19:15 Hexham

Saturday 2 May 2026

All16:4017:1517:4518:1518:4519:1519:4520:15

Elizabeth Elliott Birthday Celebration Handicap Chase

Off time: 19:15 | Winning time: 5m 23.11s

Maggies Boy^p²²

Age: 7| Weight: 12-0| J: William Shanahan⁽⁵⁾| T: J Candlish| OR: 100

14/1

Fair maiden hurdler who immediately improved for the switch to fences when making a winning debut in this sphere at Sedgefield (21f, good). 4 lb rise unlikely to prevent another bold show.

Form: 235871-

Scairp Dubh^p⁴³

Age: 6| Weight: 11-10| J: Peter Kavanagh| T: J Parkinson & S Smith| OR: 96

22/1

Opened hurdles account at Carlisle in February and while latest effort in first-time cheekpieces (retained) at Musselburgh was poor, that was a Class 2 handicap over 3m. Won sole start in points and interesting back down in class/trip for this chase debut.

Form: 564120-

Tell Me Again¹⁹⁶

Age: 8| Weight: 11-9| J: Danny McMenamin| T: Micky Hammond| OR: 95

33/1

Of little account, both over hurdles and between the flags. Hard to warm to starting out for new connections here.

Form: 700/P33-

Royal Deeside¹¹

Age: 6| Weight: 11-6| J: Charlie Maggs⁽³⁾| T: P Morris| OR: 92| CD

9/4

Rather hit-and-miss overall but scored twice over C&D last summer and hard to knock recent form, placed all 3 starts in this sphere since returning from a break in March. Also performed well when runner-up on the Flat recently and he has to enter calculations.

Form: R1P333-

Quickasican^p,t²¹

Age: 9| Weight: 11-4| J: Ryan Mania| T: J Bedi| OR: 90

14/1

Placed first 3 starts over hurdles in 2022/23 for Rebecca Menzies and while he struggled initially for new yard following a mammoth absence, his latest second in a handicap chase at Newcastle (2½m, good to firm) 3 weeks ago was a step firmly back in the right direction. Solid chance.

Form: 3P/8PF2-

Valtteri Its James²¹

Age: 5| Weight: 11-0| J: P W Wadge| T: L Russell & M Scudamore| OR: 86| BF

17/2

Point winner who predictably took a step forward when fourth of 12 on handicap debut over hurdles at Newcastle (2½m, good) last month. Appeals as the type to do better now tackling fences given his pointing background.

Form: 106674-

Uncle Al^p⁵⁰

Age: 7| Weight: 10-11| J: Conor Rabbitt⁽³⁾| T: J Bedi| OR: 83

33/1

Got on top close home with first-time cheekpieces enlisted on third chase start at Sedgefield (2¾m, soft) in December. However, has failed to build on that since and yard saddles a stronger candidate in Quickasican.

Form: 251662-

Jack Doyen^b²⁸

Age: 10| Weight: 10-11| J: J M Quinlan| T: B I Case| OR: 83| D

14/1

Snapped a long losing run at Hereford in March but didn't have to wait anywhere near so long for his next taste of success, following up at Newton Abbot (21f, good) just 10 days later. Remains on a fair mark and merits respect in his hat-trick bid.

Form: 6P5311-

Divas Doyen^p³⁰

Age: 9| Weight: 10-10| J: Harry Reed| T: Miss S E Forster| OR: 82| CD

15/2

Scored twice over fences last season, including over C&D with Heidi Palin aboard. Back to form following a couple of low-key performances when third of 10 at Kelso (2¾m, good to soft) last time and, 1 lb lower here, she needs considering.

Form: 432443-

Kingofthegame^v1²⁸

Age: 8| Weight: 10-4| J: Callum Bewley| T: M Todhunter| OR: 76

6/1

Still a maiden but has low mileage for an 8-y-o and wasn't disgraced with cheekpieces refitted when fourth in a 7-runner Carlisle handicap (3m, good) last month. More severe headgear deployed here (first-time visor) and dropping back in trip looks a good move, so there is cause for hope.

Form: 43PP/54-

Play By The Rules^p,t³²

Age: 7| Weight: 10-3| J: Joshua Thompson⁽⁵⁾| T: A Nicol| OR: 75

5/1

Modest hurdles winner and record stands at 0-7 in this sphere but shaped much better than the bare result back from a 17-month absence at Newcastle (2½m, good) where he was making his debut for the up-and-coming Adam Nicol yard (does well with recruits from the Nigel Hawke stable). One to consider.

Form: 55554/5-

Cave Hill^p,t³²

Age: 7| Weight: 10-2| J: Sean Quinlan| T: I A Duncan| OR: 74| CD

12/1

Made it third time lucky over fences when accounting for 9 rivals in this race 12 months ago. 3 lb lower this time round but with good reason, having struggled on each of his 4 starts since the turn of the year.

Form: 536939-

Mademewhatiam^t¹⁹

Age: 7| Weight: 10-2| J: Nathan Moscrop| T: Annabelle Sowray| OR: 69

18/1

Remains a maiden following 16 starts under Rules and likely to come up short once again. 5 lb 'wrong' at the weights.

Form: 3P4556-

Non-Runners

Yapper Hill²⁸

Weight: 10-11| Age: 7

T: G Bewley J: Jonathon Bewley

Forecasts

Royal Deeside (9/4), Play By The Rules (5/1), Kingofthegame (6/1), Divas Doyen (15/2), Valtteri Its James (17/2), Cave Hill (12/1), Jack Doyen (14/1), Maggies Boy (14/1), Quickasican (14/1), Mademewhatiam (18/1), Scairp Dubh (22/1), Yapper Hill (25/1), Uncle Al (33/1), Tell Me Again (33/1)

PLAY BY THE RULES made a highly encouraging start for the Adam Nicol yard back from a long layoff at Newcastle and, with the cobwebs now blown away, he could be ready to strike off an appealing mark. If able to build on his latest effort Quickasican will surely be involved in the finish, while chasing debutants Scairp Dubh and Valtteri Its James need considering, along with the hat-trick seeking Jack Doyen. There are also reasons to be optimistic where Kingofthegame is concerned.