15:20 Sedgefield

Thursday 11 November 2021

All12:3713:1213:4714:1714:4715:2015:50

Sprayclad Handicap Chase

Off time: 15:22 | Winning time: 7m 10.22s

Diamond Brig^v1²⁷

Age: 9| Weight: 12-4| J: Ben Godfrey⁽⁵⁾| T: Henry Oliver| OR: 102

9/2

Fair handicap chaser who returned to action with a lacklustre display at Uttoxeter but now drops in grade with a handy conditional on board, so warrants respect.

Form: P73-434

Celestial Sky¹⁷

Age: 5| Weight: 11-12| J: B S Hughes| T: R Menzies| OR: 96

15/8

Lightly-raced 5-y-o who upped his game when a strong-travelling second in handicap hurdle at Ayr 17 days ago. Bred to make a chaser, so he's an obvious player in a moderate event.

Form: 0P-3372

Whitechurch¹⁰

Age: 7| Weight: 11-5| J: Theo Gillard⁽⁵⁾| T: D McCain Jnr| OR: 89

16/1

Has an uninspiring record over hurdles but he's a winning pointer, so there's at least some hope for a bigger effort now handicap chasing for the first time.

Form: 4/765-0U

Regaby^p,t²⁴

Age: 6| Weight: 10-12| J: C J Todd⁽³⁾| T: Ian Williams| OR: 82

5/1

Gained his breakthrough win over fences at Hexham in August and got right back on track when second of 5 at Plumpton 24 days ago, albeit not jumping with fluency. Hard to know if he'll back it up.

Form: 5U1P62

Supreme Steel^b⁶

Age: 10| Weight: 10-11| J: Aaron Anderson⁽⁵⁾| T: M E Sowersby| OR: 81

9/1

Veteran who capitalised on a much-reduced mark at Hexham in October and was shaping well prior to falling next time. Latest effort at that track was underwhelming, though.

Form: U561F5

Angel's Envy^t,v¹¹

Age: 9| Weight: 10-3| J: Adam Wedge| T: L Morgan| OR: 73

12/1

Long-standing maiden who has returned out of sorts, so hard to make a compelling case for.

Form: 4836/67

Scorpo^b⁸

Age: 10| Weight: 10-3| J: Thomas Dowson| T: V Thompson| OR: 73| C

40/1

Pulled up on both outings since a fortunate success at this track. Set for another struggle.

Form: 7871P-P

Elixer²⁵

Age: 8| Weight: 10-3| J: Craig Nichol| T: F P Murtagh| OR: 73

11/2

Long-standing maiden who has hit the frame the last twice but is hard to back for win purposes given his weak finishing tendencies.

Form: 566534

Strategic^b,t1⁶

Age: 6| Weight: 10-0| J: Peter Kavanagh⁽⁷⁾| T: M E Sowersby| OR: 66

25/1

Limited hurdler/chaser. Likely to struggle from out of the weights.

Form: 6P8P36

Forecasts

Celestial Sky (15/8), Diamond Brig (9/2), Regaby (5/1), Elixer (11/2), Supreme Steel (9/1), Angel's Envy (12/1), Whitechurch (16/1), Strategic (25/1), Scorpo (40/1)

CELESTIAL SKY is by far the least exposed and there's a good chance that a switch to chasing will bring further improvement out of him, so he gets the nod ahead of Regaby, who ran well at Plumpton but isn't the easiest to rely upon. Diamond Brig is well treated and down in grade, so he's another to consider.