Heineken Maiden Hurdle

Off time: 14:32 | Winning time: 5m 26.6s

Settings

Selected odds by:

Beni Light¹⁸

Age: 6| Weight: 11-1| J: Adrian Heskin| T: T R George

14/1

Yard in cracking form, which is more than we can say for this gelding, who has disappointed since he made a promising bumper debut. Has failed to see out either hurdle over similar trips and looks best watched until sent handicapping.

Form:

Corbett Court⁴⁹

Age: 5| Weight: 11-1| J: T E Whelan| T: Mrs D A Hamer

40/1

Well beaten in sole point-to-point start in May and now tries racing under rules. Trip should be no problem looking at pedigree, though dam has failed to produce a winner from five foals so percentage call is very much to take on this son.

Form:

Ghost River^p,t⁵¹

Age: 7| Weight: 11-1| J: S Bowen| T: P & M Bowen| OR: 117

9/4

Very smart bumper performer who won three out of four in that sphere, though well beaten in most starts over hurdles. Did close well in defeat from 2lb lower at Plumpton (3m1f, soft) in January and no reason why he can't be very effective under a positive ride back over this trip.

Form:

Monbeg Aquadude²²

Age: 6| Weight: 11-1| J: T Scudamore| T: M Scudamore

9/2

Debut point-to-point scorer who has run two reasonable races in maiden hurdles over similar trips to this. No problems with conditions and would be interesting if backed.

Form:

Ninepointsixthree^p²⁵¹

Age: 7| Weight: 11-1| J: David Noonan⁽³⁾| T: J G M O'Shea| OR: 110

20/1

Runner-up three times in a row last spring, so this time of year suits him, and he is now 5lb lower than the last of those decent runs. Not yet won after a break, which has to be a concern, but otherwise looks a likely player.

Form:

Savoy Court³⁷

Age: 6| Weight: 11-1| J: G Sheehan| T: W Greatrex

5/1

Ran Air Horse One close on his Exeter debut last season, going on to win a bumper next time. Not yet sparkled over hurdles, but this wouldn't be as tough a race as the one he was pulled up in at Kempton last time.

Form:

Woodfort¹⁶

Age: 5| Weight: 11-1| J: Sam Twiston-Davies| T: N & W Twiston-Davies| OR: 124

7/4

Won a bumper here earlier in the season (soft) best effort over hurdles was at Doncaster (2m5f, good to soft) in February. Not a bad run in context at Newbury last time and looks the one to beat.

Form:

Non-Runners

Snow Castle⁴⁷

Weight: 11-1| Age: 5

T: Evan Williams J: Adam Wedge

Forecasts

Woodfort (7/4), Ghost River (9/4), Monbeg Aquadude (9/2), Savoy Court (5/1), Snow Castle (13/2), Beni Light (14/1), Ninepointsixthree (20/1), Corbett Court (40/1)

One or two of these look to be eyeing up handicaps and it could be a good opportunity for WOODFORT to break his duck, although there are slight reservations over the yard's recent form. Ghost River looks a likely threat, Monbeg Aquadude is another who could run a big race, while Savoy Court can also make further progress.