

Off time: 14:09 | Winning time: 4m 5.75s

Nachi Falls³⁶

Age: 6| Weight: 11-12| J: Tom Buckley⁽⁷⁾| T: N J Hawke| OR: 100

11/2

Very well handicapped on old form but has a poor completion rate over the last year; has undergone wind surgery but no improvement and was pulled up again latest. Plenty to prove now.

Form: 7FP58P

Atlantic Grey¹⁶⁶

Age: 6| Weight: 11-9| J: Sean Houlihan⁽³⁾| T: J D Frost| OR: 97

28/1

Sold for £4,000 after winning a seller at Newton Abbot last September but well beaten in two modest races since; one to be wary of just at the present time.

Form: P-851P5

Auld Sod^p,h¹⁷

Age: 6| Weight: 11-8| J: James Best| T: J M Bradley| OR: 96

12/1

0-9 over hurdles since racing under rules and form has taken a dip since joining his current yard. Slightly better effort latest but still has an unconvincing profile from a betting perspective.

Form: 753606

Sehayli¹⁷⁰

Age: 6| Weight: 11-7| J: Alain Cawley| T: J Farrelly| OR: 95

66/1

Modest under both codes and form has been underwhelming in both lately; first start since October and makes very limited appeal on the evidence of last yea'r runs.

Form: 46790

Micras^b,t¹⁵

Age: 8| Weight: 11-6| J: Stan Sheppard⁽³⁾| T: M Sheppard| OR: 94| D

4/1

Won over hurdles during his time in Ireland and has been in reasonably good form without actually managing to get his head in front of late. Shown a bit of improvement recently and has reasonable claims once more in a weak even such as this.

Form: 272233

Sin Sin^b1²⁶

Age: 5| Weight: 11-3| J: David Noonan| T: N J Hawke| OR: 91

33/1

A very modest handicapper on the Flat for Jim Bolger in Ireland and it's been much the same since the mare switched codes and joined her current yard. First-time blinkers need to spark a big improvement.

Form: 435-59P

Midnight Jitterbug⁶⁸

Age: 7| Weight: 11-2| J: Thomas Bellamy| T: M R Bosley| OR: 90

10/1

Showed snippets of ability a couple of seasons ago but has been regressive in two starts for his current yard since returning from his winter break. Others look more convincing.

Form: 48/33-0P

Sadma³⁶

Age: 10| Weight: 11-0| J: Pte Alexandra Bell⁽⁷⁾| T: N Lampard| OR: 88| D

9/1

Well handicapped from 10lb below his last winning mark and showed promise on his return to action in February; has struggled to hold his form after a break in the past though. The betting can guide here.

Form: 3PU784

Veiled Secret^t,v⁹

Age: 5| Weight: 10-9| J: David Bass| T: David Dennis| OR: 83

7/4

Formerly trained on the Flat by Sir Mark Prescott, the gelding has shown glimpses of ability since switching to hurdles. Had a wind operation in December and starting to show the benefit with a good effort last time out. Worth considering.

Form: 70P6P2

Ice Konig^t⁴⁴

Age: 10| Weight: 10-7| J: W T Kennedy| T: J D Frost| OR: 81

25/1

Only ever won once (over an extended 2m5f) and has struggled in both starts since returning after wind surgery; well held in selling grade here last time. Stable also sends out Atlantic Grey but neither makes great appeal on recent form.

Form: 0-344P8

Karl Marx^b¹³³

Age: 9| Weight: 10-6| J: Dave Crosse| T: Mark Gillard| OR: 80| CD

16/1

Won this race from a 1lb higher mark last year; reunited with David Crosse, so respected on that form line. Failed to complete in two of his four starts since but still dangerous to underestimate.

Form: 21-5P0P

Non-Runners

Lucky's Dream²⁴

Weight: 11-6| Age: 4

T: Ian Williams J: R T Dunne

Lady Natasha¹⁷

Weight: 10-13| Age: 6

T: James Grassick J: L Treadwell

Sweep Of Diamonds¹⁷

Weight: 10-10| Age: 6

T: R Woodman J: Brendan Powell

Skylark Lady¹²⁶

Weight: 10-0| Age: 6

T: Mrs N S Evans J: R Patrick

Forecasts

Veiled Secret (7/4), Micras (4/1), Nachi Falls (11/2), Sadma (9/1), Midnight Jitterbug (10/1), Lucky's Dream (10/1), Auld Sod (12/1), Karl Marx (16/1), Ice Konig (25/1), Sweep Of Diamonds (25/1), Atlantic Grey (28/1), Sin Sin (33/1), Lady Natasha (33/1), Skylark Lady (50/1), Sehayli (66/1)

A modest race and not too many make that much appeal. Last year's winner Karl Marx is only 1lb higher in the weights and merits consideration despite recent form not being so good, while Veiled Secret posted his best effort over hurdles to date with a solid run at Hereford earlier in the month; he can be thereabouts if he can take another step forward. However, preference is for MIRCRAS, who has strung together a series of near misses and may have been found an ideal route to gaining some compensation in this weaker company.