13:25 Beverley

Saturday 8 June 2019

All13:2514:0014:3515:1515:4516:2016:5517:30

Dadie Oughtred Memorial Handicap

Off time: 13:25 | Winning time: 1m 32.28s

(3)

Love Dreams^v⁸

Age: 5| Weight: 9-12| J: F Norton| T: C & M Johnston| OR: 95| D

2/1

Strongest over 7f and wouldn't be inconvenienced by rain; continuing to run extremely well without quite winning; held close home when finishing ¾L third to Corazon Espinado in an Epsom Class 2 (7f, good) eight days ago; key player.

Form: 922443

(6)

Zap¹⁴

Age: 4| Weight: 9-11| J: T Hamilton| T: R A Fahey| OR: 94| D

8/1

Pocketed an £80k prize at Leopardstown (7f, good to firm) last September; 2lb lower than when finishing just over 3L third to Cardsharp in a Class 2 at York (7f, good to firm) a fortnight ago.

Form: 016-803

(4)

Qaysar²⁸

Age: 4| Weight: 9-8| J: P J Dobbs| T: R Hannon| OR: 91| D

7/2

Finished down the field in the Britannia Stakes (1m) at Royal Ascot on his final start last year, and took in another tough handicap when finishing 11th of 26 in the 7f Victoria Cup latest; capable on his day (2-2 on the AW).

Form: 1100-80

(2)

Byron's Choice²¹

Age: 4| Weight: 9-8| J: P Mulrennan| T: M Dods| OR: 91| D

12/1

Won three on the bounce over a productive 4-5 week period last summer, but rose a combined total of 16lb for those 7f Class 3-4 wins; finished last of ten on seasonal reappearance; is adaptable in terms of ground conditions.

Form: 2/4111-0

(7)

Elerfaan³¹

Age: 5| Weight: 9-5| J: Phil Dennis| T: Rebecca Bastiman| OR: 88| CD

9/2

Hamdan Al-Maktoum cast-off who has proved to be a very shrewd acquisition for a mere £5,000; decisive C&D novice winner (May 2018); runner up on both handicap starts, including when beaten a neck at Chester (7f, good to soft); 3lb higher.

Form: 214-22

(5)

Rousayan^h²⁵

Age: 8| Weight: 9-1| J: Ben Sanderson⁽⁵⁾| T: R Fell & S Murray| OR: 84| CD

6/1

All four wins have come at Beverley (twice over C&D); 1lb below his last winning mark, and finished a pleasing fourth to Kylie Rules over C&D (Class 4) on debut for Roger Fell 25 days ago.

Form: 27080-4

(1)

Big Storm Coming⁹

Age: 9| Weight: 8-13| J: D C Costello| T: J & S Quinn| OR: 82| D

40/1

Hit form in mid summer 2018 with back-to-back 7f wins at Epsom and Newmarket (good to firm); feasibly handicapped off a reduced mark of 82, although is certainly taking his time to get going this season; others preferred.

Form: 114-088

(8)

Poet's Dawn¹⁰

Age: 4| Weight: 8-12| J: D Allan| T: T D Easterby| OR: 79| CD

9/1

Both wins have come on the Westwood at Beverley (7f-1m+); weakened inside the final furlong when finishing 4½L third to Kylie Rules over an extended mile here (good to soft) ten days ago; today's shorter trip is favourable.

Form: 4609-53

Forecasts

Love Dreams (2/1), Qaysar (7/2), Elerfaan (9/2), Rousayan (6/1), Zap (8/1), Poet's Dawn (9/1), Byron's Choice (12/1), Big Storm Coming (40/1)

A very trappy Class 3 handicap to kick-off the most prestigious day of the year at Beverley, with the majority of those declared almost certainly capable of winning this race at their best. Alas, we seek to narrow down the options and the pair to concentrate upon could be Rebecca Bastiman's new and emerging stable star Elerfaan and the battle hardened top-weight LOVE DREAMS. The selection doesn't win as often as he deserves, but could profit from a slight ease in grade after going extremely close at Epsom (7f) on Oaks day.