15:25 Market Rasen

Saturday 21 October 2017

All13:1013:4014:1514:5015:2516:0016:3517:05

Witham Shield Handicap Hurdle

Off time: 15:27 | Winning time: 5m 49.70s

1^st

Blue Comet

612-0

11/10f

T: F O'BrienJ: P J Brennan

Pressed leader, led narrowly after 7th, made rest, drew clear before 2 out, kept on, comfortably op 5/4 tchd 6/4

2^nd

Waltz Darling

911-5

5/1

T: G BoanasJ: Miss E Todd (7)

Tracked leaders, went 2nd 4 out, ridden after 3 out, kept on same pace, no chance with winner from next op 11/2 tchd 9/2 and tchd 6/1

3^rd

2 ½

Moorlands Mist

1011-2

16/1

T: Sara EnderJ: Nathan Moscrop (5)

Led, headed narrowly after 7th, lost place 4 out, soon outpaced, went modest 3rd before 2 out, kept on flat, no chance with winner tchd 14/1 and tchd 20/1

4^th

It's Your Move

511-7

7/2

T: B EllisonJ: Mr Kaine Wood (5)

Tracked leaders, ridden and outpaced by front pair after 3 out, never on terms, weakened before next, tailed off op 10/3 tchd 3/1

Also Ran

Hey Bill

711-10

9/2

T: D Killahena & G McPhersonJ: Kielan Woods

In touch in rear, pushed along briefly 3 out, pulled up soon after op 4/1 tchd 10/3

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Non-Runners

Red Rising²³⁵

Weight: 11-12| Age: 6

T: D Skelton J: Harry Skelton

Solway Dandy¹³

Weight: 11-12| Age: 10

T: Miss L Harrison J: Callum Bewley

Betting Breakdown

Tote Win:£1.50Pl:£1.50, £3.30EX:£5.60Trifecta:£30.00SF:£7.07Swingers:£5.70

Forecasts

Blue Comet (11/10), Red Rising (9/4), It's Your Move (7/2), Hey Bill (9/2), Waltz Darling (5/1), Solway Dandy (7/1), Moorlands Mist (16/1)

A decent contest which should throw up plenty of future winners with the likes of It's Your Move likely to do much better in handicaps over a longer trip. Blue Comet arrives as the form horse, and he's relatively unexposed in handicaps. A dual course winner (including over this trip), his revised mark makes life tougher with his old rival Waltz Darling, but he looks much more progressive than that nine-year-old, so he should confirm the early August course form. However, his biggest danger comes from the handicap debutant RED RISING. He was probably tricky for the assessor to rate, and representing high profile owners, this lightly raced Flemensfirth gelding has a stack of obvious future potential. His winning form so far has come with cut, but his excellent young trainer wouldn't be taking any chances on quicker ground if he didn't think he'd handle the conditions.