16:35 Hexham

Monday 2 September 2019

All16:3517:1017:4018:1018:4019:1019:40

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Off time: 16:35 | Winning time: 5m 49.7s

Moorlands Mist¹¹⁴

Age: 12| Weight: 12-2| J: Nathan Moscrop⁽³⁾| T: Sara Ender| OR: 102| CD

40/1

Veteran; won a couple on the bounce last autumn, including when making all over C&D (good) to beat today's rival Lawtop Legend by 3L; has struggled since, so will be needing to return in tip-top shape from a 114-day absence.

Form: 11PP6-0

Chocolat Noir⁷^{(ex 7)}

Age: 6| Weight: 12-0| J: Danny Cook| T: M Todhunter| OR: 93

15/8

Close third to It's All About Me over C&D in June and arrives as a recent winner (carries a 7lb penalty) following a demolition job in the Lakes at Cartmel (2m6f, good to soft); boasts very strong credentials.

Form: 38-4131

Oscar Ceremony^p1⁷²

Age: 8| Weight: 11-12| J: Henry Brooke| T: Stef Keniry| OR: 98

7/1

Hasn't shown anything like his best form since joining Stef Keniry (0-3) and remains a maiden; the switch back from fencing and the application of cheekpieces are viewed positively; that said; others are much preferred.

Form: 355-043

Quivvy Lough³¹

Age: 5| Weight: 11-9| J: R Johnson| T: O Murphy| OR: 95

10/1

Maiden with plenty of placed form in point-to-points (at 3m); runner-up on both starts in maiden hurdles (good) for Olly Murphy; merits a degree of respect on handicap debut with Richard Johnson aboard.

Form: 43-4322

Benarty Hill¹⁶

Age: 9| Weight: 11-2| J: Alison Clarke⁽⁷⁾| T: Kenny Johnson| OR: 88

20/1

Left toiling (33-1) throughout by stablemate King Golan over fences at Market Rasen (3m, good) last month; a 20-race hurdles maiden in Ireland prior to joining Kenny Johnson; rates as an unlikely contender.

Form: 13/905-5

Lawtop Legend^p⁶⁶

Age: 7| Weight: 11-1| J: Jonathon Bewley⁽³⁾| T: G Bewley| OR: 87| CD

6/1

Failed to shine over fences (0-3) and reverts back to hurdles at a track which clearly suits; competes off the same mark as when seeing off 15 others over C&D (good) last November; has previous with Moorlands Mist.

Form: 45-3448

Elixer^h³⁴

Age: 6| Weight: 11-0| J: Lorcan Murtagh⁽³⁾| T: F P Murtagh| OR: 86

20/1

Placed in a couple of Irish point-to-points, but has achieved precious little under rules for Barry Murtagh; low-mileage post wind surgery and makes the step up in trip, yet remains broadly unappealing.

Form: 786-P84

Angel's Envy^p⁶⁰

Age: 7| Weight: 10-9| J: B S Hughes| T: I Jardine| OR: 81

7/2

18-race maiden; campaigned exclusively at Perth during the summer period; in there pitching until the line in a three-way tussle (3m, good) in May; enters the thinking with Brian Hughes booked, albeit more so for a place.

Form: 5336-24

Court Baloo^p⁴⁷

Age: 8| Weight: 10-4| J: Ross Chapman| T: A C Whillans| OR: 76| D

6/1

Low-key over both fences and hurdles since finishing second best to the game Kovera over 3m at Newcastle (good) last November; stable in red-hot form at present; worth a cautionary market glance.

Form: 25P-757

Forecasts

Chocolat Noir (15/8), Angel's Envy (7/2), Court Baloo (6/1), Lawtop Legend (6/1), Oscar Ceremony (7/1), Quivvy Lough (10/1), Benarty Hill (20/1), Elixer (20/1), Moorlands Mist (40/1)

Ideally CHOCOLAT NOIR would appreciate conditions to be riding softer than forecast, but in a very winnable opener to the new jumps season at Hexham Martin Todhunter's mare can prove capable of following up a recent Cartmel success. Lightly raced for Olly Murphy, the handicap debutante Quivvy Lough is considered the main danger with the consistent maiden Angel's Envy and the course regular Lawtop Legend both place possibles.