Little Snoring Standard Open NH Flat Race

Off time: 17:40 | Winning time: 3m 56.72s

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Selected odds by:

Before Midnight⁴⁵

Age: 5| Weight: 11-7| J: N de Boinville| T: N J Henderson

8/13

Changed hands for €55,000 and won a soft bumper on heavy ground at Bangor first time out before finishing a 1L third in a much deeper race at Doncaster. Yard boasts a great strike-rate with their few bumper runners here.

Form: 13

Tankerton Boy⁵⁷

Age: 5| Weight: 11-0| J: T E Whelan| T: N B King

25/1

Bought for €38,000 but, despite a promising debut in a Market Rasen bumper last spring, has seemingly gone backwards on the evidence of two runs this season. Probably best watched.

Form: 380

Earlofthecotswolds

Age: 4| Weight: 10-8| J: R T Dunne| T: N & W Twiston-Davies

5/1

Cost £19,000 and hails from a yard which have enjoyed another decent year with their bumper runners. Would have to be seriously considered if the market vibes were positive.

Form:

Eclair De Guye

Age: 4| Weight: 10-8| J: Maxime Tissier⁽⁵⁾| T: L Wadham

8/1

Showed flashes of promise in a NH Flat event over 1m3f (soft) in his native France in the autumn. Positive vibes would be interesting considering yard does occasionally have winners in this sphere, though not this season so far.

Form:

Espalion

Age: 4| Weight: 10-8| J: Alan Johns| T: Tim Vaughan

25/1

Decent pedigree considering he is a half-brother to the very useful hurdler Bleu Berry. Yard fairly not exactly prolific in this sphere and have hitherto drawn a blank with bumper runners this season.

Form:

Risk And Co

Age: 4| Weight: 10-8| J: G Sheehan| T: Jamie Snowden

5/1

Doesn't jump off the page profile-wise considering he changed hands for just €4,000 but he's a half-brother to a couple of winning chasers and his yard has a decent strike-rate in bumpers. Market move would be interesting.

Form:

Smackwater Jack

Age: 4| Weight: 10-8| J: David England| T: O Murphy

12/1

A half-brother to a winning hunter chaser and likely he'll need more of a stamina test but up-and-coming yard have had some early success in this sphere. Watch the market.

Form:

Midnight Monsoon⁵⁰

Age: 5| Weight: 10-7| J: Kielan Woods| T: B I Case

50/1

Nibbled at in the market but displayed only limited promise when sixth of nine on her debut over C&D in February. Should come on for that but surprise if she's good enough.

Form: 6

Forecasts

Before Midnight (8/13), Earlofthecotswolds (5/1), Risk And Co (5/1), Eclair De Guye (8/1), Smackwater Jack (12/1), Espalion (25/1), Tankerton Boy (25/1), Midnight Monsoon (50/1)

BEFORE MIDNIGHT probably isn't one of Nicky Henderson's brightest prospects but the master trainer's strike-rate of 3 from 4 with his Fakenham bumper runners in the last five years is hard to get away from. Having landed a soft contest at Bangor, the five-year-old finished a close-up third under a penalty in a much deeper race at Doncaster and any repetition of that form could be more than good enough here. Earlofthecotswolds looks the most interesting of the newcomers with French recruit Eclair De Guye also offering some intrigue.