20:30 Wolverhampton

Saturday 21 April 2018

All18:0018:3019:0019:3020:0020:3021:00

On The Hoof Dining In The Hotel Restaurant Maiden Stakes

Off time: 20:30 | Winning time: 2m 38.62s

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Selected odds by:

(7)

Elgin³⁹

Age: 6| Weight: 10-0| J: Tom Marquand| T: A King

9/4

High-class hurdler who ran a sound race to be fifth in the Champion Hurdle last month. Tries his luck on the Flat and it will be fascinating to see how he fares.

Form:

(2)

General Ginger^t¹¹

Age: 8| Weight: 10-0| J: S W Kelly| T: H Fry

22/1

Winning hurdler and bumper performer. Has cut little ice in two AW Flat races and will probably have better prospects when running in handicaps.

Form: 58

(4)

Gibeno²³

Age: 4| Weight: 10-0| J: Alistair Rawlinson| T: M Appleby

150/1

Showed little in a bumper and novice hurdle when trained by Dan Skelton, and first start and Flat debut for this yard at this track produced only marginal improvement. Readily opposed.

Form: 7

(5)

His Dream⁹⁴

Age: 5| Weight: 10-0| J: T Eaves| T: J & A O'Neill

40/1

Irish bumper winner whose only outing on the Flat saw him finish down the field in last year's Queen Alexandra Stakes at Royal Ascot. Well beaten in novice hurdles since.

Form: 0-

(1)

Its'afreebee^t¹¹⁶

Age: 8| Weight: 10-0| J: R Winston| T: R Spencer

40/1

Talented hurdler/chaser at his best, but his form regressed and he starts out for a new trainer with a first outing on the Flat. Likely to find a few of these rivals too speedy.

Form:

(8)

Roman Saints²³

Age: 4| Weight: 10-0| J: Rhiain Ingram⁽⁵⁾| T: Karen George

150/1

Gelding by Holy Roman Emperor who cost connections 20,000 guineas as a yearling. Belated debut saw him finish a respectable fifth of nine at this venue and he looks one for further down the line.

Form: 5

(3)

Callomania⁴⁴

Age: 4| Weight: 9-9| J: Barry McHugh| T: Adrian Nicholls

200/1

Medaglia d'Oro filly who cost only 3,000 gns at the Newmarket sales last summer. Well beaten on debut at Newcastle last month and probably needs more time to develop.

Form: 8

(9)

Ghostwatch²²⁶

Age: 3| Weight: 8-8| J: B Doyle| T: C Appleby| BF

2/1

Promise on both starts over 1m as a juvenile. Pedigree suggests this longer trip should suit admirably and his stable could hardly be in better form.

Form: 33-

(6)

Returning Glory¹²⁹

Age: 3| Weight: 8-8| J: Josephine Gordon| T: S bin Suroor

9/4

Second of two runners for Godolphin, who are also responsible for Ghostwatch. Ran well on debut at Kempton in December and it would be no surprise to see him progress over this longer trip.

Form: 2-

(10)

Urbino¹⁷⁸

Age: 3| Weight: 8-8| J: R Kingscote| T: Sir Michael Stoute

11/2

Dansili colt from the family of Oaks winner Reams Of Verse. Never-nearer fourth of 11 on debut at Kempton in October and may need this experience once again.

Form: 4-

Forecasts

Ghostwatch (2/1), Elgin (9/4), Returning Glory (9/4), Urbino (11/2), General Ginger (22/1), Its'afreebee (40/1), His Dream (40/1), Roman Saints (150/1), Gibeno (150/1), Callomania (200/1)

Plenty of interest will surround the first run on the Flat of high-class hurdler Elgin. He may well be good enough to trouble some younger rivals headed by GHOSTWATCH, who gets a narrow vote over fellow Godolphin runner Returning Glory. The well-bred Urbino looks one for later on, while Roman Saints is another to keep an eye on with the future in mind.