20:00 Kempton

Wednesday 12 February 2020

All17:0017:3018:0018:3019:0019:3020:0020:30

Join Racing TV Now Handicap (Div 1)

Off time: 20:02 | Winning time: 1m 26.08s

(5)

True Belief^h¹³

Age: 4| Weight: 9-9| J: J Mitchell| T: B R Johnson| OR: 67

11/4

Hasn't finished out of the first three in any of his last five starts, and has gone extremely close in defeat on four of those occasions. With that in mind, his record of 0-9 on the AW shouldn't be taken too seriously.

Form: 91233-3

(8)

Classic Star¹³

Age: 4| Weight: 9-8| J: Sophie Ralston⁽⁵⁾| T: D K Ivory| OR: 66| D

5/1

Ran better than his finishing position would suggest when he enjoyed a luckless passage in his quest to follow-up penultimate success at Chelmsford (7f; standard). Must be given another chance, and is high on the shortlist.

Form: 2645-15

(11)

Onebaba^b³³

Age: 4| Weight: 9-7| J: Elisha Whittington⁽⁷⁾| T: A W Carroll| OR: 65

16/1

12-race maiden who was seemingly getting the hang of things prior to Christmas. However, he has gone off the boil the last thrice including when failing to even make the frame in a seller at Wolverhampton (1m; standard) last time.

Form: 6229-75

(9)

Johnny Reb^b¹⁵

Age: 4| Weight: 9-7| J: Daniel Muscutt| T: J Ferguson| OR: 65

10/1

0-8. Continuing to post quiet efforts in defeat, and has been dropped another 3lbs for finishing sixth of nine at Southwell (6f; standard) last month. Yard/jockey combo in flying form, but he would be an unlikely winner.

Form: 2905-56

(10)

Para Mio^t⁷

Age: 5| Weight: 9-6| J: T P Queally| T: S Durack| OR: 64

10/1

Bumped into an impressive winner when runner-up at Southwell (6f; standard). That was still a step back in the right direction, and the handicapper has left him on the same mark. Definite chance despite modest overall strike-rate.

Form: 94-5662

(1)

The Establishment^h,t⁴⁰

Age: 5| Weight: 9-4| J: A Kirby| T: J Butler| OR: 62

8/1

Showed much more encouraging signs when a close-up third at Wolverhampton (7f; standard) last month. Major chance off an unchanged mark if able to build on that effort, which was a clear improvement on his recent showings.

Form: 89900-3

(3)

Derry Boy^b1⁶²

Age: 4| Weight: 9-4| J: C Lee| T: P D Evans| OR: 62WS

16/1

Had wind surgery since being pulled-up at Warwick (2m; soft) over hurdles in December. 0-10 under this code, and he would need to step up marginally on the form he showed in defeat when fifth at Wolverhampton (1m1f; standard) to feature.

Form: 205795-

(2)

Phoenix Star^h,t¹³

Age: 4| Weight: 9-3| J: B A Curtis| T: S C Williams| OR: 61| BF| C

3/1

Won at this track over 6f back in November. In consistent form since then. Ran better than his finishing position would suggest last time when he was short of room at a crucial stage of the race.

Form: 413-527

(7)

Misu Pete²³

Age: 8| Weight: 8-13| J: Isobel Francis⁽⁷⁾| T: M D I Usher| OR: 57| C| D

25/1

Showed more encouraging signs when third at a big price (80-1) at Wolverhampton (1m; standard). Now just 1lb above his last winning mark, and this previous course winner would be foolish to fully dismiss.

Form: 24097-3

(6)

Lambristo^b²⁵

Age: 4| Weight: 8-2| J: K T O'Neill| T: J S Moore| OR: 45

66/1

Never posed any threat when beating just the one rival in a 13-runner affair on his handicap debut at Lingfield (1m2f; standard). Four career runs in his short career so far have yielded next to nothing. Best watched.

Form: 066-0

Non-Runners

(4)

Griggy¹⁹

Weight: 9-7| Age: 4

T: S Curran J: Non Runner

Forecasts

True Belief (11/4), Phoenix Star (3/1), Griggy (7/2), Classic Star (5/1), The Establishment (8/1), Johnny Reb (10/1), Para Mio (10/1), Onebaba (16/1), Derry Boy (16/1), Misu Pete (25/1), Lambristo (66/1)

It is difficult to rule out a few of these including the obvious ones like Griggy who won in pretty decisive fashion most recently, but is yet to score off a mark as high as this. Misu Pete and Para Mio hinted at a return to form last time out, but so did THE ESTABLISHMENT. His mark has dropped 8lb below his last winning one and he is fancied to build upon his best effort for some time which was a close-up third on the AW last month. If enduring a trouble-free passage (constantly denied a clear run last time out), Classic Star should be greatly feared. True Belief is a solid place contender once again too given his solid run of consistency in defeat.