17:50 Chepstow

Friday 26 April 2019

All16:5017:2017:5018:2519:0019:3020:00

Braceys 'National Hunt' Maiden Hurdle

Off time: 17:53 | Winning time: 3m 58.1s

Beau Haze²⁰

Age: 6| Weight: 11-0| J: Ben Jones⁽⁷⁾| T: P C Dando

25/1

Third foal from a family that have done well for the yard. Tailed off on all three starts and out of his depth in this company.

Form: 4074

Chapmanshype^t²³

Age: 5| Weight: 11-0| J: G Sheehan| T: Jamie Snowden| D

11/4

Irish-bred gelding who fetched £72,000 at the Cheltenham sales after winning on bumper debut at Punchestown. Had a wind op following a disappointing stable debut before shaping more encouragingly in a weak race at Wincanton.

Form: 104

Connect Four³⁷

Age: 5| Weight: 11-0| J: J J Burke| T: T R George

20/1

Fetched £82,000 and has looked a poor investment judged on his first two outings. Connections will be hoping the prospect of quicker ground will produce a more promising display.

Form: 08

Grey Diamond²⁸

Age: 5| Weight: 11-0| J: Wayne Hutchinson| T: A King| OR: 117| D

6/4

Showed a good turn of foot to beat a fair field in a bumper last year. So far he's proved disappointing over hurdles and has been too keen on occasions. Has the ability to win this if getting a decent gallop to sit behind.

Form: 14554F

Jen's Boy³²

Age: 5| Weight: 11-0| J: S Bowen| T: N J Henderson

7/1

Runner-up in a Towcester bumper and has made no impact at all in three starts over hurdles. Doubt he will remain at Seven Barrows for long if he fails to get competitive here.

Form: 8-29P6

Super Mac^t¹¹

Age: 7| Weight: 11-0| J: Brendan Powell| T: D McCain Jnr

50/1

€72,000 son of Yeats has made little impression in any of his three starts including an uncompetitive race at Hexham last time.

Form: 9P8

Bells Of Peterboro²¹

Age: 4| Weight: 10-9| J: Alan Johns| T: Tim Vaughan

50/1

Promising fifth in a bumper over an extended 2m at Stratford (good) on debut last month. Did not jump well on hurdling introduction when last of five at Sedgefield.

Form: 55

The Crooner³⁹

Age: 4| Weight: 10-9| J: Charlie Deutsch| T: Miss V Williams| OR: 120

3/1

Little wrong with the form he showed to finish third on British debut and he appeared not to stay last time. May lack a gear or two, but it is hard to find anything that could be relied upon to challenge him.

Form: 43-6833

Zambino⁶

Age: 4| Weight: 10-9| J: Dave Crosse| T: M F Harris

200/1

German-bred gelding who looks nothing special on evidence of five runs so far and was tailed off at Newton Abbot last Saturday.

Form: 89P06

Volavicious

Age: 7| Weight: 10-7| J: Daniel Hiskett⁽³⁾| T: Miss Sarah Robinson

150/1

Newcomer with an unimpressive pedigree and representing a yard who are 0-50 with jumpers over the past five seasons.

Form:

Whizz Bang¹⁵

Age: 7| Weight: 10-7| J: James Best| T: P Gundry

100/1

Last of nine on return from an 30 month break. Did not look good enough at his peak in 2016 and hard to recommend.

Form: 30/9

Forecasts

Grey Diamond (6/4), Chapmanshype (11/4), The Crooner (3/1), Jen's Boy (7/1), Connect Four (20/1), Beau Haze (25/1), Super Mac (50/1), Bells Of Peterboro (50/1), Whizz Bang (100/1), Volavicious (150/1), Zambino (200/1)

This may take little winning and THE CROONER may be good enough although his apparent lack of gears is a concern. Nevertheless, he meets nothing of the calibre of opponent he has met in his two previous runs in this country. Grey Diamond looked destined for better when landing his bumper but clearly the ability is there if the race should develop to his liking. A bigger threat may come from another bumper winner, Chapmanshype, who beat a good field at Punchestown and is potentially better than his last run in a weak event suggests.