16:50 Sandown

Friday 14 June 2019

All14:0014:3515:1015:4516:2016:5017:25

Beck Celebrating 25 Years Of Excellence Handicap

Off time: 16:57 | Winning time: 2m 15.21s

(4)

Sea Sculpture¹⁴

Age: 3| Weight: 9-7| J: Oisin Murphy| T: A M Balding| OR: 78

6/1

Finished well when placed on debut at Ffos Las (7f+, good) and made no mistake next time on Tapeta at Wolverhampton (1m+) when beating Risaala by 1L; fair fourth to a promising individual latest; reverts to turf for handicap debut.

Form: 3-14

(6)

Ragnar³⁹

Age: 3| Weight: 9-6| J: Jason Watson| T: H & R Charlton| OR: 77

10/1

3L March Wolverhampton winner (1m1f+) for Dominic Ffrench Davis; not so effective on two subsequent starts for Daniele Camuffo; tries a softer racing surface on his second start in a handicap for yet another new trainer.

Form: 2184

(8)

Rhythmic Intent⁴⁵

Age: 3| Weight: 9-6| J: P J McDonald| T: S C Williams| OR: 77

9/4

Posted a couple of pleasing efforts in juvenile maidens behind the likes of Tempus and Surfman; finished over 5L third to Fifth Position and the subsequent Listed winner Space Blues on seasonal reappearance at Nottingham; steps up in trip.

Form: 53-3

(5)

Ritchie Valens²⁷

Age: 3| Weight: 9-6| J: Tom Marquand| T: R Hannon| OR: 77

7/2

Six-race maiden who is struggling to find a suitable winning opportunity; his best performance so far came on handicap debut at Doncaster (1m2f, good) in April when beaten just over 3L by Forest Of Dean.

Form: 55-3236

(3)

The Pink'n²⁸

Age: 3| Weight: 9-5| J: Rob Hornby| T: J W Mullins| OR: 76

10/1

Returns to soft ground for the first time since winning a 1m1f Goodwood novice (33/1) last October; was placed (with Htilominlo) on his second handicap start at Salisbury; 1lb lower, and should be finishing off his race with a degree of purpose.

Form: 661-537

(1)

Htilominlo^p,t¹²

Age: 3| Weight: 9-5| J: James Doyle| T: S Kirk| OR: 76

6/1

Continues to knock at the door, but also climbing steadily in the weights after finishing second on three of his last four starts; found only Battle of Wills stronger (by ½L) at Nottingham (1m2f, good) 12 days ago.

Form: 432202

(7)

Valence^p³¹

Age: 3| Weight: 9-2| J: R Havlin| T: E A L Dunlop| OR: 73| D

12/1

Took a significant step forward winning in first-time cheekpieces at Beverley (1m2f, good to soft) last month; that bare form is nothing special (although the runner up has won since); 7lb higher and gelded since.

Form: 035-401

(2)

Francisco Bay⁷

Age: 3| Weight: 8-12| J: K Shoemark| T: E De Giles| OR: 69

10/1

Left his juvenile Kempton AW form behind when finishing a clear second best (beaten 5L) to Jackamundo at Haydock last week (50/1); can he back that up with another solid performance in a stronger contest?

Form: 9560-2

Forecasts

Rhythmic Intent (9/4), Ritchie Valens (7/2), Sea Sculpture (6/1), Htilominlo (6/1), Ragnar (10/1), The Pink'n (10/1), Francisco Bay (10/1), Valence (12/1)

Valence left his previous form well behind when fitted with cheekpieces at Beverley, and furthermore having lost some fairly important equipment since (gelded) could be open to additional improvement despite a 7lb rise in the weights. The consistent maiden Htilominlo is also rising steadily in the weights, while Ragnar is now onto his third trainer since winning at Wolverhampton in March. However, the upped in trip handicap debutante RHYTHMIC INTENT has previous Nottingham form-lines with the likes of Surfman, Tempus and Space Blues, so an opening mark of 77 might well underestimate his abilities.