13:20 Ascot

Friday 20 December 2019

All12:4513:2013:5514:3015:0515:40

eventmasters.co.uk Maiden Hurdle

Off time: 13:20 | Winning time: 5m 38.39s

Bean In Trouble¹⁸

Age: 5| Weight: 11-0| J: Jonjo O'Neill Jr.| T: J & A O'Neill| BF

10/1

Won a Huntingdon bumper (2m, soft) for Alastair Ralph prior to moving on for £30,000; was unable to reel in the front-running Oscarsman when a beaten odds-on favourite on hurdles/stable debut at Plumpton (2m4½f, soft).

Form: 1-2

Beyondthestorm³⁰

Age: 6| Weight: 11-0| J: J McGrath| T: N J Henderson

6/1

Cost £150,000 out of the Irish point-to-point scene (Dec 2017); raced sparingly since without things necessarily clicking into place either - beaten 25L by the talented The Big Breakaway at Chepstow (2m3½f, soft); stablemate of It Sure Is.

Form: 1/6-4

Butterwick Brook²²

Age: 4| Weight: 11-0| J: R M Power| T: C L Tizzard

33/1

Getaway gelding; took a step forward from his Chepstow debut when a plugging on (well beaten) fourth to Eritage at Taunton (2m½f, good to soft); this extra yardage on heavy ground should assist, albeit this appears to be an overly ambitious target.

Form: 04

Friends Don't Ask⁷¹

Age: 4| Weight: 11-0| J: E J Walsh| T: Martin Smith

50/1

Displayed potential in a couple of low-key bumpers, most notably when finishing 3¾L third to Wayfinder at Worcester (2m, good to soft); has probably been set a stiff task on hurdles debut.

Form: 53

Full Back²²²

Age: 4| Weight: 11-0| J: Joshua Moore| T: G & J Moore

20/1

Sinndar gelding from a 2m2f winning French hurdler/chaser (Quatre Bleue); makes his debut under rules for Gary Moore after finishing runner-up in a 3m maiden at Bartlemy (for Colin Bowe) in May; stablemate of Zhigull.

Form: 2

Hugos Other Horse³³

Age: 5| Weight: 11-0| J: H Cobden| T: P F Nicholls

12/1

Half-brother to Cue Card among others and a game Fontwell bumper winner (2m1½f, good to soft) who came up short in a Listed contest at Cheltenham last month; interesting to see how he fares on hurdles debut.

Form: 41-6

It Sure Is²¹

Age: 4| Weight: 11-0| J: N de Boinville| T: N J Henderson

4/5

Sold for £150,000 in April after winning a 3m 4yo maiden for Colin Bowe at Ballynoe; runner-up to the progressive Severano on hurdles/stable debut at Newbury (2m4½f, good to soft), so ought to be able to kick on positively.

Form: 1-2

Pure Country³²⁵

Age: 4| Weight: 11-0| J: L P Aspell| T: Noel Williams| BFWS

66/1

Didn't manage to win on the Flat (AW) in three starts for Noel Williams (once with F.Head in France); has undergone wind surgery since his last start 325 days ago, and switches to hurdles in a competitive looking maiden.

Form:

Torn And Frayed²⁷

Age: 5| Weight: 11-0| J: Sam Twiston-Davies| T: N & W Twiston-Davies

9/2

Out of his depth behind Thebannerkingrebel in a Listed contest at Haydock (2m, good to soft) most latterly, but has made progress with each and every race; his earlier Warwick second (2m5f, good) to Aimee De Sivola stacks up well.

Form: 5-25

Whatsupwithyou³²⁸

Age: 5| Weight: 11-0| J: David Bass| T: B Pauling

33/1

In front (left clear at the last) when striking at the third time of asking for Denis Paul Murphy in Irish points (3m, Tyrella); sold for £35,000 in March and will encounter vastly different ground on rules/stable/hurdles debut.

Form: 421-

Zhiguli²⁷

Age: 4| Weight: 11-0| J: J E Moore| T: G & J Moore

100/1

Stablemate of Full Back; switches to hurdles after finishing sixth of 13 (66-1) to the Jonjo O'Neill-trained Soaring Glory in a bumper here (soft) recently; half-brother to the winning chaser Present Flight (2m7f-3m2f); unlikely winner.

Form: U6

Forecasts

It Sure Is (4/5), Torn And Frayed (9/2), Beyondthestorm (6/1), Bean In Trouble (10/1), Hugos Other Horse (12/1), Full Back (20/1), Whatsupwithyou (33/1), Butterwick Brook (33/1), Friends Don't Ask (50/1), Pure Country (66/1), Zhiguli (100/1)

A competitive maiden hurdle which should yield a number of future winners. Bean In Trouble and Torn And Frayed have already shown ability over hurdles, while Cue Card's half-brother Hugos Other Horse should appreciate both the step up in trip and the switch from bumpers. Furthermore, you'd imagine that Gary Moore will find suitable races for Full Back and Zhigull further down the line. However, the focus again returns to Nicky Henderson with a clear preference for IT SURE IS over Beyondthestorm. The selection locked horns with the progressive Severano at Newbury three weeks ago and that represents the strongest form in the book to date.