20:30 Newcastle

Friday 11 October 2019

All17:2518:0018:3019:0019:3020:0020:30

Cronnie Creative Adjust Your Focus Handicap

Off time: 20:32 | Winning time: 1m 40.04s

Settings

Selected odds by:

(13)

Home Before Dusk^p¹⁴

Age: 4| Weight: 9-12| J: Callum Rodriguez| T: K Dalgleish| OR: 72| BF| CD

3/1

Solid and consistent at this track in recent weeks (without necessarily being the easiest to win with); 3lb higher than when beaten a neck by the unexposed Jalaad over C&D a fortnight ago; has related form lines with a number of tonight's rivals.

Form: 021622

(12)

Stoney Lane¹⁵

Age: 4| Weight: 9-11| J: Phil Dennis| T: R M Whitaker| OR: 71

14/1

Winner of a Wetherby novice (7f, good to soft) in May; low-key on his last couple of starts (5f-6f) and switches to the AW for the first time; untested over 1m, but should stay on pedigree (dam won over this trip); others preferred.

Form: 740200

(2)

Insurplus¹⁴

Age: 6| Weight: 9-11| J: P Mathers| T: J S Goldie| OR: 71| CD

20/1

Rock-solid at Newcastle (7f-1m); finished a keeping on fifth (behind Home For Dusk & Armed) on his penultimate start, before hitting the target at odds of 22-1 here (7f) a fortnight ago; a subsequent 3lb rise (to a career high mark) is justifiable.

Form: 810151

(10)

Destroyer²²

Age: 6| Weight: 9-7| J: J P Sullivan| T: T P Tate| OR: 67| D

9/1

Generally wins a single race every year (7f-1m) and has slipped back to a more manageable mark; kept on well towards the finish when approximately 1L third to Hammer Gun at Pontefract (1m, good to firm) three weeks ago; possible player.

Form: 4-90873

(3)

Stormbomber¹⁷

Age: 3| Weight: 9-6| J: C Lee| T: E Walker| OR: 69| BF

3/1

Nine-race maiden; has built up a frustrating run of form figures (22323) for his connections - travels sweetly, yet is constantly edged out close home; started 6-4f when a close third to Contrast at Lingfield (1m2f) 17 days ago; Newcastle debut.

Form: 022323

(6)

Newmarket Warrior^p²⁴

Age: 8| Weight: 9-6| J: Cieren Fallon⁽³⁾| T: I Jardine| OR: 66| CD

22/1

Newcastle regular (three-time C&D winner) who ideally needs to be dropped in front on the line, or as near as possible; 2lb lower than when finishing second at Pontefract (1m) three starts back; Cieren Fallon is a positive booking.

Form: 446276

(7)

Bollihope¹⁵

Age: 7| Weight: 9-6| J: Josephine Gordon| T: S L Keightley| OR: 66| BF| C

8/1

Winning start for this trainer at Wolverhampton (1m1f+) in January (made the vast majority for a 5L success); kept reasonable form since returning from his summer break, including a staying on third off this mark at Kempton (1m) in early September.

Form: 124335

(14)

Placebo Effect^p¹⁷

Age: 4| Weight: 9-6| J: Ben Robinson| T: Ollie Pears| OR: 66| CD

16/1

Won a C&D claimer on just his second AW start (last November); also justified favouritism when picking up a low-grade Class 6 handicap at Carlisle (1m, good to firm) a couple of months ago; rather underwhelming in two starts since.

Form: 336105

(9)

Armed²⁴

Age: 4| Weight: 9-6| J: P Mulrennan| T: Phillip Makin| OR: 66

15/2

Ten-race maiden; took a positive step when finishing an unlucky in-running fourth to Tum Tum over C&D latest (that race also featured Home Before Dusk, Insurplus and Newmarket Warrior); still low-mileage on the AW (0-2) so can't be discounted.

Form: 7-68904

(1)

So Macho²⁴

Age: 4| Weight: 9-4| J: S H James| T: Grant Tuer| OR: 64

33/1

Runner-up on both previous Newcastle starts (at 6f); broke the duck at short odds in a Brighton maiden (7f, good to firm) in August; struggled to make his mark in a stronger race at Redcar (Class 4) subsequently.

Form: 2-30616

(4)

Eesha's Smile^p⁵⁰

Age: 3| Weight: 9-2| J: Gabriele Malune⁽³⁾| T: I Furtado| OR: 65| D

25/1

Made all when winning her first two juvenile starts for Mark Johnston (Beverley and Bath); placed in three of her five starts for Ivan Furtado, including when 2L third to Pinnata at Leicester (1m, good); makes her Tapeta debut (0-1 on AW).

Form: 6-53343

(5)

Straight Ash¹⁷

Age: 4| Weight: 9-0| J: Harrison Shaw⁽³⁾| T: Ollie Pears| OR: 60| D

33/1

Stablemate of Placebo Effect; sits 3lb below his last winning mark (1m1f Musselburgh); regularly placed at Beverley this season, but now forced to venture further afield with the cessation of racing on the Westwood until 2020; others more obvious.

Form: 539263

(8)

Traveller^p,t¹⁶

Age: 5| Weight: 8-11| J: Cam Hardie| T: A Brittain| OR: 57

16/1

1-28 career and a regular feature on Tapeta at both Newcastle and Wolverhampton; went down by ½L in a three-way tussle with Colonel Slade and Troop over C&D 16 days ago, but that's generally the way; remains feasibly weighted.

Form: 329832

Non-Runners

(11)

Carbon Dating¹⁸

Weight: 9-12| Age: 7

T: Andrew Hughes J: Non Runner

Forecasts

Home Before Dusk (3/1), Stormbomber (3/1), Armed (15/2), Bollihope (8/1), Carbon Dating (8/1), Destroyer (9/1), Stoney Lane (14/1), Traveller (16/1), Placebo Effect (16/1), Insurplus (20/1), Newmarket Warrior (22/1), Eesha's Smile (25/1), Straight Ash (33/1), So Macho (33/1)

A wide open finale which features a whole host of Newcastle regulars, with the likes of the consistent Home Before Dusk, the maiden Armed, the talented Insurplus and the enigmatic Newmarket Warrior all in contention behind the shock 33-1 winner Tum Tum over C&D last month. Both Stormbomber and Traveller also merit respect, yet recent evidence has demonstrated that finding a suitable winning opportunity for either has proved troublesome. Therefore, for a sporting each-way bet, a chance is taken on the Tom Tate-trained six-year-old DESTROYER who could prove capable of making his presence felt from a reduced handicap mark.