12:10 Southwell

Wednesday 1 January 2020

All12:1012:4513:2013:5514:3015:0515:40

Bombardier British Hopped Amber Beer Handicap

Off time: 12:10 | Winning time: 1m 42.09s

(6)

Mister Music³⁵

Age: 11| Weight: 9-10| J: Aled Beech⁽⁵⁾| T: A W Carroll| OR: 76| CD

11/1

Veteran; won four on the spin here (7f-1m) during February & March 2018; last win came in a claimer at Wolverhampton (7f) in July 2019; has done himself few favours lately with a string of tardy starts; is easing in the weights/grade.

Form: 888065-

(1)

Makambe^b1¹²

Age: 5| Weight: 9-7| J: Joey Haynes| T: C Banham| OR: 73| BF| CD

4/1

Won back-to-back races in the autumn, including over C&D when keeping on strongly from a 7lb lower mark; has held his form well since, finishing 2¾L third to Directory over C&D 12 days ago; wears newly applied blinkers.

Form: 311423-

(4)

Custard The Dragon^p¹⁴

Age: 7| Weight: 9-6| J: J Fanning| T: J Mackie| OR: 72| C

11/2

Has clocked up six wins on the Fibresand at Southwell, although importantly is yet to score beyond 7f; now 9lb lower than when beating Portledge by ½L at Newcastle (7f) last January; not massively encouraging lately; look elsewhere.

Form: 468066-

(5)

Forseti^h³

Age: 4| Weight: 9-0| J: Alistair Rawlinson| T: M Appleby| OR: 66| D

11/4

Won a Leicester seller for Andrew Balding (7f, good to firm) in July; has taken time to rediscover his form for Mick Appleby; was a nearest at the finish third to Robero (beaten 1½L) over C&D on Sunday; reasonable chance if breaking on terms.

Form: 000063-

(2)

Momtalik¹²

Age: 5| Weight: 9-0| J: Lewis Edmunds| T: D Shaw| OR: 66

28/1

Beaten 4L on stable debut over C&D (maiden) in early November; poor in Class 5 handicaps (7f-1m2f) since, and very difficult to fancy as a result.

Form: 352900-

(7)

Pioneering²⁷

Age: 6| Weight: 8-12| J: B A Curtis| T: R Fell & S Murray| OR: 64| D

15/2

Pushed clear when winning over 1m1f at Musselburgh (soft) in August; yet to win on the AW (0-5); demonstrated that he handles this surface with a solid front-running shift over a stamina sapping 1m4f (penultimate); others preferred.

Form: 108957-

(3)

Jazz Hands^p²⁷

Age: 4| Weight: 8-9| J: Barry McHugh| T: R A Fahey| OR: 61| CD

3/1

Unbeaten in two starts on Fibresand (C&D); 0-8 on other artificial surfaces; 5lb higher than when keeping on well to beat Tagur by a neck here four weeks ago; boasts rock-solid credentials in a modest contest.

Form: 255171-

Forecasts

Forseti (11/4), Jazz Hands (3/1), Makambe (4/1), Custard The Dragon (11/2), Pioneering (15/2), Mister Music (11/1), Momtalik (28/1)

Forseti ran his best race for Mick Appleby when finishing well (wide) from off the pace here on Sunday, while the newly blinkered Makambe is holding his form incredibly well despite rising steadily in the weights. The selection JAZZ HANDS is also on a steady march up the handicap, raised a combined total of 9lb for successive Class 5 & 6 C&D handicap wins. He has clearly appreciated the switch to Fibresand and is strongly fancied to maintain his unbeaten course record, in the process getting the New Year off to a flying start for the Richard Fahey/Barry McHugh combination.