12:30 Newcastle

Friday 15 November 2019

All12:0012:3013:0513:4014:1514:5015:25

Logico Novices' Handicap Chase

Off time: 12:35 | Winning time: 6m 21.3s

Speak Of The Devil⁴²

Age: 6| Weight: 12-2| J: S Mulqueen⁽³⁾| T: Miss Lucinda V Russell| OR: 106

6/1

Point winner (3m, yielding) prior to joining Lucinda Russell for £65,000; outclassed over hurdles by Echiquier on seasonal reappearance at Hexham (2m7½f, soft) six weeks ago; ultimately chasing should be his forte.

Form: 135-3

Into The Breach²⁴⁶

Age: 6| Weight: 11-12| J: Ross Chapman| T: J Ewart| OR: 102

40/1

Displayed minimal promise in bumpers/over hurdles and a watching brief can only be advised now stepping up in trip and switched to fences off a 246-day absence.

Form: 77/56P-

Road Warrior^t²⁹

Age: 5| Weight: 11-12| J: K Yeoman⁽⁷⁾| T: R Menzies| OR: 102

20/1

Joined Rebecca Menzies for £5,500 in September as a nine-race maiden (formerly with Noel Meade); was out the back throughout when finishing 11th of 12 to Le Frank at Carlisle (2m) last month.

Form: 0-980P0

Imperial Prince¹⁸

Age: 10| Weight: 11-10| J: D R Fox| T: I A Duncan| OR: 100| C| D

5/1

Ayr regular with plenty of experience of jumping fences (0-15); off the same mark as when finishing just over 2L second to Glittering Love in February (Ayr, 3m soft); likely to benefit for a recent run; a possible player.

Form: 3624-74

Border Victor^p²²

Age: 7| Weight: 11-7| J: Lorcan Murtagh⁽³⁾| T: F P Murtagh| OR: 97| D

5/1

Capable (if quirky) hurdler; clung on to score by 1L at Wetherby (3m, soft) in March, so these conditions should pose few problems; that said, he does have to jump the fences fluently (chasing debut).

Form: 5219-83

Asking For Answers^v1¹⁸

Age: 6| Weight: 11-3| J: R D Day| T: M Todhunter| OR: 93

9/1

Eight-race maiden; has been let down for his jumping in more recent times, although there was an excuse at Ayr latest (stumbled on landing); it's still early days over fences and this is a modest race; visor applied.

Form: 785U-5U

Letemgo⁷

Age: 11| Weight: 11-2| J: Colm McCormack⁽³⁾| T: A B Hamilton| OR: 92

12/1

7-45 over hurdles, but is still searching for his first win over fences at the age of eleven; lost his pace from the 12th fence when finishing a distant fourth to Square Viviani at Hexham (3m, heavy) last week.

Form: 83-3554

Gatacre Street²²³

Age: 7| Weight: 10-7| J: Jonathan England| T: S England| OR: 83

11/1

Didn't excel over hurdles for Sam England but there's the distinct possibility that this ex-Irish pointer can fare better for the switch to chasing; lowly rated (83) in a modest affair; merits a market check on return to the track.

Form: 3P3/50P-

Cavalry Scout^t1,v²⁵⁶

Age: 6| Weight: 10-6| J: Henry Brooke| T: Laura Morgan| OR: 82

5/1

Regressed over hurdles during the early months of the calendar year; the switch to fences coupled with an eight-month break may provide a catalyst for a recovery of form; tongue-tie accompanies a visor.

Form: 87944P-

Hard Knocks^p,t⁴²⁴

Age: 9| Weight: 10-5| J: Alison Clarke⁽⁷⁾| T: Kenny Johnson| OR: 81

20/1

Eight-race maiden; hasn't kicked on from a fair run (second) at Cartmel (3m1½f) in July; others plenty more appealing.

Form: F42687-

Bertie Blake^p⁴⁰

Age: 6| Weight: 10-0| J: Thomas Dowson| T: P A Kirby| OR: 75

9/1

15-race maiden who tackles the larger obstacles for the very first time in public; 3lb lower than when finishing 7L second to the Rebecca Menzies-trained Emerald Chieftain at Sedgefield (2m5f, good to soft) in January.

Form: 23824-0

Westend Theatre²³⁴

Age: 10| Weight: 10-0| J: Danny McMenamin⁽⁵⁾| T: Mrs J Walton| OR: 73

10/1

17-race maiden (0-9 over fences); finished last of ten to Well Joey at Hexham (2m4f, good to soft) in March; very difficult to consider from outside of the handicap proper.

Form: 643/050-

Non-Runners

Bene Regina³³⁴

Weight: 11-8| Age: 7

T: N Kent J: Charlie Hammond

Definite Wisdom⁴⁰

Weight: 11-6| Age: 6

T: R Dobbin J: Craig Nichol

Forecasts

Cavalry Scout (5/1), Imperial Prince (5/1), Border Victor (5/1), Speak Of The Devil (6/1), Asking For Answers (9/1), Bertie Blake (9/1), Westend Theatre (10/1), Gatacre Street (11/1), Letemgo (12/1), Definite Wisdom (14/1), Bene Regina (16/1), Hard Knocks (20/1), Road Warrior (20/1), Into The Breach (40/1)

Another modest contest on paper, and somewhat of a thankless task in terms of identifying the likeliest winner with only traces of reliable chasing form on offer. Imperial Prince has stacks of experience over fences (0-15), most notably on the west coast of Scotland at Ayr and he's undoubtedly capable of winning a race of this nature, while Gatacre Street is one top keep an eye upon in the market exchanges. However, without any degree of conviction the pin falls on the top-weight SPEAK OF THE DEVIL for the bang-in-form Lucinda Russell. Out of his depth behind a 132-rated hurdler at Hexham latest, he could be the type to improve for the switch to the larger obstacles.