12:20 Newcastle

Saturday 30 November 2019

All11:4512:2012:5513:3014:0514:4015:20

Sky Sports Racing On Sky 415 Handicap Chase

Off time: 12:20 | Winning time: 5m 32.1s

Robbing The Prey²²²

Age: 8| Weight: 11-12| J: A Nicol| T: P A Kirby| OR: 120

11/1

Very well-treated over fences from a mark of 120 if able to recapture the form shown for Ruth Jefferson at Haydock (2m3f, good) in May 2018; plausible excuses last season (with the then troubled Donald McCain); market helpful.

Form: 19U42P-

Western Rules^p²¹

Age: 9| Weight: 11-11| J: R D Day| T: N G Richards| OR: 119| C

11/4

Useful hurdler (and dual Newcastle bumper scorer); arguably hasn't fulfilled his potential over fences - rated 6lb lower than when finishing third to Skipthescales on chasing debut here (3m) last December; made mistakes on Kelso comeback run.

Form: 31334-6

Reverant Cust^t²⁵²

Age: 8| Weight: 11-6| J: Henry Brooke| T: P Atkinson| OR: 114| C

11/2

Won on chasing debut at Catterick (2m3f, good) last November, but things have gone rather pear-shaped since (0-5); further eased in the weights for seasonal reappearance and is a heavy ground course hurdles scorer (at 2m).

Form: 1P3345-

King Golan^b²¹

Age: 8| Weight: 11-4| J: Alison Clarke⁽⁷⁾| T: Kenny Johnson| OR: 112

22/1

Returned to form with back-to-back wins over 3m in Market Rasen and Hexham in August/September (on good ground); flaky since, including over hurdles at Aintree (3m, soft) latest; others make considerably more appeal.

Form: 311646

Stoney Rover^p1²¹

Age: 6| Weight: 11-2| J: Sean Quinlan| T: K Scott| OR: 110| D

6/1

Best served by a test of stamina on soft ground (a 2m4f Hexham novice hurdle winner) and has always looked to be a future chaser; thankfully rose from a heavy fall (was beaten at the time) at Kelso three weeks ago; cheekpieces now applied.

Form: 344-P4F

Oak Vintage²⁸

Age: 9| Weight: 11-1| J: Thomas Dowson| T: P A Kirby| OR: 109| D

10/1

6-26 over fences but has generally struggled for form since finishing second to Willie Boy at Wetherby (2m3½f, good to soft) on Boxing Day - now sits 10lb below his last winning mark; stablemate of Robbing The Prey.

Form: 5846-45

Up Helly Aa King^t²⁶⁸

Age: 8| Weight: 10-12| J: Grant Cockburn⁽³⁾| T: N W Alexander| OR: 106

6/1

Took time to get his act together over hurdles although admittedly was on the up in that sphere in early 2019; flashed his tail when in full control on chasing debut at Carlisle (2m5f, heavy) in March; is now rated 9lb higher.

Form: 55/7U21-

Charlie Snow Angel^t¹⁵

Age: 10| Weight: 10-4| J: Jamie Hamilton| T: Miss S E Forster| OR: 98| CD

7/2

Effective at this track; travelled smoothly into contention and delivered the goods over C&D (heavy) a fortnight ago - beat My Manekineko by 2¾L; there's no obvious reason as to why he shouldn't run well off a 4lb higher mark.

Form: 233-231

Non-Runners

What's The Scoop¹⁷

Weight: 10-8| Age: 9

T: J Parkinson & S Smith J: Danny Cook

Forecasts

Western Rules (11/4), Charlie Snow Angel (7/2), Reverant Cust (11/2), Stoney Rover (6/1), Up Helly Aa King (6/1), Oak Vintage (10/1), Robbing The Prey (11/1), What's The Scoop (12/1), King Golan (22/1)

Many have questions to answer, including the selection ROBBING THE PREY so it'll come as no surprise if the recent C&D winner Charlie Snow Angel proves strong in the market. His chance is a clear and obvious one, while there's also the strong likelihood that the returning Up Helly Aa King has plenty more to offer over fences for the Perthshire-trainer Nick Alexander. However, now in the care of Phil Kirby, the top-weight is undeniably well handicapped (from a mark of 120) on historic form for Ruth Jefferson. Although his more recent form for Donald McCain (9U42P) makes for modest reading, that stable were unfortunate to suffer issues with equine flu in early 2019.