15:30 Southwell

Thursday 19 December 2019

All13:3014:0014:3015:0015:3016:0016:30

Play 4 To Score At Betway Handicap

Off time: 15:33 | Winning time: 2m 39.24s

(8)

Al Kherb²⁴²

Age: 4| Weight: 9-12| J: Jason Hart| T: J & S Quinn| OR: 82| D

10/1

Won 2 from 4 on the Flat for Roger Charlton prior to joining John Quinn for 40,000gns in October 2018; campaigned over hurdles since, winning a Catterick maiden in February; makes his Fibresand debut off a 242-day absence.

Form: 1145-

(3)

Temur Khan²⁰⁰

Age: 4| Weight: 9-10| J: George Downing| T: A W Carroll| OR: 80| CD

25/1

Unbeaten in two starts on Fibresand (C&D), now 3lb higher than when beating Dommerson by a nose in January; has failed to beat a single rival in his last three starts elsewhere, but does return fresh from a 200-day absence.

Form: 114975

(1)

Azari^b³⁰

Age: 7| Weight: 9-9| J: R Havlin| T: Alexandra Dunn| OR: 79| CD

25/1

Won three on the bounce over C&D last winter, including when beating Vivernus by 1L (from this mark); was soundly beaten by a sadly ill-fated stablemate of Al Kherb (Grazeon Roy) here in November.

Form: 534550

(5)

Divine Gift¹⁷⁴

Age: 3| Weight: 9-7| J: B A Curtis| T: I Jardine| OR: 81

3/1

Left Charlie Fellowes for 32,000gns in July, having finished third over the St.Leger trip at Doncaster (good) the previous month; one to monitor in the market exchanges on debut for Iain Jardine off a 174-day absence.

Form: 155-643

(7)

Seven Clans²⁸

Age: 7| Weight: 9-6| J: Gemma Tutty⁽³⁾| T: K Tutty| OR: 76

25/1

His last three AW wins have come on Tapeta at Wolverhampton (for Neil Mulholland); was soon beaten on debut for Karen Tutty (a £4,500 purchase) over 1m2f at Newcastle four weeks ago.

Form: 040039

(4)

Grenadier Guard¹²⁰

Age: 3| Weight: 9-4| J: F Norton| T: C & M Johnston| OR: 78| D

7/2

125,000gns yearling; made a most promising start to his racing career earlier in the year (at or around 1m4f); visually has lacked interest in racing since switched to handicaps so hopefully a gelding operation can work the oracle; worth chancing?

Form: 412374

(2)

Rasaasy²¹⁵

Age: 3| Weight: 8-13| J: William Carson| T: A Carson| OR: 73

20/1

Lightly raced Cape Cross gelding; raced in maidens in the French provinces for F.Rouhat prior to joining Anthony Carson for 18,000gns; merits a basic market check on stable/handicap and AW debut.

Form: 044

(6)

Angel Lane¹⁴

Age: 3| Weight: 8-8| J: C Lee| T: K R Burke| OR: 68| CD

6/5

Showed marked improvement on handicap debut over C&D a fortnight ago when authoritatively disposing of Sociologist (runs in the 3.00pm race); 5lb higher in a stronger race but with the suspicion that she'll prove far better than a 68-rated horse.

Form: 4421

Forecasts

Angel Lane (6/5), Divine Gift (3/1), Grenadier Guard (7/2), Al Kherb (10/1), Rasaasy (20/1), Seven Clans (25/1), Azari (25/1), Temur Khan (25/1)

Angel Lane was an authoritative C&D winner (Class 5) a fortnight ago and the chances are that she'll ultimately prove far better than a 68-rated horse. Truthfully, she's very difficult to oppose in a race where a number of the runners are returning from lengthy absences but the market will reflect that fact and she's unlikely to represent any form of value whatsoever. Therefore, in seeking an each-way alternative we'll hope that the gelding operation has helped to iron out a few quirks in the temperament of GRENADIER GUARD who undoubtedly possesses a fair degree of ability when he puts his mind to the task in hand.