20:50 Newcastle

Friday 28 June 2019

All17:3018:0018:3519:0519:4020:1520:50

Titanium Racing Club Handicap

Off time: 20:52 | Winning time: 1m 12.37s

(1)

Chaplin Bay^b¹⁶

Age: 7| Weight: 10-0| J: J P Sullivan| T: Mrs R Carr| OR: 70| C| D

18/1

Course winner (7f) in March 2018 but hasn't managed to add to his tally since; 4lb below his last winning mark; placed here behind Algaffaal in April (7f, Class 4); no concerns about the drop back in trip.

Form: 8-33808

(5)

Lucky Lodge^b²¹

Age: 9| Weight: 10-0| J: Kieran Schofield⁽⁷⁾| T: A Brittain| OR: 70| CD

14/1

A consistent C&D performer, although it should be noted that he sits 8lb above his last winning mark (Nov 2018); finished a one paced third to Gowanbuster over C&D in April; safe to ignore his latest form (on heavy).

Form: 652377

(3)

Mutabaahy⁸

Age: 4| Weight: 9-12| J: Cam Hardie| T: A Brittain| OR: 68| D

13/2

Stablemate of Lucky Lodge; is difficult to win with but he does handle this track well, beaten a neck by Secretinthepark over C&D last September; split a Ruth Carr-trained pair when finishing second at Ripon last week; holds every chance.

Form: 807242

(6)

Avenue Of Stars^v²²

Age: 6| Weight: 9-10| J: P J McDonald| T: Karen McLintock| OR: 66| BF| CD

9/1

Dual C&D scorer who was consistently competing here around the turn of the year; runner up at Hamilton (6f, good to soft) on his penultimate start; is feasibly just a fraction too high in the weights; top jockey booked.

Form: 314526

(14)

Duke Cosimo⁶⁰

Age: 9| Weight: 9-7| J: Phil Dennis| T: M Herrington| OR: 63| CD

20/1

Dead-heated with Muatadel from a similar mark over C&D in February, but lost his way badly during the month of April; off since (for 60 days); needs to bounce straight back to his peak form in order to play a positive role.

Form: 172670

(10)

Gleeful¹⁴

Age: 3| Weight: 9-7| J: Andrea Atzeni| T: R Varian| OR: 70

9/2

Seven-race maiden; a consistent filly who admittedly has had plenty of chances from her current mark; beaten 1L by Aperitif at Goodwood (6f, soft) a fortnight ago; it's possible that 6f on the AW presents her optimum conditions; place shout.

Form: 44-4432

(7)

Kapono^p²²

Age: 3| Weight: 9-6| J: B A Curtis| T: R Fell & S Murray| OR: 69

15/2

Formerly with Amy Murphy; made a pleasing start for Roger Fell at Haydock (5f, soft) three weeks ago when keeping on well to finish just under 2L third to Celsius; trip fine; something to prove on the AW (0-3) but can't be discounted.

Form: 0-86603

(12)

Dirchill^b¹¹

Age: 5| Weight: 9-6| J: Connor Beasley| T: D Thompson| OR: 62| D

6/1

11-race AW maiden who has run some reasonable races at this track, including when finishing third to Epeius in May (now 5lb lower); his recent Carlisle fourth of 17 to the subsequent winner Caustic Love reads well in the context of this race.

Form: 038704

(11)

Fairy Stories²⁰

Age: 3| Weight: 9-5| J: Connor Murtagh⁽³⁾| T: R A Fahey| OR: 68| BF

13/2

Has improved considerably from her juvenile campaign; 12lb higher than when winning by 6L at Nottingham (5f, good) on her penultimate start - turned over under a penalty next time; steps up in trip for AW debut; more required.

Form: 668-312

(13)

Swiss Connection⁵³

Age: 3| Weight: 9-4| J: Harry Russell⁽⁷⁾| T: B Smart| OR: 67

25/1

Runner up on his sole AW start (C&D) in July 2018; always out the back on his seasonal reappearance at Beverley (5f, good); 3lb lower in the weights and still relatively low mileage, albeit others are much preferred.

Form: 5278-0

(9)

Decision Maker²⁴

Age: 5| Weight: 9-4| J: R Winston| T: S R Bowring| OR: 60| C

9/1

Unbeaten in two starts at Newcastle this calendar year, but both of those wins have come over 5f, including when edging out Arnold by a head in a Class 6 handicap 24 days ago; 4lb higher.

Form: 3-81501

(4)

Deeds Not Words¹⁸

Age: 8| Weight: 9-4| J: A Mullen| T: Miss Tracy Waggott| OR: 60| D

40/1

Joined this trainer after winning a 6f January Lingfield claimer for Michael Wigham; is yet to fire since and is dropping quickly in the weights as a result; soon outpaced and always behind (last of 11) at Pontefract latest.

Form: 733580

(2)

Kodicat^p¹⁸

Age: 5| Weight: 9-1| J: K Stott| T: K A Ryan| OR: 57

22/1

Sole win in 26 starts came at Catterick (5f) in April 2017; twice placed on Polytrack at Chelmsford (6f) last autumn, and competes from an 8lb lower mark here; nearest at the finish fourth (beaten 7¾L) at Pontefract (6f, soft) 18 days ago.

Form: 230-044

(8)

Rockley Point¹¹

Age: 6| Weight: 9-1| J: Jamie Gormley| T: K Scott| OR: 57| CD

40/1

2lb lower than when making all to score over C&D in February; continues to fly the Flat flag for Galashiels trainer Katie Scott; finished fourth (beaten 4L) to today's rival Decision Maker over 5f here earlier this month.

Form: 005046

Forecasts

Gleeful (9/2), Dirchill (6/1), Fairy Stories (13/2), Mutabaahy (13/2), Kapono (15/2), Decision Maker (9/1), Avenue Of Stars (9/1), Lucky Lodge (14/1), Chaplin Bay (18/1), Duke Cosimo (20/1), Kodicat (22/1), Swiss Connection (25/1), Rockley Point (40/1), Deeds Not Words (40/1)

A competitive finale in which any number enter the reckoning with the three-year-old's Gleeful and Fairy Stories both running consistently well of late, but we'll opt to focus elsewhere on a couple of horses of interest. Dirchill could potentially offer some each-way value from what appears to be an increasingly fair handicap mark. His recent Carlisle fourth to Caustic Love (winner since) was given a further boost with the third-placed horse Somewhere Secret winning at Chepstow. However, narrowly preferred is the Anthony Brittain-trained MUTABAAHY who could feasibly take some pegging back from the front after a pleasing recent run at Ripon.