15:55 Doncaster

Thursday 11 July 2019

All13:4014:1014:4515:2015:5516:2517:00

PPM Handicap

Off time: 15:56 | Winning time: 58.82s

(4)

Gullane One^b1,t¹⁰

Age: 4| Weight: 9-12| J: Jason Hart| T: T D Easterby| OR: 70| C

15/2

Boasts a 33% strike-rate (3-12) and has a course win (6f, good to firm) against his name; pacy, so should theoretically handle dropping back in trip (to 5f); 2lb above his last winning mark; blinkers are a mildly interesting addition.

Form: 21-0187

(8)

Ebitda¹⁹⁴

Age: 5| Weight: 9-11| J: K T O'Neill| T: S Dixon| OR: 69| D

33/1

Enjoyed a stellar 3yo season winning six-times between May and November 2017 (all over 5f); ideally she is best served by cut underfoot; off the track since last December, so is best monitored.

Form: 600578-

(9)

Han Solo Berger^p⁴⁴

Age: 4| Weight: 9-11| J: George Wood| T: C F Wall| OR: 69

7/1

8lb lower than when second in a 6f handicap at Epsom (soft) last summer, largely because he hasn't scaled those heights in four subsequent starts; in a perfect world he would need the rain to arrive (isn't forecast).

Form: 6279-87

(1)

Celsius^h,t⁶^{(ex 6)}

Age: 3| Weight: 9-11| J: B A Curtis| T: Tom Clover| OR: 68| BF| D

7/5

Keeps on improving, regularly taking advantage of racing under a penalty before being reassessed; missed the break and met trouble in running when scoring nicely at Haydock (5f, good to firm) last week; the form horse in the line-up.

Form: 090-121

(3)

Bashiba^t¹⁹

Age: 8| Weight: 9-9| J: Rowan Scott⁽³⁾| T: N Tinkler| OR: 67| CD

9/2

C&D specialist who clearly rests on a mark from which he'll profit eventually 7lb lower than when winning at Nottingham in June 2018; generally unconvincing so far in 2019 but shouldn't be totally written off.

Form: 0-09508

(6)

Dragon Beat¹⁹

Age: 3| Weight: 9-5| J: A Kirby| T: M Appleby| OR: 68| D

10/1

Wolverhampton winner (5f) last December; 0-4 on turf; can be expected to come on for her recent run at Redcar, with that race being her first competitive start for six months.

Form: 241-276

(7)

Alqaab^h1⁴¹

Age: 4| Weight: 9-4| J: J Garritty| T: Mrs R Carr| OR: 62

22/1

130,000gns yearling; joined Ruth Carr from William Haggas for £10,000; has yet to find a positive groove, although his latest run can probably be ignored (on heavy); headgear newly applied, and in this case that's hardly a badge of honour.

Form: 3-4509

(5)

Red Stripes^b⁷

Age: 7| Weight: 8-9| J: Kieran Schofield⁽⁷⁾| T: L Williamson| OR: 53| D

12/1

28-race turf maiden; came out second best of the Lisa Williamson quintet behind the handicap blot Dapper Man at Haydock (5f) last week - form boosted by Musharrif at Pontefract on Tuesday; running well and has a definite chance.

Form: 183033

(2)

Young Tiger^h⁴³

Age: 6| Weight: 8-7| J: J Fanning| T: T P Tate| OR: 47| D

14/1

Dual Tapeta winner (2017) who has tumbled down the weights (competes from outside of the handicap proper); a resurgence may occur at some point but it's very difficult to ascertain when; 0-17 on turf; very much opposed.

Form: 99600-8

Forecasts

Celsius (7/5), Bashiba (9/2), Han Solo Berger (7/1), Gullane One (15/2), Dragon Beat (10/1), Red Stripes (12/1), Young Tiger (14/1), Alqaab (22/1), Ebitda (33/1)

Without the presence of the thriving CELSIUS this would've been an otherwise complex race. However, under a 6lb penalty for last week's Haydock win the Tom Clover-trained three-year-old looks booked for the winners enclosure if merely replicating that performance (without needing to improve further). Of the others, with the here and now seemingly more relevant than distant form lines, Red Stripes is a realistic contender. At bigger prices, the 6f course winner Gullane One rates as a mildly interesting runner now dropped back in trip in newly applied headgear.