16:05 Worcester

Thursday 22 July 2021

All13:1513:4514:2014:5515:3016:0516:3517:05

Follow At The Races On Twitter Handicap Hurdle

Off time: 16:08 | Winning time: 4m 58.50s

Spanish Jump^t1¹³⁹

Age: 5| Weight: 12-1| J: G Sheehan| T: J & A O'Neill| OR: 107

5/1

Failed to improve on his handicap debut at Doncaster (19.4f) in March, but it's still early days for this 5-y-o and he's likely to do better at some point soon. Tongue strap applied.

Form: 6383-

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Minella Mojo^p²⁵

Age: 9| Weight: 11-8| J: David Noonan| T: C J Down| OR: 100| D

7/1

Just the one win to his name from 16 starts over hurdles, but the handicapper has shown mercy and he's an each-way player on the back of his latest effort at Uttoxeter. Yard also saddles Espressino.

Form: U504-64

Espressino^h,t¹¹

Age: 7| Weight: 11-5| J: Charlie Hammond| T: C J Down| OR: 97

5/2

Back to form of late, runner-up over this C&D prior to landing a conditional jockeys' race under Charlie Hammond at Stratford (18.7f). Escapes a penalty for that and he's the one to beat.

Form: U-6P821

Christopher Robin^p²³

Age: 6| Weight: 11-5| J: James Best| T: T R Gretton| OR: 97| D

20/1

On a good mark judged on pick of last year's form, but has failed to threaten in 2 starts for this yard since returning from a break in May.

Form: 424F-34

Gerboise Borget³²

Age: 6| Weight: 11-2| J: R P McLernon| T: B Pauling| OR: 94

20/1

Yet to trouble the judge, but ability is clearly there and she left the impression that moving back up to this trip would help when fourth in a 2m mares' novice here last month. Handicap debut.

Form: 4F-354

Veiled Secret^b,t³²

Age: 7| Weight: 11-1| J: T Scudamore| T: D Pipe| OR: 93| CD

5/1

Snapped a long losing run when getting on top close home over C&D on debut for new connections. 4 lb rise fair, but he's evidently no winning machine and is probably worth taking on this time.

Form: U2F-381

Megamegawhitething^t⁵²

Age: 6| Weight: 11-0| J: Page Fuller| T: Jamie Snowden| OR: 92WS

66/1

Failed to threaten both starts in points and hasn't shown much in a trio of outings in this sphere either. Has undergone wind surgery and improvement needed now upped in trip for this handicap debut.

Form: 35/5-59

Cut And Run^p²²

Age: 8| Weight: 10-13| J: S Bowen| T: M Keighley| OR: 91| D

5/1

More miss than hit since registering sole success in a mares' maiden at Bangor almost 2 years ago, and she's likely to come up short once more. Cheekpieces refitted.

Form: 9/88P-75

Ulysses^v¹⁷

Age: 7| Weight: 10-1| J: B S Hughes| T: D Shaw| OR: 79

10/1

Proved that he retains ability when just touched off at Uttoxeter (23.3f) in June, but his 2 subsequent efforts have lacked spark.

Form: 7-P7208

Tom O'Roughley¹⁷

Age: 6| Weight: 10-0| J: Jack Tudor⁽³⁾| T: A Ralph| OR: 72

16/1

Yet to trouble the judge in 5 starts over timber and it's hard to envisage him making an impact from 6 lb out of the handicap.

Form: 8/960-09

Non-Runners

Can You Believe It²⁰

Weight: 11-12| Age: 8

T: Nicky Martin J: Matt Griffiths

Akkapenko⁴⁹

Weight: 10-6| Age: 7

T: D Burchell J: Ben Jones

Eggesford⁶¹

Weight: 10-0| Age: 7

T: Mrs L J Young J: Mitchell Bastyan

Forecasts

Espressino (5/2), Spanish Jump (5/1), Veiled Secret (5/1), Cut And Run (5/1), Can You Believe It (6/1), Minella Mojo (7/1), Ulysses (10/1), Tom O'Roughley (16/1), Gerboise Borget (20/1), Christopher Robin (20/1), Akkapenko (25/1), Eggesford (50/1), Megamegawhitething (66/1)

ESPRESSINO is officially 6 lb 'well-in' following his decisive Stratford success 11 days ago and will take plenty of stopping if in a similar mood. Stablemate Minella Mojo is not without each-way hope, but the lightly-raced pair Spanish Jump and Gerboise Borget may provide the greatest resistance.