15:15 Kelso

Saturday 5 March 2022

All13:0013:3214:0514:4015:1515:4316:25

bet365 Morebattle Hurdle (Handicap) (GBB Race)

Off time: 15:16 | Winning time: 3m 56.50s

Buveur D'Air³³¹

Age: 11| Weight: 11-12| J: N de Boinville| T: N J Henderson| OR: 153| D

9/1

Dual Champion Hurdle winner. Very lightly raced in recent years but Grade 1 fourth last April shows he's still very smart. Off since but no shock were he still classy enough to give the weight away.

Form: F212/24-

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Autumn Evening²⁷

Age: 5| Weight: 11-6| J: Sean O'Keeffe| T: Mrs J Harrington| OR: 147| D

5/1

Dual hurdle winner this season who ran a cracker when third of 27 in a Leopardstown handicap at the Dublin Racing Festival. This Irish raider merits plenty of respect.

Form: 3-1F813

Metier^t⁴³

Age: 6| Weight: 11-5| J: S Bowen| T: H Fry| OR: 146| D

3/1

Won Grade 1 Tolworth as a novice and got career back on track when landing a valuable Lingfield handicap (2m, soft) in January. Goes very well in mud so chance boosted if rain arrives.

Form: 117-P41

Faivoir¹⁴

Age: 7| Weight: 11-2| J: Harry Skelton| T: D Skelton| OR: 143| D

12/1

Very useful hurdler who quickly matched that form over fences this term, winning twice. Stiff task in Wincanton Grade 2 back hurdling latest and this more realistic.

Form: 141223

Saint D'Oroux^t³⁰

Age: 6| Weight: 10-11| J: Ben Bromley⁽⁷⁾| T: S R B Crawford| OR: 138| C| D

10/1

Weak in betting but it didn't stop him making winning start for new yard over 21f here last month. 3 lb higher in stronger race now but he's held his own in competitive handicaps before. Fine at 2m.

Form: 32300-1

Voix Du Reve^p³⁰

Age: 10| Weight: 10-8| J: Alan Doyle⁽⁷⁾| T: I Jardine| OR: 135| D

14/1

Smart at best and, having been given chance by the handicapper, he's shown he retains plenty of ability when placed on his latest 2 outings (2½ lengths third to Saint d'Oroux over 21f here latterly).

Form: 30-7643

Cormier³⁵

Age: 6| Weight: 10-7| J: Sean Quinlan| T: B Ellison| OR: 134| D

8/1

Dual winner on Flat last year and notched a first handicap success over hurdles when seeing off 11 rivals at Cheltenham in January. Ought to remain very competitive after a 4 lb rise.

Form: 70-2401

Balko Saint¹²⁶

Age: 5| Weight: 10-6| J: Chester Williams⁽³⁾| T: Mrs J Williams| OR: 133| D

9/1

Third hurdle success when winning a small-field Kempton listed novice in October. Well held at a similar level over fences in France since but much better can be expected back hurdling.

Form: 10-1715

Some Reign¹²⁶

Age: 11| Weight: 10-5| J: Craig Nichol| T: R Dobbin| OR: 132| CD

50/1

Better than ever when landing a third chase success in 2m Musselburgh handicap when last seen in October. C&D winner but that was a maiden in 2017. Hard to assess back hurdling.

Form: 2515-31

Severance³⁵

Age: 6| Weight: 10-0| J: B S Hughes| T: B Pauling| OR: 125

13/2

Useful on Flat and made winning debut over hurdles in November 2020. Hasn't kicked on from that but ran well back around 2m when chasing home Cormier at Cheltenham latest. 2 lb out of handicap.

Form: 153-942

Thereisnodoubt^h¹²

Age: 9| Weight: 10-0| J: D R Fox| T: Miss Lucinda V Russell| OR: 123| D

28/1

Pair of good runner-up efforts around 19f since joining this stable but has to race from 4 lb out of the handicap on this occasion and he'll need a career best to resume winning ways.

Form: 5-U0722

Non-Runners

Alqamar¹⁴³

Weight: 10-5| Age: 8

T: James Moffatt J: Non Runner

Forecasts

Metier (3/1), Autumn Evening (5/1), Severance (13/2), Cormier (8/1), Buveur D'Air (9/1), Balko Saint (9/1), Saint D'Oroux (10/1), Faivoir (12/1), Voix Du Reve (14/1), Alqamar (16/1), Thereisnodoubt (28/1), Some Reign (50/1)

BALKO SAINT has done very little wrong over hurdles and his mark looks manageable based on his Kempton listed win in the autumn so he might be worth siding with to bounce back from a lesser run over fences in France since. Cormier and Irish-raider Autumn Evening are put up as the main threats, although Metier would also be a major player if the ground went soft.