20:35 Newmarket

Thursday 16 May 2019

All17:1017:4518:2018:5519:3020:0520:35

Park Regis Kris Kin Hotel Dubai Handicap

Off time: 20:36 | Winning time: 1m 40.26s

(1)

Migration²⁰

Age: 3| Weight: 10-0| J: Jason Watson| T: D Menuisier| OR: 86

6/4

Runner up on both starts this season, including when finishing with a fair old rattle from off the pace in Sandown's Esher Cup (1m, good to firm); boasts very strong credentials despite a subsequent 4lb rise.

Form: 85-22

(3)

Production¹²

Age: 3| Weight: 9-7| J: Tom Marquand| T: R Hannon| OR: 79

20/1

Hasn't progressed since making a winning debut at Ascot (6f, good to firm) last summer; comfortably held in two starts in handicaps (6f-1m); dropped a further 3lb.

Form: 1030-8

(9)

Balladeer²²

Age: 3| Weight: 9-7| J: Hayley Turner| T: M L W Bell| OR: 79| D

9/2

Dual Chelmsford winner (7f-1m), beat Whenapoet by 1L on handicap debut in early April; improved again when finishing a close third to Multamis in an extended 1m Class 4 handicap at Epsom (good) latest; merits plenty of respect.

Form: 417-13

(4)

Smile A Mile¹³

Age: 3| Weight: 9-7| J: S De Sousa| T: C & M Johnston| OR: 79

9/2

Back from a gelding operation when making a winning start to his 3yo campaign at Musselburgh (7f, good) a fortnight ago; 4lb higher; like so many of his stablemates looks to be the ideal type to improve further for a step up in trip.

Form: 76347-1

(5)

Crimewave¹⁵⁹

Age: 3| Weight: 9-7| J: L Morris| T: Tom Clover| OR: 79

12/1

22/1 runner up to the John Gosden-trained New King on final juvenile start (stable debut) at Wolverhampton (1m+) in December; can he continue to progress as a 3yo?

Form: 852-

(7)

Venedegar²⁰

Age: 3| Weight: 9-5| J: R Havlin| T: E A L Dunlop| OR: 77

12/1

Dubawi gelding with some reasonable juvenile form in the book; slightly disconcerting that he's under-performed since being gelded/introduced to handicapping (often races keenly).

Form: 5225-69

(6)

The Corporal²⁹

Age: 3| Weight: 9-4| J: George Wood| T: C F Wall| OR: 76

10/1

Failed to win as a juvenile for Aidan O'Brien (0-4) and sold for 20,000gns in October 2018; 66/1 when finishing a gallant seventh of 14 (beaten less than 6L) to Aweedram over C&D (Class 4) at the Craven meeting.

Form: 5937-7

(2)

Bullington Boy²²⁹

Age: 3| Weight: 9-4| J: Charlie Bennett| T: Jane Chapple-Hyam| OR: 76

33/1

€58,000 yearling; has scarcely beaten a single rival on the track to date (admittedly one of those three races was a Listed contest); an opening handicap mark of 76 is probably plenty high enough.

Form: 050-

(8)

Ginger Fox²⁰

Age: 3| Weight: 9-3| J: David Egan| T: Ian Williams| OR: 75

16/1

Won a 7f Yarmouth nursery (good to soft) off an 8lb lower mark in October; consistent on the AW thereafter (Kempton); blew the start when well beaten on return to turf at Doncaster (6f) three-weeks ago; obvious stamina reservations.

Form: 8212-40

(11)

Bataar¹³

Age: 3| Weight: 8-11| J: P Mathers| T: R A Fahey| OR: 69| BF

16/1

Finished 3¾L fourth to today's rival Smile A Mile on handicap debut at Musselburgh (7f, good) a fortnight ago; considered unlikely (but not impossible) that he can reverse those placings on 6lb better terms.

Form: 34-64

Non-Runners

(10)

Assimilation⁵¹

Weight: 9-4| Age: 3

T: E Walker J: Liam Keniry

Forecasts

Migration (6/4), Balladeer (9/2), Smile A Mile (9/2), The Corporal (10/1), Assimilation (10/1), Crimewave (12/1), Venedegar (12/1), Ginger Fox (16/1), Bataar (16/1), Production (20/1), Bullington Boy (33/1)

Both Balladeer and the recent 7f Musselburgh winner Smile A Mile merit plenty of respect and will almost certainly prove capable of winning more races, with the latter appearing to hold all of the key characteristics of a typical Mark Johnston-trained improver. However, it is the top-weighted MIGRATION who boasts the strongest form credentials based upon his fast-finishing second to Masaru in the Class 2 Esher Cup (Sandown). He is strongly fancied to make short work of his subsequent 4lb rise in the weights by striking on his fifth career start.