16:00 Plumpton

Monday 27 January 2020

All13:3014:0014:3015:0015:3016:00

Strong Flavours Catering Handicap Hurdle

Off time: 16:02 | Winning time: 4m 14.9s

Bard Of Brittany^p1¹⁶

Age: 6| Weight: 11-12| J: M Goldstein| T: Miss S West| OR: 97| BF

7/2

Likely to be given a patient ride once more, and has benefitted for the switch to this yard. Runs off the same mark that he finished fourth off at Warwick (2m; soft) last time and can be expected to go close once more.

Form: 96-3824

Scrutinise^p²²

Age: 8| Weight: 11-11| J: Page Fuller⁽³⁾| T: Miss Z C Davison| OR: 96| CD

5/1

Dual C&D winner before the turn of the year. However he is worse off at the weights with a few in here, and 4lb rise halted his progress when his hat-trick bid was foiled over C&D most recently.

Form: 70-3118

Outrath^b⁴²

Age: 10| Weight: 11-9| J: D A Jacob| T: J & S Best| OR: 94| D

7/1

Reopposes with Scrutinise on 4lb better terms after finishing second to that rival over C&D last time out. That was a fine effort considering his advancing years. Likely to be bang there again given how well he tends to run at this track.

Form: 273242

Hymn And A Prayer^h⁴²

Age: 7| Weight: 11-4| J: David Noonan| T: Mrs F M Shaw| OR: 89

7/1

Posted a respectable effort on seasonal return over C&D when fourth behind Scrutinise. 9lb better off with that rival, and likely to strip fitter so should reverse the form. Remains unexposed and a big run is expected.

Form: 70B5-P4

Legal Ok²⁰³

Age: 8| Weight: 11-3| J: Mr P York⁽⁵⁾| T: P York| OR: 88| BF

9/2

11-race maiden who has not ran over hurdles since October 2017 when pulled-up. Underwhelming the last twice, and his overall profile suggests he wants fast ground. Unlikely to get that, and has too much to prove to recommend him.

Form: 1-21244

Sadma²³

Age: 11| Weight: 11-2| J: Edward Austin⁽⁷⁾| T: N Lampard| OR: 87| BF| D

10/3

Vulnerable to improvers, but difficult to knock him when in such good form at the moment. Posted another consistent effort when third at Wincanton (1m7f; soft) last time. Mark remains unchanged and he is 9lb better off with Scrutinise. Solid chance.

Form: P-67123

Dream Baie^t³⁸⁶

Age: 7| Weight: 11-1| J: T J O'Brien| T: M Roberts| OR: 86

10/1

Hasn't ran for over a year, but did run well when last seen over C&D in a slightly higher grade. Could be well-handicapped off a 4lb lower mark, and interesting to see what the market has to say about this maiden.

Form: 30/6573-

Devious Dicks Dame^h⁴¹

Age: 5| Weight: 10-7| J: James Davies| T: Miss Z C Davison| OR: 78

66/1

Handicap newcomer who has really struggled in novice company up to now. Likely to find this easier, but incredibly difficult to make a case for given the lack of encouragement/ability she has shown so far.

Form: 99P4-08

Mrs Jack^t⁷⁰

Age: 6| Weight: 10-0| J: Brendan Powell| T: Mrs L C Jewell| OR: 70WS

50/1

Easy to rule out after being tailed-off in a seller over C&D when last seen in November. Has shown nothing to suggest she can figure to any notable degree in short career so far.

Form: 9P-0PP6

Non-Runners

Uae Soldier⁵⁴

Weight: 11-9| Age: 5

T: P Butler J: Rex Dingle

Chinwag²³

Weight: 11-2| Age: 5

T: N P Mulholland J: R T Dunne

Forecasts

Sadma (10/3), Bard Of Brittany (7/2), Legal Ok (9/2), Scrutinise (5/1), Hymn And A Prayer (7/1), Outrath (7/1), Chinwag (7/1), Dream Baie (10/1), Uae Soldier (25/1), Mrs Jack (50/1), Devious Dicks Dame (66/1)

A tricky contest to end proceedings, with the unexposed Chinwag one who should be towards the head of any shortlist. One who can't be ruled out is Bard Of Brittany given how well he has started life under his new trainer. Outrath loves it at this venue, and despite looking vulnerable for win purposes has excellent place claims, while Scrutinise is hard to enthuse over after he posted a below-par effort last time out. A tentative vote is given in favour of HYMN AND A PRAYER who is lightly raced and produced a promising return to action when fourth over C&D last month. He can build on that effort and record a first career success over hurdles.