13:50 Uttoxeter

Tuesday 31 December 2019

All12:1512:4513:2013:5014:2515:0015:30

Moorland Racing Handicap Hurdle

Off time: 13:51 | Winning time: 5m 29.10s

Any Drama^p⁵⁴

Age: 8| Weight: 11-12| J: S Bowen| T: H Fry| OR: 129

5/1

Lightly-raced for an eight-year-old, but has a fair bit to prove off the back of recent efforts. Fell over fences over C&D on his penultimate start. Entitled to improve from Newbury (3m; good to soft) reappearance run when last of nine but needs to.

Form: 411P/F-9

Templehills^h,t³⁹

14/1

Looked regressive in recent starts, especially the last twice when last of eleven at Newbury (2m4f; good to soft), and then when pulled-up at Catterick (3m1f; good to soft). Reverts to hurdles, but this C&D winner has masses to prove.

Form: 805-60P

Cave Top^p1³¹

Age: 7| Weight: 11-5| J: Mr Ed Glassonbury⁽⁷⁾| T: O Greenall & J Guerriero| OR: 122| CD

14/1

Reverts to hurdles after pulling-up on both starts since returning to the track this season over fences. Was really struggling at Bangor-On-Dee (3m; heavy) last time, and is on somewhat of a retrieval mission now.

Form: 12F6-PP

Keep Wondering^t1²⁷

Age: 5| Weight: 11-3| J: Dave Crosse| T: P Hobbs & J White| OR: 120| BF

11/4

Consistent sort who is very lightly raced and makes handicap debut off a fair enough mark. Should enjoy plenty of success at this level, and he has a very likeable profile. Drop back in trip looks the right move.

Form: 2S1-23

Aliandy⁴¹

Age: 8| Weight: 11-3| J: David Bass| T: K Bailey & M Nicholls| OR: 120| D

11/2

Ended 2018/19 campaign on a sour note, but bounced back when runner-up on return to action at Warwick (2m3f; soft) last month. Can improve from that off just a 1lb higher mark, and is one of the main contenders.

Form: P/342-P2

Star of Rory^t²⁶

Age: 5| Weight: 10-11| J: Lee Edwards| T: J Groucott| OR: 114| D

4/1

Gained second hurdles victory of his career when successful at Leicester (2m4f; heavy) earlier in the month. 6lb rise seems fair given the front-pair drew seven-length clear of the third. Form of the stable is a concern though.

Form: 9241-71

No Rematch³⁵

Age: 5| Weight: 10-9| J: Adam Wedge| T: Evan Williams| OR: 112

7/2

0-4 over hurdles, and he has something to prove after his last couple of runs, including when falling at the eighth at Southwell (3m; soft) last time out. Not completely ruled out given the promise he showed in novice company.

Form: 242-0F

Non-Runners

Informateur¹

Weight: 11-10| Age: 6

T: J Parkinson & S Smith J: Danny Cook

Sticky Situation²⁵

Weight: 10-9| Age: 8

T: Tim Vaughan J: Charlie Price

Forecasts

Informateur (7/4), Keep Wondering (11/4), No Rematch (7/2), Star of Rory (4/1), Any Drama (5/1), Aliandy (11/2), Templehills (14/1), Cave Top (14/1), Sticky Situation (25/1)

An intriguing handicap hurdle in which Informateur returns to the scene of his success here two starts ago. He has since gone close in a competitive event at Haydock, and is greatly feared as he bids to regain the winning thread. He is yet to show his best form, but No Rematch is surely capable of better than he has shown so far judged on his novice form. Aliandy is another name to note after he posted an eye-catching effort when runner-up on his seasonal reappearance. However, KEEP WONDERING is a strong selection to make a winning handicap debut. He drops back in trip after being outstayed at Haydock last time and can make it third time lucky over hurdles.