16:35 Chepstow

Friday 4 February 2022

All13:2013:5514:2515:0015:3016:0016:35

Cazoo Open NH Flat Race (GBB Race)

Off time: 16:35 | Winning time: 4m 14.4s

Blue Hop⁵⁰

Age: 5| Weight: 11-9| J: Thomas Doggrell⁽⁷⁾| T: T R George| D

12/1

£80,000. Dam unraced half-sister to bumper winner/smart hurdler (stays 3m) Younevercall out of fairly useful 17f-3m hurdle winner Afarka. Decisive winner on debut at Ffos Las in December.

Form: 1

Rockinastorm⁵⁶

Age: 5| Weight: 11-9| J: T J O'Brien| T: H D Daly

11/4

Clearly derived plenty from debut when landing 11-runner bumper at Bangor (16.7f, heavy, 7/1) 56 days ago, forging clear.

Form: 61

Etalon

Age: 5| Weight: 11-2| J: Harry Skelton| T: D SkeltonWS

10/1

£60,000 3-y-o, Sholokhov gelding. Half-brother to fairly useful hurdler Prince Escalus. Dam unraced half-sister to fairly useful hurdler/useful chaser (stays 29f) Henllan Harri. Has had a wind op.

Form:

Jubilee Express⁴⁰

Age: 5| Weight: 11-2| J: T Scudamore| T: S Thomas

9/1

Promising start when fifth of 14 in bumper at Huntingdon (15.8f, heavy) on debut 40 days ago.

Form: 5

Makin'yourmindup²⁷¹

Age: 5| Weight: 11-2| J: H Cobden| T: P F Nicholls

9/1

£60,000 4-y-o, fifth foal, dam, lightly raced on Flat, half-sister to dam of smart hurdler/chaser (stayed 21f) Blackstairmountain. Third sole start in Irish points (May 2021).

Form: 3

Master Chewy⁹⁰

Age: 5| Weight: 11-2| J: Sam Twiston-Davies| T: N & W Twiston-Davies

5/1

£300,000 4-y-o, Walk In The Park gelding. Dam, lightly raced in bumpers/ran once over hurdles, sister to bumper winner/fairly useful hurdler Sometime Soon. Third sole start in Irish points.

Form: 3

Sonnemoser⁶²

Age: 5| Weight: 11-2| J: Adam Wedge| T: Evan Williams

9/2

Promising sort. Fourth of 14 in bumper at this C&D (good to soft, 25/1) on debut 62 days ago, unable to sustain effort. Should last longer this time.

Form: 4

Sporting Ace³⁹

Age: 6| Weight: 11-2| J: J M Quinlan| T: N B King

11/2

Runner-up sole start in Irish points and offered something to work on when fifth in a Newbury bumper in November. Matched that form when runner-up to a useful prospect at Wetherby. Sets standard.

Form: 2-52

Sporting Mike⁸⁹

Age: 5| Weight: 11-2| J: Kielan Woods| T: B Pauling

11/1

€19,000 3-y-o, £65,000 4-y-o, Walk In The Park gelding. Dam unraced half-sister to smart hurdler In Contrast and fairly useful hurdler/useful chaser Templer. Off mark in Irish points in November.

Form: 4-1

Testflight

Age: 5| Weight: 11-2| J: Lucy Gardner| T: Mrs S Gardner

80/1

£7,000 3-y-o, £5,500 4-y-o, Kayf Tara gelding. Brother to fair hurdler/fairly useful chaser Return Flight, stays 3m.

Form:

Non-Runners

I Am Rocco

Weight: 11-2| Age: 5

T: N J Henderson J: N de Boinville

King's Threshold³⁵

Weight: 11-2| Age: 5

T: Miss E C Lavelle J: Thomas Bellamy

Copperkin³⁴

Weight: 10-4| Age: 4

T: B R Millman J: David Noonan

Forecasts

Rockinastorm (11/4), Sonnemoser (9/2), Master Chewy (5/1), I Am Rocco (5/1), Sporting Ace (11/2), Makin'yourmindup (9/1), Jubilee Express (9/1), Etalon (10/1), Sporting Mike (11/1), Blue Hop (12/1), King's Threshold (14/1), Copperkin (50/1), Testflight (80/1)

Plenty of depth to this bumper but I AM ROCCO is from a successful family and represents a yard with few peers if any when it comes to readying a newcomer. He gets the vote with Sporting Ace and Rockinastorm just about the pick of those with Rules experience, while Master Chewy has a £300,000 price tag to uphold.