16:15 Newcastle

Friday 31 January 2020

All16:1516:4517:1517:4518:1518:4519:15

Betway Casino Handicap

Off time: 16:17 | Winning time: 2m 50.84s

(2)

Stamford Raffles⁶⁴

Age: 7| Weight: 9-9| J: George Rooke⁽⁷⁾| T: Jane Chapple-Hyam| OR: 87| C| D

25/1

Off the track since finishing last of eight to Universal Gleam at Lingfield (1m2f) in November; is eased in grade considerably from his last visit to Newcastle (the Northumberland Vase); is 2-3 over 2m here.

Form: 701558-

(6)

Battle Of Marathon¹³

Age: 8| Weight: 9-8| J: Darragh Keenan⁽³⁾| T: J Ryan| OR: 86| D

7/2

Has held his form admirably since early December (22212); was keeping on well when chasing home Petite Jack in a Class 2 handicap at Lingfield (1m4f) 13 days ago; holds a realistic chance from an untouched handicap mark of 86.

Form: 9222-12

(3)

Arabic Culture³⁴

Age: 6| Weight: 9-7| J: S H James| T: Grant Tuer| OR: 85| D

7/2

Consistent throughout the majority of 2019, thoroughly deserving to get his head in front at Wolverhampton (1m4f) on his penultimate start - beat Matewan by a nose; has finished on the shirt-tail of Battle Of Marathon since.

Form: 722213-

(4)

Jus Pires^t⁷²

Age: 6| Weight: 9-2| J: P Hanagan| T: D Carroll| OR: 80WS

16/1

Won twice for Jeremy Noseda as a 3yo, including on Polytrack at Kempton (1m-1m2f); moved on for £12,000 in August 2019; has produced varied efforts since joining Declan Carroll; first start since wind surgery.

Form: 268/205-

(5)

Matewan^p¹¹

Age: 5| Weight: 9-1| J: B A Curtis| T: Ian Williams| OR: 79| BF| D

1/1

Yet to win on the AW (0-5), finishing runner-up on every single start since being narrowly denied by Arabic Culture at Wolverhampton (1m4f) in early December; the handicapper is simply showing no mercy for that consistency.

Form: 6122-22

(7)

Trinity Star^v¹⁵

Age: 9| Weight: 8-7| J: Andrew Breslin⁽⁵⁾| T: Karen McLintock| OR: 68| D

18/1

Pontefract specialist; was always toiling on hurdles debut at Huntingdon; 33-1 runner-up to the emphatic winner Ice Pyramid (beaten at short odds since) over C&D 15 days ago; this race represents a sterner test (Class 4).

Form: 14797-2

(8)

Sulafaat^p¹⁰^{(ex 5)}

Age: 5| Weight: 8-7| J: Paula Muir⁽⁵⁾| T: R Menzies| OR: 63| CD

12/1

Has flourished over this C&D from September onwards, winning twice and finishing second on three occasions; carries a 5lb penalty for beating Champagne Rules by 3¾L (Cl 5) last week; Paula Muir takes over in the saddle from Russell Harris.

Form: 812-261

Non-Runners

(1)

Billy Ray²⁷

Weight: 9-5| Age: 5

T: S England J: D C Costello

Forecasts

Matewan (1/1), Arabic Culture (7/2), Battle Of Marathon (7/2), Sulafaat (12/1), Jus Pires (16/1), Trinity Star (18/1), Stamford Raffles (25/1), Billy Ray (25/1)

A competitive opener in which the flourishing C&D specialist Sulafaat sinks her teeth into much stronger opposition for the Sedgefield handler Rebecca Menzies. The form based trio of Arabic Culture, Matewan and BATTLE OF MARATHON are all closely matched on a plethora of interwoven form lines, but off the back of a particularly solid performance in a Class 2 handicap at Lingfield (1m4f) a fortnight ago the John Ryan-trained runner could offer the solution.