14:05 Haydock

Saturday 21 December 2019

All11:5012:2513:0013:3514:0514:4015:15

Betway Casino Handicap Hurdle

Off time: 14:05 | Winning time: 6m 13.2s

Dell' Arca^b⁴⁶

Age: 10| Weight: 11-10| J: Fergus Gillard⁽⁷⁾| T: D Pipe| OR: 135| D

16/1

Campaigned over fences in recent times, albeit underwhelming since finishing a well held third in The Last Fling Handicap Chase here (3m3½f, soft) last December; sits on an ever-easing handicap mark (7lb lower than for last hurdles win).

Form: 3P-8F59

Flashjack²⁷

Age: 9| Weight: 11-9| J: R Patrick⁽³⁾| T: H D Daly| OR: 134| D

12/1

Has a decent strike-rate over hurdles (6-18; 33%) and patently stays well on testing ground; however, more negatively appears to be just a shade too high in the weights at present; others considered more likely.

Form: 3517-35

Sakhee's City^p³⁵

Age: 8| Weight: 11-9| J: A Nicol| T: P A Kirby| OR: 134

14/1

Back to winning ways in a Class 3 handicap at Wetherby (2m3½f, soft) five weeks ago, beating Mount Mews by ¾L; fully effective on heavy ground, and a 4lb weights rise looks perfectly fair; is unproven over this 3m trip.

Form: 3208-21

Big Shark²⁴

Age: 5| Weight: 11-8| J: Ben Jones⁽⁵⁾| T: P Hobbs & J White| OR: 133

10/11

Bought for £33,000 in May (runner-up in a Ballysteen point); has looked the real deal under rules and remains unbeaten (2-2) over hurdles for Philip Hobbs; of some interest from opening mark of 133; 5lb claimer Ben Jones replaces Richard Johnson.

Form: 2-11

Secrete Stream²³⁹

Age: 10| Weight: 11-8| J: Mr Aiden Blakemore⁽⁷⁾| T: Ruth Jefferson| OR: 133| C

33/1

Beat Becky The Thatcher by a neck (third placed Minella Charmer runs in the opening race) when scoring over 2m3f here (heavy) last December; 4lb higher and seldom seen competitively since; makes his first start for 239 days.

Form: 5353/16-

Coole Cody^t²⁷

Age: 8| Weight: 11-8| J: Nick Scholfield| T: M Blake| OR: 133| BF| D

8/1

Enjoyed a productive spell (novice) in 2017, winning four-times and winding up with a 25-1 win in a Class 3 handicap at Cheltenham (2m5f, soft); back to peak form in 2019, on the premises (third) behind Silva Eclipse in the mud at Uttoxeter latest.

Form: 6200-83

Closing Ceremony²²

Age: 10| Weight: 11-6| J: R T Dunne| T: Miss E C Lavelle| OR: 131| CD

5/1

Lightly raced for his age, but a very talented individual when on song; has a 66% strike-rate at Haydock Park (4-6 at 2m7f and beyond); 4lb higher than when beating Silva Eclipse by a nose here on good to soft ground in January.

Form: 637/71-0

Silva Eclipse¹⁴

Age: 6| Weight: 11-0| J: Danny Cook| T: J Parkinson & S Smith| OR: 125

6/1

Mudlark; runner-up on all three previous Haydock starts, including when beaten 2¼L by The Hollow Ginge in this race last year; has closely related form lines with Closing Ceremony (here) and Coole Cody (Uttoxeter); very much respected.

Form: P6-8614

Forecasts

Big Shark (10/11), Closing Ceremony (5/1), Silva Eclipse (6/1), Coole Cody (8/1), Flashjack (12/1), Sakhee's City (14/1), Dell' Arca (16/1), Secrete Stream (33/1)

The mudlark Silva Eclipse (runner-up in this race last year from a 5lb lower mark) merits much respect having out-battled Coole Cody in desperate conditions at Uttoxeter (2m7½f) in November. Furthermore, he went down all guns blazing in an earlier tussle with the course specialist Closing Ceremony over C&D in January. With past Haydock form figures of 222 (beaten a combined total of 3L) he deserves a change of fortune at this track. However, the suspicion is that he'll face a formidable opponent in the shape of the handicap debutant BIG SHARK who is 2-2 under rules since joining Philip Hobbs out of the Irish point-to-point scene for £33,000.