18:00 Wolverhampton

Friday 6 March 2020

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

Bombardier British Hopped Amber Beer Handicap (Div 1)

Off time: 18:00 | Winning time: 1m 27.57s

(1)

Derry Boy^b¹⁸

Age: 4| Weight: 9-7| J: Rossa Ryan| T: P D Evans| OR: 60

5/1

13-race maiden; has fallen to a career low handicap mark since finishing 2¾L third to Ubla at Kempton (7f) 18 days ago; handily drawn and could be competitive.

Form: 5795-63

(5)

Zebulon²⁰

Age: 6| Weight: 9-7| J: J P Sullivan| T: Mrs R Carr| OR: 60

17/2

Has shown his strongest AW form at Newcastle (8152253); firmly in the mix (third) off this mark over 6f there three weeks ago; first start over 7f since September 2018.

Form: 022-653

(7)

Latent Heat⁹

Age: 4| Weight: 9-6| J: B A Curtis| T: A W Carroll| OR: 59

10/3

Slowly away and met trouble in-running when finishing a close fourth to Reasoned over C&D in December; now rated 2lb lower following a couple of less productive efforts elsewhere (including at Southwell); trainer is flying.

Form: 7904-07

(4)

Robsdelight^v¹⁵

Age: 5| Weight: 9-6| J: Toby Eley⁽⁵⁾| T: Miss Gay Kelleway| OR: 59| D

20/1

Scrambled home by a nose at Southwell (6f) in January, but well held on both subsequent starts; clearly capable in this grade, yet isn't necessarily the most consistent.

Form: 6-02167

(8)

Street Poet^p,t1²⁹

Age: 7| Weight: 9-6| J: T Eaves| T: M Herrington| OR: 59| CD

5/1

Has kept poor form since landing a four-timer here (7f-1m1½) last summer; showed pace until weakening from the furlong pole at Newcastle (1m) four weeks ago; it's relevant to acknowledge the application of a tongue-tie from an easing mark.

Form: 700-009

(6)

Kentucky Kingdom⁷⁸

Age: 4| Weight: 9-5| J: D C Costello| T: H J Evans| OR: 58WS

20/1

Maiden (0-8); left William Haggas for 17,000gns in July; mixed messages since joining James Evans, finished second to Sherpa Trail in a C&D novice in December; resides on a fair mark with the assumption that wind surgery has proved beneficial.

Form: 345027-

(9)

All Right¹⁴

Age: 4| Weight: 9-4| J: L Morris| T: D P Quinn| OR: 57

66/1

Kept reasonably solid form (at Class 6 level) on turf last summer, winning over 1m1f at Yarmouth (good to firm); joined Denis Quinn for a mere 1,700gns in December 2019.

Form: 42129-6

(11)

Deconso²⁸

Age: 4| Weight: 9-4| J: F Norton| T: C N Kellett| OR: 57| CD

16/1

Three-time course winner, including over this trip in August 2019 (eased near the finish to score by 3½L); thought likely to have drawn some benefit from a comeback run at Southwell four weeks ago.

Form: 54317-8

(2)

Ishebayorgrey^h²¹

Age: 8| Weight: 9-0| J: P Mulrennan| T: I Jardine| OR: 53| CD

6/1

Consistent last summer, although he did prove fairly difficult to win with and it was an ongoing challenge to pin-point his optimum trip; beat Brockey Rise by a neck in a C&D classified stakes in November.

Form: 4144-77

(3)

King Citric⁴⁷

Age: 5| Weight: 8-10| J: Hollie Doyle| T: D M Loughnane| OR: 49

13/2

Without a win in seven starts in Ireland for Fergal Birrane (competed over a range of trips, 5f-1m4f); raced prominently until weakening from the furlong pole in a C&D novice (fourth) on debut for Mark Loughnane; this looks a more suitable target.

Form: 09600-4

(12)

Hanati^p,t⁴²

Age: 4| Weight: 8-8| J: Ben Robinson| T: B Ellison| OR: 47| C

25/1

Course winner (5f); rediscovered her form on just her second start over 7f when caught close home (50-1) by Bell Heather here six weeks ago; drawn wide today and far from certain to follow-up such an improved effort.

Form: 500-882

Non-Runners

(10)

Amelia R³⁵

Weight: 8-12| Age: 4

T: R Craggs J: Paula Muir

Forecasts

Latent Heat (10/3), Street Poet (5/1), Derry Boy (5/1), Amelia R (5/1), Ishebayorgrey (6/1), King Citric (13/2), Zebulon (17/2), Deconso (16/1), Robsdelight (20/1), Kentucky Kingdom (20/1), Hanati (25/1), All Right (66/1)

A low-grade contest in which consistency isn't a word which immediately springs to mind. Therefore, while respecting some of the more 'in-form' horses, namely Hanati (moderately drawn), Amelia R (stamina doubts), Zebulon (best AW form at Newcastle) we can elect to chance our arm elsewhere at more rewarding odds. Tony Carroll has his horses in fine fettle, so it would be foolish to dismiss Latent Heat while Street Poet is a six-time course winner who may benefit from the application of a tongue-tie. However, we'll roll the dice and trust that recent wind surgery can show the James Evans-trained KENTUCKY KINGDOM in a more favourable light.