Betway Casino Handicap

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(1)

Zapper Cass^v¹³

Age: 7| Weight: 9-7| J: B A Curtis| T: M Appleby| OR: 72| CD

13/8

2lb higher than when winning over C&D on his last visit to Southwell in November (beat Samovar by 1¼L); often starts slowly, although that's less of a concern here than at Wolverhampton or Lingfield; chance.

Form: 517869-

(5)

Grisons^p1⁴

Age: 4| Weight: 9-7| J: Jason Hart| T: R M H Cowell| OR: 72| BF

9/4

Left Clive Cox for 45,000gns as a two time winner on turf (5½f-6f); sports cheekpieces on his third start for Robert Cowell; his previous AW runs have all come on Polytrack (235); will he take to racing on Fibresand?

Form: 311235-

(3)

Mulzim²⁵¹

Age: 6| Weight: 9-4| J: Daniel Muscutt| T: M Murphy| OR: 69

14/1

Won a 7f Wolverhampton maiden for Ed Dunlop in April 2017, and showed ability in Class 5 handicaps thereafter; is easing in the weights but has raced just once since moving on for 22,000gns in November 2017; far too many risks attached.

Form: 25290/8-

(7)

Warrior's Valley^p,t¹¹

Age: 5| Weight: 9-2| J: Alistair Rawlinson| T: D C Griffiths| OR: 67| CD

6/1

Historically is strongest on the AW at Southwell (over 5f) but arrives out of form following a barren spell in the autumn; 8lb lower than when finishing 2¾L second to Mininggold over C&D in April.

Form: 704094-

(4)

Andre Amar¹¹

Age: 4| Weight: 8-11| J: K T O'Neill| T: R Brisland| OR: 62| D

20/1

Won on debut for Ger Lyons at Dundalk (5f maiden) in May 2018; 0-11 since, scarcely beating a single rival in three starts for Robyn Brisland (5f-6f); a habitual slow starter; very easy to pass over.

Form: 089005-

(2)

Tan⁵

Age: 6| Weight: 8-8| J: Harrison Shaw⁽³⁾| T: L Williamson| OR: 59| CD

14/1

Won a 5f Wolverhampton seller for Mick Appleby in October; low-key in six subsequent starts for the Cheshire based handler Lisa Williamson (who also saddles Red Stripes).

Form: 030009-

(6)

Red Stripes^b⁵

Age: 8| Weight: 8-7| J: L Morris| T: L Williamson| OR: 58| CD

10/1

Won five times during the course of 2019, including from a similar mark over C&D in May (beat Skyva by 2½L); isn't always the easiest of horses to predict but makes considerably more appeal than stablemate Tan.

Form: 985595-

Forecasts

Zapper Cass (13/8), Grisons (9/4), Warrior's Valley (6/1), Red Stripes (10/1), Mulzim (14/1), Tan (14/1), Andre Amar (20/1)

Both Red Stripes and Warrior's Valley are more than capable of winning races on the Fibresand at Southwell, while the top-weight Zapper Class must also enter the thought process. However, GRISONS has the potential to be a cut above this level of opposition assuming that he takes to this somewhat unique racing surface. Tom Morley saw fit to invest 45,000gns in order to acquire ownership of this four-year-old Iffraaj colt (previously in training with Clive Cox). Hopefully he'll see a positive return on that outlay sooner rather than later.