15:38 Fontwell

Tuesday 8 December 2020

All12:3513:0513:3514:0814:3815:0815:38

John And Maryanne Birch Memorial Handicap Hurdle

Off time: 15:38 | Winning time: 4m 56.37s

1^st

Cristal Spirit

511-12

11/10f

T: J R BoyleJ: R T Dunne

Tracked leader, blundered 3rd and relegated to midfield, chased leaders 6th, ridden approaching 2 out, led approaching last, stayed on strongly under pressure flat op 10/3 tchd 7/2

2^nd

Embole

611-9

11/2

T: D SkeltonJ: Bridget Andrews

Held up in rear, still towards rear but in touch travelling strongly 2 out, smooth headway to chase leader before last, ridden and no extra flat op 10/3 tchd 11/4

3^rd

Little Vern

610-12

9/1

T: C L TizzardJ: R M Power

Held up, raced alone on inside back straight, ridden in rear before 2 out, headway to chase leaders last, no extra flat op 10/1 tchd 12/1

4^th

1 ¾

Highway One

612-4

16/1

T: George BakerJ: R Johnson

Held up towards rear, headway on outside 2 out, ridden when hit last, one pace flat op 11/1

5^th

1 ¼

Jappeloup

1110-2

100/1

T: Mrs D GrissellJ: Tabitha Worsley (5)

Led, hit 6th, not fluent 3 out, narrow advantage 2 out, ridden and headed before last, weakened flat op 66/1

6^th

Jan Wellens

310-13

16/1

T: O MurphyJ: David England

Held up, ridden approaching 2 out where not fluent, one pace from last op 11/2

7^th

Hier Encore

812-3

7/1

T: N DungerJ: Luca Morgan (7)

Midfield, ridden before 2 out, weakened before last op 13/2 tchd 15/2

8^th

Flanagans Field

1210-12

25/1

T: B J LlewellynJ: Jordan Williams (7)

Chased leader, close up under pressure 2 out, weakened quickly before last op 12/1

Also Ran

Horatio Star

511-7

11/2

T: C GordonJ: Tom Cannon

Prominent, jumped right 1st, pulled up quickly after 3rd tchd 5/1 and tchd 6/1

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Non-Runners

Gris De Pron¹⁰⁸

Weight: 10-12| Age: 7

T: O Greenall & J Guerriero J: Brendan Powell

Betting Breakdown

Tote Win:£2.10Pl:£1.10, £2.20, £2.30EX:£9.90Trifecta:£49.30Tricast:£37.64SF:£8.35Swingers:£2.60, £2.50, £6.80

Forecasts

Cristal Spirit (11/10), Embole (11/2), Horatio Star (11/2), Hier Encore (7/1), Gris De Pron (8/1), Little Vern (9/1), Highway One (16/1), Jan Wellens (16/1), Flanagans Field (25/1), Jappeloup (100/1)

It's interesting that the Dan Skelton yard is persevering with EMBOLE so he might be worth chancing from his reduced mark. Gris de Pron is another who is well treated and has joined a yard which has been in good form so he rates a potential threat. Course-specialist Hier Encore is also on the shortlist.

EMBOLE (FR)
GRIS DE PRON (FR)
HIER ENCORE (FR)

Previous Winners

2019

Clondaw Robin

Weight: 10-0 |Age: 6

J: Page Fuller | T: Miss Z C Davison

11/2

Prize Money

1st: £2,794.002nd: £820.003rd: £410.004th: £350.005th: £350.006th: £350.007th: £350.008th: £350.00