13:20 Sandown

Friday 6 December 2019

All12:4513:2013:5514:2514:5515:30

JSC Communications Supports Insurance Industry Raceday Handicap Chase

Off time: 13:20 | Winning time: 4m 7.05s

Paddy's Poem^t¹⁷

Age: 8| Weight: 11-12| J: James Davies| T: N J Gifford| OR: 125| D

6/1

Has taken extremely well to fences (3-6), returning from his summer break with an idling 1¾L win at Fakenham (2m+, good); a shade more on his plate today off a 5lb higher mark.

Form: 33121-1

Antony⁴²⁷

Age: 9| Weight: 11-12| J: Joshua Moore| T: G & J Moore| OR: 125| C

25/1

Fontwell regular (raced exclusively at that track during 2018); on a similar mark to when a 13L winner of a four-runner 2m5½f Class 3 handicap chase there in April 2018; first appearance for 427 days.

Form: 5P41/23-

Johnbb²⁷

Age: 5| Weight: 11-11| J: R M Power| T: T Lacey| OR: 124

6/4

Lightly raced 5yo; was determined when downing Glinger Flame in a maiden hurdle at Ayr (2m4½f, soft) in January; respectable third on chasing/seasonal debut at Aintree; can progress.

Form: 2313-3

Awake At Midnight²⁴¹

Age: 7| Weight: 11-11| J: R Johnson| T: P Hobbs & J White| OR: 124| BF| D

5/1

Fairly reliable over fences since making a winning debut at Chepstow (2m, good to soft) last November; 2lb higher than when beaten 4½L by Darcy Ward at Exeter (2m3f, good) in April; absent since.

Form: 114742-

Cesar Collonges²⁴

Age: 7| Weight: 11-10| J: L P Aspell| T: Evan Williams| OR: 123

20/1

Cost £200,000 in February 2016 and has always given the firm impression that he's a 'chaser in the making'; folded alarmingly quickly on seasonal reappearance at Lingfield (2m3½f, heavy) and has never raced on ground faster than soft.

Form: 25/617-P

Darebin^b²⁵

Age: 7| Weight: 11-8| J: J E Moore| T: G & J Moore| OR: 121| CD

10/1

6-23 over fences (includes a walkover at Plumpton); had taken time to get going this season until springing a 25-1 surprise at Kempton (2m2f, good), beating Prairie Town by ¾L (third a winner since); every chance off 4lb higher.

Form: 361-551

Prairie Town²⁵

Age: 8| Weight: 11-5| J: Harry Bannister| T: A W Carroll| OR: 118| CD

7/1

Doesn't win all that often (did so over hurdles here in 2015); reluctant to line up, but ran well on seasonal reappearance at Kempton (2m2f, good) when finishing ¾L second to Darebin; 3lb higher (1lb better off).

Form: 3/6540-2

Le Frank^t²⁵

Age: 7| Weight: 10-13| J: Blair Campbell⁽³⁾| T: Miss Lucinda V Russell| OR: 112| D

10/1

Stayed on well from off the pace to score at Carlisle (2m, good to soft) in October, but never majorly involved (third) back there next time (2m4f); stays right-handed and still on a feasible mark over a more suitable trip.

Form: 5U-4313

Rock On Rocky^p,t³³

Age: 11| Weight: 10-10| J: Jamie Bargary| T: M Sheppard| OR: 109| CD

16/1

5-32 over fences (includes a C&D win); those successes have come in what can be described as 'spells of form'; twice placed recently, albeit was beaten 11L by Twoforthree at Huntingdon (2m+, good).

Form: 355P-32

Un Beau Roman^h²⁵

Age: 11| Weight: 10-6| J: P J Brennan| T: P Henderson| OR: 105| D

40/1

Has plummeted down the weights since springing a 28-1 surprise in a Class 2 handicap at Cheltenham (2m, good) in November 2016; getting fairly long in the tooth nowadays and shouldn't trouble Darebin/Prairie Town on the basis of Kempton form.

Form: 34-3239

Non-Runners

The Granson⁹⁰

Weight: 11-6| Age: 7

T: P Henderson J: P J Brennan

Forecasts

Johnbb (6/4), Awake At Midnight (5/1), Paddy's Poem (6/1), Prairie Town (7/1), Darebin (10/1), Le Frank (10/1), Rock On Rocky (16/1), Cesar Collonges (20/1), The Granson (20/1), Antony (25/1), Un Beau Roman (40/1)

A competitive contest with the Kempton 1-2 Darebin and Prairie Town renewing acquaintances at undoubtedly much shorter odds on this occasion, while the likes of Paddy's Poem (Fakenham) and Le Frank (Carlisle) have already notched further wins on their respective CV's this autumn/winter. However, a chance is taken on the lightly raced JOHNBB with Robbie 'Puppy' Power in the saddle. Tom Lacey's five-year-old jumped reasonably well on chasing debut at Aintree (third to Champagne Mystery) and he's shown previously over hurdles (Ayr) that he's no shrinking violet when it comes to a ding-dong battle.