14:30 Southwell

Wednesday 1 January 2020

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

Bombardier 'March To Your Own Drum' Handicap

Off time: 14:31 | Winning time: 1m 41.70s

(9)

First Excel^p1,h³³

Age: 8| Weight: 9-8| J: Lewis Edmunds| T: S R Bowring| OR: 61| C

12/1

Doesn't win all that often (4-37) although he has performed consistently here (6f) over the past 12 months; appears vulnerable (given his prominent run style) tackling a new trip in first time cheekpieces.

Form: 577823-

(5)

Oblate^p⁴⁴

Age: 4| Weight: 9-7| J: K T O'Neill| T: R Brisland| OR: 60

10/1

Seven-race maiden; runner-up over C&D on a couple of occasions, including when just failing at odds of 33-1 (Break The Silence third) in October; often slowly away, and completely missed the break latest.

Form: 440229-

(1)

Tagur^v²⁷

Age: 6| Weight: 9-7| J: Miss H T Lees⁽⁷⁾| T: K A Ryan| OR: 60| CD

3/1

Beaten a neck by the progressive Jazz Hands (runs in the opener) over C&D in early December; 4lb higher in the weights but still well handicapped on form from late 2018; very much respected in an otherwise weak race.

Form: 090652-

(4)

Mr Strutter²³

Age: 6| Weight: 9-7| J: T Eaves| T: Ronald Thompson| OR: 60| C

5/1

Sole AW win (1-24) came from this mark over 6f here in December 2018 (beat First Excel by 3¼L); stays further as proved lately during a consistent spell of form (352); runner-up to High Fort at Newcastle (1m) 23 days ago.

Form: 006352-

(3)

Break The Silence^b²⁷

Age: 6| Weight: 9-5| J: Jonathan Fisher⁽⁷⁾| T: S Dixon| OR: 58| BF| C| D

7/2

Ultra-consistent here (7f-1m) since August (11623234322) and has related form with Oblate; the sneaking suspicion is that he doesn't quite fully stay 1m; 13-8f when beaten 1L by Bee Machine (over 7f) four weeks ago.

Form: 234322-

(7)

Alpha Tauri²⁷

Age: 14| Weight: 9-4| J: Faye McManoman⁽⁵⁾| T: C Smith| OR: 57| CD

16/1

Veteran of 99 AW races (13 wins); relatively quiet since winning a three-runner affair here (7f) during the heart of the prize-money strike in March; finished eighth of 13 in this race in 2018.

Form: 514470-

(6)

Voice of A Leader²⁰

Age: 9| Weight: 8-11| J: Joey Haynes| T: C Banham| OR: 50

11/1

2lb higher than when winning an August Class 7 handicap at Chelmsford (1m2f) on debut for Chelsea Banham; runner-up in a similar Class 7 contest on his last visit to Southwell in March 2019.

Form: 137578-

(2)

Tavener¹⁴

Age: 8| Weight: 8-7| J: Phil Dennis| T: D C Griffiths| OR: 45

50/1

More miss than hit in recent months, finishing last of 11 at Lingfield (6f) just a week prior to Christmas; was with Declan Carroll when folding up in front (looked the likeliest winner) at Kempton (7f) in mid-September.

Form: 250070-

(8)

Amber Rock^p,t²³

Age: 4| Weight: 8-7| J: J Fanning| T: J L Eyre| OR: 45

9/2

Nine-race maiden who continues to slip down the weights; beaten 5L (third) when nearest at the finish behind Charlie Arthur over C&D (penultimate).

Form: 397738-

Forecasts

Tagur (3/1), Break The Silence (7/2), Amber Rock (9/2), Mr Strutter (5/1), Oblate (10/1), Voice of A Leader (11/1), First Excel (12/1), Alpha Tauri (16/1), Tavener (50/1)

An uninspiring Class 6 contest which could well go to the attractively handicapped and seemingly rejuvenated TAGUR. He was beaten a neck by the progressive Jazz Hands (runs in the opener) over C&D in early December and a repeat of that sort of performance should prove good enough. Of the remainder, there's probably a race within the reach of the filly Oblate if she can overcome her obvious issues with the starting stalls (habitually slowly away).