16:30 Gowran Park

Wednesday 17 June 2020

All13:0013:3514:1014:4515:2015:5516:3017:05

MansionBet's Paid As A Winner If Your Horse Finishes 2nd In The First Race At Royal Ascot Handicap (Div 1)

Off time: 16:32 | Winning time: 2m 2.39s

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Selected odds by:

(11)

Tandem^p1¹⁰⁸

Age: 11| Weight: 10-4| J: O McSweeney⁽¹⁰⁾| T: D K Weld| OR: 87| D

28/1

Veteran who hasn't won since July 2017, and as a result of that he is now 12lb below his last winning mark on turf. Needs to show vastly more room for encouragement judged on recent efforts so is best watched for the time being.

Form: 3000/97-

(5)

Mirann²⁹⁹

Age: 4| Weight: 10-3| J: Ben Coen⁽³⁾| T: J P Murtagh| OR: 86

9/1

French import who has a likeable profile after just the three starts. Makes seasonal/stable debut and interesting that he is dropped back to 1m1f for it (only ever ran over 1m4f). Today may not necessarily be the day but he is definitely a player.

Form: 215-

(13)

Sky Seven¹⁸⁰

Age: 4| Weight: 10-3| J: S P Davis| T: M Halford| OR: 86

25/1

Record of 0-6 on turf doesn't exactly inspire confidence. Shown many times that he handles it though, and his effort when last of 13 at Dundalk in December can be forgiven since it came at the end of a long year. May need this seasonal reappearance.

Form: 844220-

(2)

Hamley²²⁹

Age: 7| Weight: 10-2| J: O J Orr| T: Peter Fahey| OR: 85| D

11/2

Winless in 2019 and she is subsequently 2lb below her last winning mark on turf. Certainly not disgraced and ran better than her finishing position would suggest when a close up sixth at Dundalk (1m4f; standard) last time. Vulnerable to improvers.

Form: 044076-

(3)

Akhlaaq^t1⁶³¹

Age: 6| Weight: 9-13| J: J A Heffernan| T: A J Martin| OR: 82

50/1

Has seemingly been difficult to train (made just the four career starts since debut victory in 2016). Now makes debut for this yard, and while he does have a fair bit to prove on his first start for 631 days, any market support should be noted.

Form: 14448/

(15)

Lethal Power^b²⁹²

Age: 5| Weight: 9-13| J: W J Lee| T: Miss S A Finn| OR: 82| CD

10/1

Endured a quiet 2019 after a busy campaign the previous year. Goes well fresh which offers some hope as his form tailed off after he made his seasonal debut at the Curragh (1m; good to yielding). First start for new yard but is a C&D winner.

Form: 19/3060-

(1)

Mohtarrif^h1⁷

Age: 4| Weight: 9-10| J: Colin Keane| T: G M Lyons| OR: 79| BF

5/2

Lightly raced sort. Ran nowhere near market expectations (11/4f) on debut for bang in-form stable at Navan (1m; good to firm) last week. Evidently thought capable of better so worth another chance, especially if strong in the market.

Form: 418-0

(16)

Aurora Moon²⁵²

Age: 4| Weight: 9-8| J: B P Kennedy⁽¹⁰⁾| T: Kevin Coleman| OR: 77

125/1

Only managed to beat one rival in a trio of handicaps when switched to this sphere last year. Dropped 4lb for her latest defeat, jockeys' claim will also help and she should find this easier than recent assignments. Place claims.

Form: 514000-

(14)

Dare To Flare²³⁹

Age: 4| Weight: 9-8| J: A J Slattery⁽⁵⁾| T: A Slattery| OR: 77

16/1

Hard to predict as he can pop up unexpectedly, and he ended last season on an underwhelming note. Does have good course form to his name which was shown on sole visit to this track when he finished a narrow second over C&D.

Form: 128260-

(10)

Excelcius²⁵⁰

Age: 4| Weight: 9-7| J: Gary Carroll| T: T Mullins| OR: 76

28/1

Threatened to return to form in final two starts last season with solid third-placed efforts, including when a close third at Dundalk (1m; standard). Makes seasonal reappearance off an unchanged mark so is an interesting contender.

Form: 574433-

(17)

Sheberghan^t⁹⁶

Age: 5| Weight: 9-7| J: Declan McDonogh| T: P W Flynn| OR: 76

7/1

Benefitted majorly for the change of stables as shown by consistent form in three stars on the AW at Dundalk over 1m2f/1m4f. Drop back to 1m1f raises a question mark but the return to turf should pose no problems and he is high on the shortlist.

Form: 6002-12

(9)

Aced It²⁴²

Age: 4| Weight: 9-4| J: S M Crosse⁽³⁾| T: J P O'Brien| OR: 73

6/1

Makes handicap debut for new stable after leaving John Oxx. Fair to say he has been underwhelming so far. Beaten a very long way when finishing down the field at Leopardstown (1m2f; soft to heavy) in October. Difficult to make a case for.

Form: 08/40-

(8)

Check My Pulse²⁴⁹

Age: 4| Weight: 9-3| J: P A Harnett⁽⁷⁾| T: T Costello| OR: 72

100/1

Endured a miserable campaign last year which was summed up by his final run of the season when tailed off at Limerick (1m; heavy). May have disliked the ground but subsequently has plenty of convincing to do. Dropped a further 4lb in the handicap.

Form: 366778-

(6)

Segenhoe³⁰¹

Age: 4| Weight: 9-3| J: N G McCullagh| T: C Byrnes| OR: 72

28/1

One of the more unexposed runners in the line-up who makes seasonal/handicap debut as he steps up marginally in trip. Career best effort achieved at this track last May. Market support would speak volumes coming from this source.

Form: 8354-

(12)

Patchouli^t1¹⁸²

Age: 4| Weight: 9-2| J: G M Ryan⁽⁵⁾| T: H De Bromhead| OR: 71

16/1

Dual-purpose sort who has failed to make any impact in four starts since joining this yard. Extremely difficult to make any sort of case for given the way she ran at Dundalk (1m; standard) when last seen. Opposed until offering more encouragement.

Form: 415509-

Non-Runners

(4)

Roving Mission⁹⁶

Weight: 9-0| Age: 4

T: W McCreery J: Reserve 1

(7)

Gerry's Way³²⁴

Weight: 8-12| Age: 4

T: G Elliott J: Reserve 2

Forecasts

Mohtarrif (5/2), Hamley (11/2), Aced It (6/1), Sheberghan (7/1), Mirann (9/1), Lethal Power (10/1), Roving Mission (10/1), Dare To Flare (16/1), Patchouli (16/1), Gerry's Way (16/1), Sky Seven (25/1), Tandem (28/1), Excelcius (28/1), Segenhoe (28/1), Akhlaaq (50/1), Check My Pulse (100/1), Aurora Moon (125/1)

There are a few runners in the line-up having their first starts for new yards such as Aced It and Akhlaaq of whom it would be no surprise to see them return to form. The French import Mirann is interesting but must prove himself at this trip having only ever ran over 1m4f. Sheberghan is yet to finish out of the front two in any of his last three starts, while Mohtarrif is surely capable of better than he showed on debut for Ger Lyons. Preference is for the unexposed handicap newcomer SEGENHOE who should find the necessary improvement for going up in trip. Any market support for this son of Dark Angel would further enhance his already solid claims.