16:30 Ludlow

Thursday 24 October 2024

All13:4014:1014:4515:2015:5516:3017:0517:40

KLF Insurance Brokers Champion Stakes Handicap Hurdle (Div 2)

Off time: 16:30 | Winning time: 5m 53.70s

Pearl Island^p¹⁶⁵

Age: 5| Weight: 12-0| J: David Bass| T: H D Daly| OR: 97

5/1

Found improvement when good fifth of 10 in handicap hurdle at this course (21.2f, good to firm) in May and looks worth another crack at this longer trip. Not out of things.

Form: 48U55-5

Opera King^p²⁶

Age: 4| Weight: 11-13| J: Sam Twiston-Davies| T: N & W Twiston-Davies| OR: 100

5/2

Posted best effort in this sphere when creditable second of 9 in handicap at Market Rasen (18.6f, good to firm, 11/2) 26 days ago, rallying. This longer trip should suit and he holds strong claims.

Form: 4537-32

R Bernard^p¹⁶⁸

Age: 8| Weight: 11-6| J: Tabitha Worsley⁽³⁾| T: Mrs M Rowley| OR: 89

4/1

Off the mark in good style at Stratford (26.4f) in April and followed up in 8-runner handicap hurdle at same course (22f) the following month. 5 lb higher on return to action but must enter calculations.

Form: 36P31-1

G'day Aussie³⁴⁵

Age: 11| Weight: 11-5| J: Luke Scott⁽⁵⁾| T: Dave Roberts| OR: 88

125/1

Ran creditably when last seen at Huntingdon (15.8f) 11 months ago but is untried over this sort of trip and others are more convincing.

Form: 7/71792-

Horizon D'or^t³⁰

Age: 7| Weight: 11-3| J: Lee Edwards| T: A West| OR: 86| D

13/2

Back from 11 months off when creditable fourth of 11 in handicap hurdle at Fontwell (25.8f, good, 9/1) 30 days ago. Entitled to build on that and merits consideration.

Form: 21717-4

Caspers Court⁹⁵

Age: 10| Weight: 11-1| J: Ben Godfrey| T: K Woollacott| OR: 84| D

12/1

Dual winner early last year but rather gone backwards since and was held when unseating rider in handicap hurdle at Newton Abbot latest.

Form: 76-025U

Ann D'arabie^t1²⁸⁶

Age: 5| Weight: 10-13| J: K Brogan| T: J & A O'Neill| OR: 82

17/2

Hasn't made much impact in a trio of novice hurdles so far, well beaten at Huntingdon (20.7f) when last seen in January. However, no surprise to see her fare better on switch to handicaps.

Form: 699-

Karakoram^p,t¹⁴⁵

Age: 9| Weight: 10-6| J: Joe Anderson⁽³⁾| T: G Harris| OR: 75| C| D

12/1

Fifteen runs since last win in March 2023 and was well below form when last seen in June.

Form: 89-4369

Pollyonesock¹⁶

Age: 6| Weight: 10-5| J: Toby Wynne⁽³⁾| T: O Greenall & J Guerriero| OR: 74

12/1

Limited form in bumpers/hurdles and no signs of improvement, back from 5 months off, at Huntingdon recently. Tries longer trip now.

Form: 58U-PP4

Non-Runners

Tis But A Scratch¹¹

Weight: 10-7| Age: 8

T: G Howell J: Non Runner

Getaway Cory⁴⁶

Weight: 10-2| Age: 9

T: Tim Vaughan J: Alan Johns

Forecasts

Opera King (5/2), R Bernard (4/1), Pearl Island (5/1), Horizon D'or (13/2), Ann D'arabie (17/2), Karakoram (12/1), Pollyonesock (12/1), Caspers Court (12/1), Getaway Cory (25/1), Tis But A Scratch (66/1), G'day Aussie (125/1)

Preference is for OPERA KING, who found improvement when runner-up at Market Rasen last month and remains relatively low mileage. Horizon d'Or and R Bernard are feared most.