14:40 Lingfield

Monday 13 January 2020

All12:3513:0513:3514:0514:4015:1015:45

Sky Sports Racing On Virgin 535 Handicap Hurdle (Div 1)

Off time: 14:45 | Winning time: 6m 55.10s

Sergeant Brody^b,t²⁸

Age: 9| Weight: 12-0| J: Harrison Beswick⁽⁵⁾| T: S Drinkwater| OR: 102

8/1

Maiden (0-11); produced an improved effort back over hurdles at Ffos Las (2m4f, heavy) four weeks ago, finishing in excess of 4L third to Out The Glen; is set to carry plenty of weight for such testing conditions.

Form: P364-63

Parlour Maid^p,t¹⁸

Age: 9| Weight: 11-13| J: R T Dunne| T: R G Hawker| OR: 101| C

16/1

Unbeaten in two previous visits to Lingfield Park (2m4f) - admittedly over fences; connections seek to exploit a more attractive hurdles mark (10lb lower) in a winnable contest; was soon struggling at Fontwell (2m6f, soft) on Boxing Day.

Form: 158-1U8

Levasseur^p1,t²³

Age: 6| Weight: 11-12| J: C Gethings| T: B I Case| OR: 100

14/1

Lightly raced under rules (2-4); well beaten (14L) when runner-up to Dundrum Wood at Market Rasen (2m2½f novices', soft) on his penultimate start; first-time cheekpieces accompany the tongue-tie.

Form: 229-726

Fizzlestix¹³

Age: 8| Weight: 11-10| J: Tom Cannon| T: C Gordon| OR: 98

3/1

5lb lower than when finishing a ½L second to Boss Mans Ladder at Stratford (3m2½f, good to soft) in April 2018; far from disgraced in either of his two recent runs (since return from an extended break); similar chance to Miss Molinari.

Form: 2132/65

Heavenly Promise³⁰

Age: 9| Weight: 11-5| J: C Brace⁽³⁾| T: F O'Brien| OR: 93

5/1

Won three on the bounce over fences during the autumn (Sedgefield, Uttoxeter and Ffos Las); is clearly effective over a range of trips (2m4f-3m); can she exploit a much more realistic hurdles mark (93)?

Form: 211126

Miss Molinari⁵⁶

Age: 6| Weight: 11-1| J: Paul O'Brien⁽³⁾| T: C E Longsdon| OR: 89

10/1

Lightly raced over hurdles (0-4); finished fifth (just in front of Fizzlestix) on handicap debut at Plumpton (3m1f, soft) in November; eased 2lb since; half-sister to a couple of winners.

Form: 5P-75

Avithos^b²⁷⁹

Age: 10| Weight: 10-12| J: Fergus Gillard⁽⁷⁾| T: Mark Gillard| OR: 86| D

16/1

Took advantage of an easing mark when scoring with relative ease in a Class 5 mares' handicap at Exeter (2m7f, soft) in March; runner-up next time; a further 2lb higher on her first start for 279 days.

Form: 36P813-

Mole Trap²⁵

Age: 9| Weight: 10-6| J: J E Moore| T: Nicky Martin| OR: 80

10/3

Broke her duck under rules when ploughing through the mud at Hereford (3m1½f, heavy) last month; that was a game effort in the circumstances on her first start since May 2018 (point); can't be discounted off a 5lb higher mark.

Form: PP2/1P-1

Bean Liath²⁵

Age: 9| Weight: 10-0| J: Shane Quinlan⁽⁵⁾| T: D L Williams| OR: 74

11/2

12-race rules maiden; soon on the back foot at the business end of the race at Hereford (3m1½f, heavy) last month when beaten well in excess of 40L by the reopposing Mole Trap; better to look elsewhere.

Form: 7U54-87

Forecasts

Fizzlestix (3/1), Mole Trap (10/3), Heavenly Promise (5/1), Bean Liath (11/2), Sergeant Brody (8/1), Miss Molinari (10/1), Levasseur (14/1), Avithos (16/1), Parlour Maid (16/1)

A divided Class 5 handicap hurdle in which plenty enter the reckoning. Miss Molinari is lightly raced and closely matched with the feasibly handicapped Fizzlestix on the basis of recent Plumpton form. Meanwhile, Heavenly Promise seeks to exploit a favourable hurdles mark after completing the hat-trick over fences at Ffos Las (3m) during the autumn. However, on such a demanding racing surface it's worth sticking with the surprising Hereford winner MOLE TRAP. She showed a most willing attitude at odds of 22-1, and despite a subsequent 5lb weights rise could well have more too offer in this discipline.