12:30 Huntingdon

Sunday 8 December 2019

All12:3013:0013:3014:0014:3015:0015:30

Fitzdares Cerebral Gym Conditional Jockeys' Handicap Hurdle

Off time: 12:32 | Winning time: 4m 59.3s

Winding Roe^t1⁴⁶

Age: 5| Weight: 11-12| J: Lorcan Murtagh⁽³⁾| T: D McCain Jnr| OR: 110

20/1

Off the mark at Kelso (2m6½f, good) beating two rivals two starts back. Had excuses for his defeat when upped in grade last time but was previously consistent if not progressive. This is only his second handicap and is worthy of respect.

Form: 323217

Fawsley Spirit^b,t1⁵⁹

Age: 6| Weight: 11-12| J: Jack Tudor⁽³⁾| T: B Pauling| OR: 110

14/1

Only nine starts and has shown a modicum of ability but his chase campaign was aborted last season and he was well beaten on his return at Exeter (2m5f, good). Tongue-tie added here and probably best watched.

Form: U3P43-6

Lord Sparky⁴⁵

Age: 5| Weight: 11-11| J: C J Todd⁽³⁾| T: Mrs Caroline Bailey| OR: 109| CD

12/1

Improved for the switch to handicaps and step up in trip when winning over C&D (good) in April. Upped 7lb as a result but was too keen on his seasonal return at Southwell (3m, soft) and may come on for the run now back at this course. Interesting.

Form: 441-P

Twenty Twenty^v1³⁰

Age: 4| Weight: 11-10| J: N F Houlihan⁽⁸⁾| T: G & J Moore| OR: 108

15/2

Last successful at Fontwell (2m1½f, good) off 3lb higher back in March. Stayed on well over 2m3f (soft) there last time and despite a 2lb rise, the addition of a visor and his riders 8lb claim may well eke that little bit extra.

Form: 41-3933

Pagero²⁴

Age: 4| Weight: 11-8| J: Jonjo O'Neill Jr.⁽³⁾| T: J & A O'Neill| OR: 106

7/2

Listed Flat winner in France but has failed to land a blow in six starts over jumps. There was some encouragement on his seasonal debut but has been well beaten in two handicaps since and only positive market vibes would be worthy of note.

Form: 703-288

Little Jack²⁶

Age: 5| Weight: 11-8| J: Harry Teal⁽³⁾| T: W Greatrex| OR: 106

12/1

Took a step forward on his handicap debut last time at Hereford (2m3½f, soft) when keeping on to finish third. Had some good bumper form last year and has place claims if building on that last effort.

Form: 3R75-53

Emma Lamb¹²

Age: 5| Weight: 11-8| J: Cillin Leonard⁽⁸⁾| T: Dr R D P Newland| OR: 106| BF

25/1

Beaten 58L when sent off favourite on stable debut at Sedgefield (2m4f, soft) 12 days ago but that run was too bad to be true. Yard has a good record with new arrivals and she'd showed some promise with previous connections so isn't ruled out.

Form: 244-345

Lady Cylla⁵⁴

Age: 4| Weight: 11-8| J: Ben Jones| T: A W Carroll| OR: 106WS

16/1

Yet to win a race under rules and shown little ability in two starts for this yard, including 28L sixth over at Hereford (2m3½f, good) last time. Still high in the handicap and looks to face a tough task. First run since a wind operation.

Form: 723P-76

Tel'art^p1⁶⁷

Age: 5| Weight: 11-7| J: Luca Morgan⁽⁵⁾| T: B Pauling| OR: 105| BF

20/1

Showed some improvement when finishing second (2m3½f, good) on seasonal debut, beaten 2L. That was his second handicap start and connections add cheekpieces here. Yard have been quiet for the last few weeks but we know he handles conditions well.

Form: 996-3P2

Sammylou^t²¹

Age: 6| Weight: 11-6| J: Max Kendrick⁽³⁾| T: D Killahena & G McPherson| OR: 104| C

10/1

Won over here (2m3½f) off 1lb lower in January but hasn't matched that form since. Ran well until a bad mistake on his return before being beaten 28L at Cheltenham (2m5f, soft) last time when out of his depth. Will appreciate calmers waters here.

Form: 1350-68

Lazarus^b,t¹⁷

Age: 5| Weight: 11-2| J: Mr Eddie Edge⁽¹⁰⁾| T: Miss A Murphy| OR: 100| C

20/1

Easy winner of a claimer (2m) here last November but has generally been disappointing over hurdles in recent starts. Finished fourth on the Flat at Chelmsford (2m) 17 days ago but is passed over on all known evidence.

Form: 256-654

Dan Gun¹⁰

Age: 5| Weight: 10-12| J: C Brace⁽³⁾| T: F O'Brien| OR: 96| CD

10/3

Made it 17th time lucky when winning over C&D two starts back and defied a 7lb rise to win at Taunton (2m3f, good) 10 days ago. Has another 6lb rise to contend with here but conditions hold no fears and he's in better form that many.

Form: P82611

Veiled Secret^t,v²⁶

Age: 5| Weight: 10-8| J: R Patrick| T: David Dennis| OR: 92

14/1

Acts well on a sound racing surface and was a clearcut second best to Methag over C&D (good) last time. Has an experienced rider aboard and he enters the reckoning despite a token rise in the weights (1lb).

Form: P21-262

Man Of The North³⁷

Age: 6| Weight: 10-1| J: Rex Dingle| T: A W Carroll| OR: 85

28/1

Surprise winner of a Doncaster novices' handicap hurdle (2m, good; 16-1) in January; hasn't reproduced that in three runs and since and must leave behind recent comeback at Uttoxeter (beaten 33L).

Form: U7174-0

Pete's Choice^p¹²

Age: 6| Weight: 10-0| J: Page Fuller| T: Miss Z C Davison| OR: 83

66/1

Could be given a chance from this mark based on a couple of pieces of form at Plumpton and Lingfield (handicap debut) last winter. Has struggled since, however, and has questions to answer after pulling up on both starts this season.

Form: 3366-PP

Non-Runners

Arcadian Sea²⁶

Weight: 10-12| Age: 5

T: Mrs S J Humphrey J: Alexander Thorne

Forecasts

Dan Gun (10/3), Pagero (7/2), Twenty Twenty (15/2), Sammylou (10/1), Lord Sparky (12/1), Little Jack (12/1), Veiled Secret (14/1), Fawsley Spirit (14/1), Lady Cylla (16/1), Tel'art (20/1), Winding Roe (20/1), Lazarus (20/1), Arcadian Sea (20/1), Emma Lamb (25/1), Man Of The North (28/1), Pete's Choice (66/1)

Getting his head in front (finally) for DAN GUN has evidently boosted his confidence and should go close to landing the hat-trick under conditions that we know he handles and with a leading jockey in the saddle. It's best to ignore the run of Emma Lamb at Sedgefield time; it was too bad to be true on stable debut and deserves another chance whilst Lord Sparky won well on his handicap debut over C&D in the Spring and pulled too hard on his seasonal return, which should've blown away the cobwebs.