18:05 Down Royal

Friday 8 September 2023

All15:5016:2517:0017:3018:0518:4019:10

Grant Thornton Ulster Cesarewitch Handicap (50-80)

Off time: 18:05 | Winning time: 3m 59.98s

(3)

Magnetic North^v¹⁷

Age: 8| Weight: 10-2| J: Adam Caffrey⁽⁵⁾| T: J McAuley| OR: 79

66/1

5/1, fair fourth of 11 in claimer at Roscommon (10.3f, good to soft) 17 days ago. Significantly up in trip. Can give a good account.

Form: 181114

(2)

Barnacullia¹⁰

Age: 6| Weight: 10-0| J: Gary Carroll| T: M Mulvany| OR: 77| BF| D

9/4

Winner at Leopardstown in August. Very good second of 13 in handicap (2/1) at Bellewstown (17f, good) 10 days ago. Player.

Form: 453512

(9)

Rich Belief^b,t¹⁵

Age: 6| Weight: 9-13| J: Robbie Colgan| T: K Thornton| OR: 76| C

14/1

Latest win at Navan in April. Good fourth of 9 in handicap at Killarney (14.2f, good, 13/2) 15 days ago. Up in trip. Looks competitive on form.

Form: 0-14944

(15)

Pike County^p⁴

Age: 10| Weight: 9-12| J: W J Lee| T: Mrs D Foster| OR: 75| D

12/1

Eighth of 11 in handicap (33/1) at Roscommon (11.6f, good to soft) 4 days ago, unsuited by emphasis on speed. Significantly up in trip and not ruled out.

Form: 40/910-8

(4)

No Thanks²²

Age: 7| Weight: 9-11| J: L Dettori| T: M J Smith| OR: 74| BF| C

11/2

6/4, 6 lengths fifth of 7 to Barnacullia in handicap at Leopardstown (15f, good) 22 days ago. Sort to bounce back and will be popular under Dettori.

Form: 03-9045

(14)

Crassus¹⁰

Age: 6| Weight: 9-10| J: Colin Keane| T: N Meade| OR: 73

11/2

Good third of 13 in handicap at Bellewstown (17f, good, 11/1) 10 days ago, never nearer. Can go well again.

Form: 321/373

(8)

Rushford²³

Age: 4| Weight: 9-9| J: C Horgan⁽⁷⁾| T: T R Hughes| OR: 72

66/1

Last of 6 in handicap at Gowran (12.4f, good, 33/1) 23 days ago. Significantly up in trip with work to do.

Form: 81693-6

(7)

Harvest Bow⁴³

Age: 7| Weight: 9-7| J: S T McCullagh⁽³⁾| T: H D McGuigan| OR: 70| D

66/1

Tenth of 14 in handicap (66/1) at Leopardstown (15f, good to soft) 43 days ago, never nearer. Others have achieved more.

Form: 0160/8-0

(10)

Hearts Are Trumps²²

Age: 10| Weight: 9-4| J: Declan McDonogh| T: D McDonogh| OR: 67

25/1

Below form sixth of 11 in handicap hurdle at Tramore (16f, good, 9/1) 22 days ago. Significantly up in trip. Fair on the Flat, but others more persuasive.

Form: 66/06-80

(1)

Pretty Soldier⁴²

Age: 6| Weight: 9-2| J: Dylan Browne McMonagle| T: M Torrens| OR: 65

12/1

14/1, solid third of 10 in handicap at this course (12.8f, good to soft) 42 days ago. Significantly up in trip. Can give a good account.

Form: 5/211-73

(17)

Crystal Caves³⁵

Age: 4| Weight: 9-1| J: G M Ryan| T: T Gibney| OR: 64

11/1

40/1, creditable seventh of 16 in handicap at Galway (14.1f, good to soft) 35 days ago. Up in trip. In the mix.

Form: 541-407

(13)

Votre Homme³⁷

Age: 3| Weight: 9-1| J: Conor Stone-Walsh⁽⁷⁾| T: D K Weld| OR: 76

8/1

Lightly-raced maiden. Eleventh of 16 in maiden at Galway (12.2f, good to soft, 25/1) 37 days ago. Significantly up in trip. Stable in good form. Makes handicap debut. No forlorn hope.

Form: 72500

(12)

Arabian King^t¹⁰

Age: 7| Weight: 9-0| J: Jack Kearney⁽⁷⁾| T: C Collins| OR: 63

8/1

22/1, good fifth of 13 in handicap at Bellewstown (17f, good) 10 days ago. In the picture.

Form: 290-655

(6)

Curious Bride^t²⁴

Age: 6| Weight: 8-12| J: J M Sheridan| T: E O'Connell| OR: 61

14/1

One win from 22 Flat runs. Fifteen runs since last win in 2020. Creditable fifth of 13 in handicap at Dundalk (10.7f, 25/1) 24 days ago. Significantly up in trip. Not taken lightly.

Form: 00-2355

Non-Runners

(11)

Barometer¹⁵

Weight: 8-12| Age: 8

T: J J Murphy J: Reserve 1

(5)

Wild Shot¹

Weight: 8-10| Age: 9

T: J C McConnell J: Reserve 2

(16)

Charlie Luciano¹¹

Weight: 8-9| Age: 4

T: N Meade J: Reserve 3

Forecasts

Barnacullia (9/4), Barometer (4/1), Crassus (11/2), No Thanks (11/2), Charlie Luciano (13/2), Wild Shot (13/2), Votre Homme (8/1), Arabian King (8/1), Crystal Caves (11/1), Pike County (12/1), Pretty Soldier (12/1), Curious Bride (14/1), Rich Belief (14/1), Hearts Are Trumps (25/1), Harvest Bow (66/1), Rushford (66/1), Magnetic North (66/1)

Lots with chances. BARNACULLIA arrives on the up and is fancied to go one better than his recent Bellewstown second with the winner having gone in again. Rich Belief rates the main danger on the back of his good Killarney fourth with both Crassus and Curious Bride well in the mix too.