15:25 Downpatrick

Sunday 2 April 2023

All13:4014:1514:5015:2516:0016:3517:10

Toals Bookmakers Mares Handicap Hurdle (80-116)

Off time: 15:25 | Winning time: 4m 55.90s

Bella Bliss^t¹⁶

Age: 6| Weight: 12-0| J: Brian Hayes| T: J C McConnell| OR: 116

12/1

Brought down in handicap hurdle (28/1) at Down Royal (20f, heavy) 16 days ago.

Form: 4211UB

Return To Base^p1¹⁵⁴

Age: 8| Weight: 11-10| J: Aidan Kelly⁽⁷⁾| T: G Elliott| OR: 112

14/1

22/1, creditable third of 6 in minor event hurdle at Wexford (20.7f, heavy) 154 days ago. Stable in good form. Cheekpieces on 1st time. Not easy to make a case for.

Form: 8/15P43

Harvest Bow¹²³

Age: 7| Weight: 11-3| J: Keith Donoghue| T: H D McGuigan| OR: 105

40/1

100/1, eighth of 14 in handicap at Dundalk (16f), not knocked about. Switches from Flat to hurdles. First run for yard after leaving C. Moore. Poor on last hurdle run.

Form: 5370/P-0

Soldaro^t³¹

Age: 5| Weight: 11-2| J: Sean Flanagan| T: G P Cromwell| OR: 104

7/1

Didn't need to improve to win 10-runner novice hurdle at Clonmel (16f, soft, 5/4) 31 days ago, quickening clear. Makes handicap hurdle debut. Should progress.

Form: 065841

Queenie Newall³⁹¹

Age: 5| Weight: 10-12| J: L P Dempsey| T: G P Cromwell| OR: 100

22/1

Lightly-raced maiden over hurdles. Fair winner at 10f on flat. Third of 18 in handicap hurdle at Leopardstown (16f, good to soft, 18/1). Off 13 months. Open to progress.

Form: 00063-

Parvos²⁸

Age: 6| Weight: 10-9| J: M J M O'Sullivan⁽⁵⁾| T: Michael C Griffin| OR: 97| BF

3/1

11/10, respectable third of 12 in novice hurdle at Wexford (16f, good to soft) 28 days ago. Can make presence felt.

Form: 4/7-7F53

Park Hind^p,t³¹

Age: 6| Weight: 10-7| J: C D Maxwell| T: Ian Donoghue| OR: 95

5/1

Remains a maiden after 17 NH runs. Respectable seventh of 16 in handicap hurdle at Clonmel (16f, soft, 13/2) 31 days ago. Tongue strap back on. Enters calculations.

Form: 805567

Circus Act³⁰

Age: 4| Weight: 10-6| J: Gavin Brouder⁽⁵⁾| T: J Nash| OR: 102| BF

9/2

Winner in hurdle at Hereford in February. Second of 4 in novice hurdle (4/5) at Doncaster (16.6f, good) 30 days ago. Has to be taken seriously.

Form: 633312

Glen Na Tara²⁸

Age: 5| Weight: 10-6| J: P J O'Hanlon⁽⁵⁾| T: P J Rothwell| OR: 94

6/1

Creditable fifth of 15 in handicap hurdle at Leopardstown (20f, good, 40/1) 28 days ago.

Form: 384795

Maimie's Magic⁹

Age: 6| Weight: 10-6| J: J J Slevin| T: S R B Crawford| OR: 94

7/1

Bit below form sixth of 11 in handicap hurdle at Musselburgh (19.8f, good to soft, 5/1) 9 days ago.

Form: 005116

Non-Runners

Country Queen²⁸

Weight: 11-9| Age: 6

T: G Elliott J: Nathan Andrews

Jenny Flex¹¹⁷

Weight: 10-4| Age: 6

T: G Elliott J: Danny Gilligan

Forecasts

Parvos (3/1), Circus Act (9/2), Park Hind (5/1), Glen Na Tara (6/1), Soldaro (7/1), Maimie's Magic (7/1), Bella Bliss (12/1), Return To Base (14/1), Jenny Flex (14/1), Queenie Newall (22/1), Country Queen (25/1), Harvest Bow (40/1)

CIRCUS ACT has found some improvement of late and gets a narrow vote in this competitive handicap. Gavin Cromwell saddles a couple of interesting contenders in Soldaro and the returning Queenie Newall, while Gordon Elliott's Jenny Flex strikes as a likely improver in handicaps.