16:20 Beverley

Saturday 8 June 2019

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

Happy Birthday Graham Hallett Handicap

Off time: 16:22 | Winning time: 2m 7.25s

(3)

Indomeneo¹⁴

Age: 4| Weight: 9-11| J: T Hamilton| T: R A Fahey| OR: 77| D

12/1

Four of his five career wins have come over 7f-1m, and arguably he prefers some cut underfoot; dropping quickly in the weights after struggling of late; never a threat (last of eight) at Chester (1m2f+) a fortnight ago.

Form: 72-6058

(4)

Ventura Gold³³

Age: 4| Weight: 9-10| J: J Garritty| T: R A Fahey| OR: 76

5/1

Stablemate of Indomeno; in fine fettle this year winning back-to-back races (1m-1m1f) at Leicester and Musselburgh; generally races prominently as also demonstrated when finishing third off this mark to Where's Jeff over C&D latest.

Form: 109-113

(2)

Archie Perkins¹²

Age: 4| Weight: 9-7| J: Rowan Scott⁽³⁾| T: N Tinkler| OR: 73| CD

4/1

A dual Beverley scorer (1m-1m2f) during August 2018; back to winning ways off a 3lb lower mark at Redcar (1m2f, good) 12 days ago when beating Aiya by a neck; almost guaranteed to run his usual solid race.

Form: 1142-41

(10)

Ad Libitum¹⁴

Age: 4| Weight: 9-6| J: Ben Sanderson⁽⁵⁾| T: R Fell & S Murray| OR: 72

16/1

Has fallen back to a handy mark, but that's because of his continued struggles over 1m4f; finished last of 13 to the progressive Makawee at York (1m4f, good to firm) a fortnight ago; risky.

Form: 0547-70

(5)

Ideal Candy¹⁴

Age: 4| Weight: 9-6| J: Gemma Tutty⁽³⁾| T: K Tutty| OR: 72| CD

3/1

Front-running C&D winner from a 4lb lower mark last summer (good to firm), and as a rule is most productive at this track (25132); should find this race to be an easier assignment than at York, albeit others are probably better handicapped.

Form: 137-229

(7)

Placebo Effect¹¹

Age: 4| Weight: 9-4| J: Ben Robinson⁽³⁾| T: Ollie Pears| OR: 70| BF

11/2

Steps beyond an extended mile for the first time in a 23-race career so stamina reserves will need to be taken firmly on trust; found only the thriving Kylie Rules too good on his last visit to Beverley (1m+); solid since.

Form: 851-294

(9)

Near Kettering^t¹⁴

Age: 5| Weight: 9-0| J: Cam Hardie| T: S England| OR: 66| D

50/1

Has raced mainly over hurdles (poorly) since joining this trainer from Johnny Murtagh for €30,000 in November 2018; connections appear to be somewhat scratching their heads for solutions at present; readily opposed.

Form: 70560-0

(1)

Bollin Joan^p¹⁵

Age: 4| Weight: 9-0| J: D Allan| T: T D Easterby| OR: 66| CD

14/1

Her July 2018 C&D form figures make for impressive viewing (3211); hampered at the start in a reasonably competitive 1m2f fillies' handicap at Pontefract a fortnight ago; back on her winning mark; contender if the forecast rain stays away.

Form: 3150-85

(8)

Bit Of A Quirke^b1¹⁵

Age: 6| Weight: 8-13| J: A Mullen| T: M Walford| OR: 65| CD

15/2

Five of his six career wins have come over this C&D; held on gamely to beat Zlatan by a neck in this race last year before going onto register a C&D hat-trick in the following weeks; reasonably weighted; blinkers now applied.

Form: 50-3634

(6)

King Of Naples^h¹²

Age: 6| Weight: 8-10| J: Barry McHugh| T: Mrs R Carr| OR: 62

16/1

Reasonably reliable 6yo who rediscovered the winning groove when going in by a head at Wolverhampton (1m1f+) in February; could draw a fitness boost from a recent turf reappearance fifth at Redcar (to the winning machine Mr Coco Bean)

Form: 633015

(11)

Spark Of War^p1¹⁵

Age: 4| Weight: 8-9| J: F Norton| T: K Dalgleish| OR: 61

16/1

Six-race maiden who cost 65,000gns as a yearling; still has the potential to take advantage of an easing mark if the cheekpieces can elicit some improvement; failed to stay 1m4f at Pontefract.

Form: 436/9-40

Non-Runners

(12)

Billy Roberts¹⁹

Weight: 9-0| Age: 6

T: R M Whitaker J: Phil Dennis

Forecasts

Ideal Candy (3/1), Archie Perkins (4/1), Ventura Gold (5/1), Placebo Effect (11/2), Billy Roberts (11/2), Bit Of A Quirke (15/2), Indomeneo (12/1), Bollin Joan (14/1), Ad Libitum (16/1), King Of Naples (16/1), Spark Of War (16/1), Near Kettering (50/1)

A very competitive handicap which features a number of horses who could probably find their way around Beverley blindfolded, including the five-time C&D scorer (& 2018 race winner) Bit Of A Quirke. Bollin Joan (3211) also enjoys her visits to East Yorkshire, and racing from her last winning mark has to enter the reckoning on the proviso that the forecast rain doesn't fall in a sustained and prolonged spell. However, in a wide open contest the safest option could be to stick with the admittedly rising in the weights ARCHIE PERKINS who should at least provide punters with a good run for their money.