17:20 Worcester

Wednesday 3 July 2019

All14:2014:5015:2015:5016:2016:5017:20

Pershore Plum Festival Conditional Jockeys' Handicap Hurdle

Off time: 17:20 | Winning time: 4m 54.60s

Brave Helios^t³³⁵

Age: 9| Weight: 11-12| J: Alexander Thorne⁽⁶⁾| T: Dr R D P Newland| OR: 98

4/1

19lb below his last winning mark (June 2015); finished tailed-off last (over fences) on his final run for Richard Phillips in August 2018; joined this trainer for £6,500 the following month; off since.

Form: 658/2P6-

Commander Miller²⁶

Age: 5| Weight: 11-11| J: Joe Anderson⁽¹⁰⁾| T: N J Henderson| OR: 97

14/1

Lightly-raced 5yo; back-peddled quickly after making a mistake at the second last flight on handicap debut at Market Rasen (2m4f, good); a 3lb drop in the weights (plus his riders 10lb claim) is helpful; it's far from certain that he's clean winded.

Form: 0P75-66

Raise Your Shades¹⁰^{(ex 7)}

Age: 5| Weight: 11-10| J: Mr Jason Dixon⁽³⁾| T: B Pauling| OR: 89| D

7/2

Struck at the third time of asking in handicap company (pulled-up twice previously) when springing a 20/1 surprise at Southwell (2m4f) ten days ago; carries a 7lb penalty, but looking ahead could go on a right roll if taking this CJ's handicap.

Form: 888PP-1

All Good Things^p,t²⁹

Age: 7| Weight: 11-8| J: Stan Sheppard| T: M Sheppard| OR: 94

22/1

Former Irish racer; 0-7 for this trainer in 2019 and as a result is edging slowly down the handicap; beaten just over 8L when finishing a weakening fourth of eight to The Character at Bangor (2m+) latest; this 2m4f trip is a concern.

Form: 55F-074

Skinflint⁸

Age: 7| Weight: 11-8| J: C Brace| T: D Pipe| OR: 94| D

9/4

Back with his former trainer David Pipe after winning three good-ground PTP's (2m4f-3m) earlier this year; no match for the subsequent silky smooth Cartmel winner Midnight Folie over fences at Newton Abbot (3m2f) eight days ago; of interest.

Form: 14-11F2

De Good Man Luke³⁷

Age: 6| Weight: 11-7| J: Callum McKinnes⁽⁷⁾| T: J Coulson| OR: 93

100/1

Hasn't shown much ability over hurdles (0-4); appears to be an edgy type who can boil over (led to the start in the past); it's hard to think that he's particularly well handicapped off an opening mark of 93.

Form: P/4P8-07

Scotsbrook Night^t²³

Age: 6| Weight: 11-5| J: Danny McMenamin⁽³⁾| T: S Lycett| OR: 91

14/1

Ultra-consistent on a sound racing surface during the course of 2018 (323231F), mainly at Uttoxeter and Stratford; is yet to demonstrate that she stays 2m4f; high in the weights, yet could benefit from her seasonal reappearance run.

Form: 3231F-8

My Lady Grey^p³²

Age: 5| Weight: 11-4| J: Jonjo O'Neill Jr.| T: C L Tizzard| OR: 90

13/2

Sits on a reasonably competitive mark judged upon her more recent form; always in the van (set a slow pace) at Stratford (2m6f) latest, battling on gamely once headed at the final flight by the eventual winner Talkingpicturestv; place claims.

Form: P787-22

Big Picture^v1⁵⁶

Age: 7| Weight: 11-3| J: Sean Houlihan| T: J Farrelly| OR: 89| D

12/1

Won twice in 2018, including on heavy ground at Ffos Las (2m4f); remains 5lb above his last winning mark and has plenty of work to do with My Lady Grey on May Fontwell form; wears a newly-applied visor.

Form: 6619F-4

Stolberg^p,t¹⁴

Age: 11| Weight: 11-2| J: Shane Quinlan⁽⁶⁾| T: D L Williams| OR: 88| D

33/1

All four of his career wins (well scattered) have come with plenty of juice in the ground and you'd be hard pushed to describe him as reliable; that said, he ran a creditable race when beaten 10L by the 'penalty-kick' Darling Miss at Uttoxeter.

Form: P8-3752

Poetic Presence^v³⁰

Age: 9| Weight: 10-0| J: Tabitha Worsley⁽³⁾| T: G Howell| OR: 72

33/1

Back to winning ways for Sam Curling under positive front-running tactics in Irish PTP's (mares') in recent weeks; 0-19 over hurdles for former trainer Stuart Coltherd; is very lowly-rated; keep a check on the market for support.

Form: 32-5113

Non-Runners

Oscar Maguire²⁶

Weight: 11-3| Age: 6

T: O Murphy J: Fergus Gregory

Cropley³⁸⁷

Weight: 11-2| Age: 10

T: D Burchell J: Lorcan Williams

Forecasts

Skinflint (9/4), Raise Your Shades (7/2), Brave Helios (4/1), My Lady Grey (13/2), Oscar Maguire (13/2), Cropley (12/1), Big Picture (12/1), Scotsbrook Night (14/1), Commander Miller (14/1), All Good Things (22/1), Stolberg (33/1), Poetic Presence (33/1), De Good Man Luke (100/1)

From the very foot of the weights, the rejuvenated Poetic Presence is worth a market check on debut for Georgie Howell, while My Lady Grey should just about make the frame from a competitive handicap mark, but a couple of the other runners make greater appeal. Firstly, Skinflint is of definite interest back over hurdles for his former trainer David Pipe following an excellent second (fences) to the thriving Midnight Folie at Newton Abbot last week. However, the preferred choice is the recent Southwell winner RAISE YOUR SHADES who could be set to go on a right roll in the weeks ahead if able to land this CJ's handicap hurdle (would escape a future penalty).