19:15 Newcastle

Friday 31 January 2020

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

Heed Your Hunch At Betway Handicap

Off time: 19:18 | Winning time: 1m 13.48s

(5)

Amelia R⁵³

Age: 4| Weight: 9-12| J: D C Costello| T: R Craggs| OR: 50| D

22/1

Has shown little worthwhile form since winning by 6L at Nottingham (6f, good) last summer; soon weakened when finishing last of 14 to Billy Wedge here (7f) eight weeks ago; risky.

Form: 755880-

(6)

Sharrabang¹²

Age: 4| Weight: 9-12| J: Cam Hardie| T: Mrs Stella Barclay| OR: 50| D

12/1

Wolverhampton regular, 2-1f when a neck winner of a 6f (Cl 6) classified stakes there in October 2019; third (Blackcurrent second) in this grade (Cl 7) over an inadequate 5f 12 days ago; could be involved.

Form: 4160-03

(4)

Star Cracker^p¹⁵

Age: 8| Weight: 9-11| J: Phil Dennis| T: J S Goldie| OR: 49| CD

13/2

Made all, bravely repelling his challengers to score by a short-head over C&D (Class 6) a fortnight ago; 3lb higher; isn't entirely reliable but often saves his best for Newcastle; must enter the reckoning at this level (Cl 7).

Form: 75729-1

(2)

Blackcurrent¹²

Age: 4| Weight: 9-11| J: D Nolan| T: A D Brown| OR: 49| BF

6/1

13-race maiden who continues to knock firmly at the door; just held when beaten a neck by Red Allure (Sharrabang third) at Wolverhampton (5f) 12 days ago; is expected to be there or thereabouts.

Form: 6235-32

(8)

Dodgy Bob^v¹⁸

Age: 7| Weight: 9-10| J: T Eaves| T: M Mullineaux| OR: 48| C| D

12/1

His sole AW win (from 26 starts) came when scoring at odds of 50-1 over 7f here in mid-December (Amood a close third); has competed elsewhere since - Wolverhampton & Southwell.

Form: 781-505

(1)

Hop Maddocks^v²⁰⁴

Age: 5| Weight: 9-10| J: S A Gray| T: F Watson| OR: 48

100/1

Ten-race maiden; has failed to beat a single rival in his last three starts on turf (all over 6f); has plunged in the weights as a result; very difficult to fancy on first competitive start for 204 days.

Form: 066/009-

(9)

Saltie Girl¹⁰

Age: 4| Weight: 9-9| J: P J McDonald| T: T D Barron| OR: 47

11/1

Ten-race maiden; finished sixth of 11 to Bobby Joe Leg (beaten in excess of 2L) off a career-low mark here (7f) latest; hardly appeals as a ready-made future winner but this is a porous contest.

Form: 7056-76

(13)

Poppy May¹⁶

Age: 6| Weight: 9-9| J: B A Curtis| T: J G Given| OR: 47| D

7/1

Twice successful in the past in low-grade handicaps (from a similar mark) at Chelmsford (6f); merely plugged on to be third in a Class 6 Wolverhampton selling handicap (6f) 16 days ago.

Form: 8783-93

(3)

Jacob's Pillow^p¹⁶

Age: 9| Weight: 9-7| J: Callum Rodriguez| T: Rebecca Bastiman| OR: 45| D

22/1

Hasn't won since July 2018 (5f, Beverley) and is arguably more effective on turf than the AW; finished last of 12 in a Class 6 Wolverhampton selling handicap (6f) 16 days ago.

Form: 2350-50

(11)

Amood^b¹⁰

Age: 9| Weight: 9-7| J: A Mullen| T: S G West| OR: 45| C

15/2

On the premises (third) behind the reopposing Dodgy Bob over 7f here three starts back; travelled smoothly, but didn't find much off the bridle when finishing seventh to Bobby Joe Leg latest; first attempt over 6f since June 2018.

Form: 0473-67

(7)

Someone Exciting¹⁵

Age: 7| Weight: 9-7| J: Harrison Shaw⁽³⁾| T: D Thompson| OR: 45| D

12/1

In the doldrums since winning at Catterick (6f, good) in August 2019; brought her record on the AW to 0-16 when finishing a keeping on sixth to Star Cracker over C&D a fortnight ago.

Form: 8497-96

(10)

Sea Ewe¹⁵

Age: 3| Weight: 8-10| J: Andrew Breslin⁽⁵⁾| T: A C Whillans| OR: 50

80/1

Soon weakened when finishing last of seven (100-1) on handicap debut here (7f) a fortnight ago; this race is two grades lower and it's only her fifth career start, but it's difficult to identify too many other positive angles.

Form: 950-7

(12)

Chocoholic³³

Age: 3| Weight: 8-8| J: G Lee| T: B Smart| OR: 48

6/1

Pacy nine-race maiden; hasn't been entirely disgraced on the AW (Southwell & Newcastle) but seemingly isn't blessed with a massive amount of talent either; having the ability to see out his races better would offer a building block for the future.

Form: 898534-

(14)

Mr Kodi¹⁴

Age: 3| Weight: 8-6| J: Laura Pearson⁽⁷⁾| T: P D Evans| OR: 46

17/2

11-race maiden; has plummeted in the weights since August 2019 (some 15lb or so); the Monmouth based trainer Dave Evans is 3-51 (6%) on the AW at Newcastle; better to look elsewhere.

Form: 06476-4

Forecasts

Blackcurrent (6/1), Chocoholic (6/1), Star Cracker (13/2), Poppy May (7/1), Amood (15/2), Mr Kodi (17/2), Saltie Girl (11/1), Sharrabang (12/1), Someone Exciting (12/1), Dodgy Bob (12/1), Amelia R (22/1), Jacob's Pillow (22/1), Sea Ewe (80/1), Hop Maddocks (100/1)

A porous looking finale (Class 7). It's a major challenge seeking to identify a horse who could step forward in terms of form, so the logical approach is to stick with what we already know. Star Cracker tends to save his better efforts for Newcastle and bravely repelled all challengers from the front-end over C&D a fortnight ago, while Blackcurrent continues to threaten to find a winning opportunity. However, over an additional furlong it's entirely possible that Stella Barclay's Wolverhampton regular SHARRABANG can reverse recent placings with that aforementioned rival.

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