15:45 Beverley

Saturday 8 June 2019

All13:2514:0014:3515:1515:4516:2016:5517:30

Biffa Handicap

Off time: 15:47 | Winning time: 1m 47.5s

Settings

Selected odds by:

(12)

Highlight Reel¹¹

Age: 4| Weight: 9-7| J: Lewis Edmunds| T: Rebecca Bastiman| OR: 75

10/1

6lb below his last winning mark (7f, good) and drops back into a Class 5 after running creditably at Ayr (7f, good to firm) 11 days ago; his April Ripon form is working out splendidly; solid chance.

Form: 30-0634

(7)

Mustaqbal²⁴³

Age: 7| Weight: 9-7| J: J Garritty| T: M Dods| OR: 75| D

20/1

Comfortable winner on seasonal reappearance in 2018 at Haydock (1m, soft); 7lb higher this time around.

Form: 309137-

(6)

First Flight⁷

Age: 8| Weight: 9-5| J: Kieran Schofield⁽⁷⁾| T: B Ellison| OR: 73| D

12/1

4lb lower than when winning a valuable Class 2 handicap at Ayr (1m, good) last June; can only improve upon last week's Musselburgh reappearance (finished last of seven to Mulligatawny).

Form: 66034-7

(13)

Brother McGonagall⁸

Age: 5| Weight: 9-5| J: D Allan| T: T D Easterby| OR: 73| CD

6/1

His June 2018 C&D win was the middle leg of a hat-trick; has taken time to return to a workable mark; beaten under 4L when finishing sixth of 13 to Hammer Gun at Doncaster (1m) eight days ago; trainer also saddles Storm Ahead.

Form: 699-066

(1)

Twin Appeal^p¹⁹

Age: 8| Weight: 9-5| J: Gemma Tutty⁽³⁾| T: K Tutty| OR: 73| C

6/1

Competes from a similar mark as when winning over an extended 7f here (good to soft) last September; excuses at Carlisle latest - denied a clear run at the business end of the race.

Form: 528-440

(3)

Blindingly³⁹

Age: 4| Weight: 9-5| J: A Mullen| T: B Haslam| OR: 73

8/1

Didn't figure on handicap debut at Newcastle (1m) but remains low-mileage having previously finished second to Katinka in a C&D novice (good to firm).

Form: 2327

(15)

Harvest Day^t¹³⁷

Age: 4| Weight: 9-5| J: Josh Quinn⁽⁷⁾| T: M & D Easterby| OR: 73

20/1

5lb higher than when recording a third AW win (7f, Newcastle); off since January and returns to action from a wide draw for a trainer who also sends out the veteran Magic City.

Form: 4278-21

(11)

Storm Ahead^b²⁵

Age: 6| Weight: 9-5| J: D Fentiman| T: T D Easterby| OR: 73| D

12/1

2lb lower than when finishing 3L second to Crownthorpe over C&D (good) on his penultimate start - the third Enzemble and the fourth Club Wexford have both won since; couldn't be totally discounted.

Form: 0293-20

(16)

International Law¹⁵

Age: 5| Weight: 9-2| J: Cam Hardie| T: A Brittain| OR: 70| D

25/1

Just a couple of pounds higher than for his most recent AW wins (1m+ Wolverhampton); arguably less effective on turf (1-12) and drawn very wide in stall 16.

Form: 8-10156

(17)

Magic City¹⁴

Age: 10| Weight: 9-2| J: Nathan Evans| T: M & D Easterby| OR: 70| D

14/1

Veteran who is a winner of ten of his 76 career starts; knocking at the door (third) in a 7f Gentleman Amateur Riders' race at York (good to firm) a fortnight ago; faces a tough task from stall 17.

Form: 668-073

(9)

Bhodi^h1²⁸

Age: 4| Weight: 9-2| J: D C Costello| T: K Frost| OR: 70

100/1

Left Sir Michael Stoute for 9,000gns in October 2018; well beaten at odds of 50/1 on stable debut at Nottingham (1m2f, soft) in May; now hooded; can only be watched at present.

Form: 6/445-7

(2)

Singing Sheriff¹⁶

Age: 4| Weight: 9-0| J: L P Keniry| T: E Walker| OR: 68

6/1

Disqualified after winning for the second successive time on the AW, at Wolverhampton (1m4f) in early April; remains handily weighted; lightly-raced on turf; on the premises in a decent Class 5 contest at Sandown (1m2f) latest; of interest over 1m.

Form: 321D04

(8)

Anchises²²

Age: 4| Weight: 8-13| J: Harrison Shaw⁽⁵⁾| T: R Menzies| OR: 67

14/1

Left Richard Hannon for 6,000gns in October 2018; posted his best effort for the Sedgefield handler Rebecca Menzies when finishing 2¾L third to Never Be Enough (twice beaten since) at Hamilton three weeks ago.

Form: 240-003

(10)

Straight Ash⁸

Age: 4| Weight: 8-12| J: Ben Robinson⁽³⁾| T: Ollie Pears| OR: 66| D

12/1

Ultra-consistent since joining Ollie Pears and in rude health; placed on each of his last three starts, only being caught close home at both Pontefract and Doncaster (both 1m); obvious chance assuming that the ground remains no worse than good.

Form: 50-7323

(14)

Bibbidibobbidiboo¹⁹

Age: 4| Weight: 8-12| J: T Hamilton| T: Mrs A Duffield| OR: 66

25/1

Won twice during 2018 (6f-7f) with her subsequent consistent form figures bearing testament to her trainers skill for keeping fillies sweet; yet to match that consistency this season; stamina doubts.

Form: 2925-76

(5)

Beverley Bullet^p²

Age: 6| Weight: 8-10| J: Phil Dennis| T: L A Mullaney| OR: 64

10/1

A five-time career winner (7f-1m2f); has fired blanks so far in 2019 (0-5), albeit was keeping on from off the pace at Hamilton (1m1f, soft) on Thursday; further rain would enhance his prospects.

Form: 4-50848

(4)

Laqab²⁶

Age: 6| Weight: 8-7| J: P Mathers| T: D Shaw| OR: 61

25/1

Looked to have a positive future when winning a Newcastle maiden (1m2f) for Roger Varian in October 2016, but has toiled since for various trainers; not the solution barring a miracle.

Form: 040460

Forecasts

Brother McGonagall (6/1), Twin Appeal (6/1), Singing Sheriff (6/1), Blindingly (8/1), Beverley Bullet (10/1), Highlight Reel (10/1), Straight Ash (12/1), Storm Ahead (12/1), First Flight (12/1), Magic City (14/1), Anchises (14/1), Harvest Day (20/1), Mustaqbal (20/1), International Law (25/1), Laqab (25/1), Bibbidibobbidiboo (25/1), Bhodi (100/1)

A 17-runner handicap which will take some solving, but instead of beating around the bush we'll nominate three against the field and hope to hit the jackpot. Assuming the rain keeps off and the ground doesn't deteriorate markedly, the consistent Straight Ash enters the thinking for local trainer Ollie Pears, as does the Ed Walker-trained Singing Sheriff, who was knocking firmly at the door (fourth) in the opener at Sandown Park on Brigadier Gerard Evening. However, the vote goes to the top-weight HIGHLIGHT REEL who drops back into a Class 5 handicap, and has one exceptionally strong piece of recent form in the book (Ripon on 27/04/2019).