14:10 Newbury

Thursday 11 June 2020

All14:1014:4015:1015:4016:1016:45

It's Not Rocket Science With MansionBet Handicap

Off time: 14:13 | Winning time: 1m 12.11s

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(4)

Rasheeq^p,t1⁹⁰

Age: 7| Weight: 9-9| J: Cieren Fallon⁽³⁾| T: M Moubarak| OR: 74| CD

11/2

Prefers cut underfoot (soft side of good); well below-par in two starts since winning with plenty in hand over C&D (good to soft) last June; sits 6lb above that winning mark sporting a newly fitted tongue-tie; Cieren Fallon a positive booking.

Form: 19410-7

(3)

Bounty Pursuit²⁴⁰

Age: 8| Weight: 9-9| J: Megan Nicholls⁽³⁾| T: M Blake| OR: 74| D

15/2

Hit a rich vein of form late last summer, rattling back up the weights courtesy of 7f victories at Salisbury and Chepstow (x2); will need to return all guns firing off a 240-day absence in order to make his mark; has won over 6f previously.

Form: 211410-

(2)

Storm Melody^p⁹⁹

Age: 7| Weight: 9-8| J: K T O'Neill| T: A Stronge| OR: 73| D

20/1

Won three-times (5½f-6f) in the space of six weeks last summer - always on a fast racing surface; lost his way thereafter and made little impact over 7f at Kempton in March; thought likely to need a run or two to achieve full match fitness.

Form: 01155-0

(8)

Our Oystercatcher²³⁹

Age: 6| Weight: 9-7| J: Hector Crouch| T: M Pattinson| OR: 72| BF| D

11/2

Effective on a variety of turf surfaces (won on good to firm and good to soft) but has done the bulk of his recent racing over 5f; sits 4lb higher than when hanging on grimly off the front-end at Sandown (5f) last August.

Form: 465126-

(1)

Spanish Star²¹⁹

Age: 5| Weight: 9-7| J: L P Keniry| T: P R Chamings| OR: 72| D

8/1

Won three on the spin on his return to action last season, culminating with a ready 2¼L success at Goodwood (6f, soft); sits just 2lb above his last winning mark (Bath in September); merits ample respect with a 219-day break no concern.

Form: 578138-

(6)

Alfie Solomons^b¹⁴³

Age: 4| Weight: 9-5| J: P J Dobbs| T: Mrs A J Perrett| OR: 70

7/2

Without a win since his juvenile days, when scoring over 5f on Tapeta at Newcastle for Richard Spencer; easing steadily in the weights as a result - drops to a handicap mark of 70 for the very first time.

Form: 5658-37

(7)

Global Hope^p⁸

Age: 5| Weight: 9-4| J: Oisin Murphy| T: Miss Gay Kelleway| OR: 69| D

3/1

Both career wins (2-18) came over 6f at Yarmouth (good/good to firm) late last summer; should strip fitter for a spin at that seaside venue last week (stumbled leaving the stalls) and it's interesting to see Oisin Murphy booked to ride; chance.

Form: 27-2664

(9)

Swanton Blue²⁶⁰

Age: 7| Weight: 8-9| J: Harry Bentley| T: E De Giles| OR: 60| D

11/1

Well treated on C&D form from 2017 (then rated 70), but didn't achieve a great deal of any note last season (0-8); mid-summer will possibly be the time (if any) in which to catch him right; others are preferred on this occasion.

Form: 802459-

Non-Runners

(5)

Gilt Edge¹⁹⁵

Weight: 9-3| Age: 4

T: C Mason J: Non Runner

Forecasts

Global Hope (3/1), Alfie Solomons (7/2), Rasheeq (11/2), Our Oystercatcher (11/2), Bounty Pursuit (15/2), Spanish Star (8/1), Swanton Blue (11/1), Gilt Edge (12/1), Storm Melody (20/1)

A tricky looking opener. From a handicapping perspective a case can be made for both Alfie Solomons and Swanton Blue, although neither horse can be labelled as a prolific winner, while Global Hope will almost certainly benefit for the run at Yarmouth last week and has the man of the moment Oisin Murphy in the saddle. However, for very small stakes we'll chance the Paul Chamings-trained SPANISH STAR who was successful on each of his first three starts last season, so shouldn't be unduly troubled by returning from a 219-day absence. Of the remainder, Rasheeq (sports a tongue-tie) and Gilt Edge both merit serious each-way consideration.