18:55 Leicester

Tuesday 17 August 2021

All16:5517:2517:5518:2518:5519:25

Leicester Racecourse Ideal Conference Venue Handicap

Off time: 18:55 | Winning time: 1m 44.67s

(7)

Star Shield^p,t1¹⁶

Age: 6| Weight: 9-12| J: Jason Watson| T: D O'Meara| OR: 80| D

8/1

Creditable fifth of 12 in handicap at Thirsk (8f, good, 8/1) 16 days ago. Tongue strap on 1st time and cheekpieces refitted. Has edged down to an attractive mark and should be on the premises.

Form: 228025

(6)

Arqoob²⁵

Age: 3| Weight: 9-8| J: K Shoemark| T: W Jarvis| OR: 82| D

5/2

Winner at Yarmouth in June. Hooded for 1st time, third of 5 in handicap (11/2) at Newmarket (8f, good to firm) 25 days ago. Eased slightly in grade here and a bold show could be on the way.

Form: 5-71453

(9)

Urban War^v¹³

Age: 3| Weight: 9-8| J: Hollie Doyle| T: Miss A Murphy| OR: 82| D

3/1

Creditable second of 11 in handicap (9/2) at Brighton (8f, good) 13 days ago, not much room. Not without each-way hope, but current mark leaves little margin for error.

Form: 402922

(1)

Zuhair¹⁴

Age: 3| Weight: 9-8| J: Jim Crowley| T: M P Tregoning| OR: 82| D

3/1

Promising type. Won 5-runner minor event at Ffos Las (7.4f, firm, 8/11) 14 days ago, plenty in hand. Looks potentially useful and he's every inch an appealing candidate for this handicap debut.

Form: 0-11

(5)

Fast Medicine³⁴

Age: 3| Weight: 9-6| J: Cameron Noble⁽³⁾| T: P W Chapple-Hyam| OR: 80

9/1

Winner at Chelmsford City in June. Good second of 8 in handicap (7/1) at Catterick (7f, good) 34 days ago. Quickly building up a consistent profile and should give another good account.

Form: 8-52212

(8)

Wild Hope^b²⁹

Age: 5| Weight: 9-3| J: Shane Gray| T: K A Ryan| OR: 71| D

25/1

Twelve runs since last win in 2020. Last of 10 in handicap (11/1) at Ayr (8f, good to firm) 29 days ago, slowly away. Blinkers back on and he's opposable on balance.

Form: 369470

(3)

Light Up Our Stars^h²⁷

Age: 5| Weight: 9-1| J: Tom Marquand| T: A W Carroll| OR: 69| D

25/1

33/1, sixth of 7 in handicap at Sandown (8f, good to firm) 27 days ago. Hood back on. This 5-y-o needs to bounce back.

Form: 5-76936

(4)

Katie's Kitten^b¹¹

Age: 3| Weight: 8-12| J: Theodore Ladd⁽³⁾| T: M Appleby| OR: 72| CD

16/1

Three-time C&D winner. 3 wins from 11 runs this year, the latest here in July. Below form third of 6 in handicap at Brighton (7f, good to soft, 3/1) 11 days ago. Needs a couple of these to falter.

Form: 561813

(10)

Destroyer^p²⁴

Age: 8| Weight: 8-7| J: Josephine Gordon| T: T P Tate| OR: 58| CD

33/1

C&D winner. Sixth of 9 in handicap at Newmarket (8f, good to firm, 18/1) 24 days ago, not clear run. Can give a good account without posing serious threat to principals. 3 lb 'wrong' at the weights.

Form: 10279-6

Non-Runners

(2)

Yorkshire Pirlo⁸

Weight: 9-1| Age: 3

T: Darryll Holland J: Non Runner

Forecasts

Arqoob (5/2), Urban War (3/1), Zuhair (3/1), Star Shield (8/1), Fast Medicine (9/1), Yorkshire Pirlo (14/1), Katie's Kitten (16/1), Light Up Our Stars (25/1), Wild Hope (25/1), Destroyer (33/1)

The most interesting of these by some way is the unexposed ZUHAIR, who has left his 2-y-o debut form a long way behind with back-to-back wins this season and he almost certainly has more to offer now making the switch to handicap company. Arqoob is eased slightly in grade here and is next on the shortlist, while Star Shield is third choice and Fast Medicine shouldn't be far away either.