SOUTHWELL

5:10 ENJOY HAMBLETON RACING'S SOLE OWNER SERVICE HANDICAP (CLASS 4) (4yo+,0-85) 1m 4f

VACATION 9-6 ~ Making his debut for his new yard but has been off the track since August. Hasn’t won after a break before so will probably need the run and failed to get home over 1m3f so up against it today over an extra furlong

TARTAN TIE 9-4 ~ Made only one start as a 3yo last season but was mightily impressive when bolting up in a Redcar maiden. The Mark Johnston trained colt made his debut on the all weather at Wolverhampton and finished 3rd behind Birkside. The winner has a fine record on the all weather with 7 wins in 14 starts, the 2nd Jack Rolfe has gone on to win as has the 4th Nobel Ministrel so the form of that race looks good. Dropped in trip at Lingfield next time out he was outpaced over 1¼m but wasn’t disgraced in a stronger field than he encounters today. Southwell is also likely to suit this big colt better than the turns of Lingfield and leading from the front he could gallop the opposition into submission.

BENTLEY BROOK 9-2 ~ Fine record at Southwell with 4 wins and 2 places in 8 starts and the his last win at the course has been franked by the 2nd Clear Reef running well in the Musselburgh Gold Cup at the weekend. However that rival is progressive and the Paul Blockley 6yo may struggle to win again on a 7lbs higher mark. Ran again under his new mark of 80 at Wolverhampton but finished last for Fergal Lynch. A return to his favourted conditions and under Stephen Donohoe, who has a 4-3 record on the gelding, should bring around a better performance. However he would need a lifetime best to win off his current mark in this company.

THEY ALL LAUGHTED 8-13 ~ Another course specialist with 3 wins in 9 starts and 4 placed efforts and his record over course and distance reads 2,1,3,1. So the son of Zafonic warrants plenty of respect in todays conditions as he goes looking for a three timer. He has been raised 5lbs for his last win which isn’t insurmountable as the form of both wins have been franked by those in behind. However the profile of the typical horse to line up in staying handicap at Southwell is poor and he could be vulnerable to one of the exposed four year olds in the todays line up.

JACKIE KIELY 8-12 ~ On the subject of exposed horse few could fit the profile better than Southwell regular Jackie Kiely. A prolific winner at Southwell with 8 victories in 23 starts on the Fibresand the Roy Brotherton trained 7yo has yet to win on a mark higher than 70. So the 6lbs rise for his win last time out will mean a career best effort will be needed if the horse is to win off his current handicap mark of 75.

PUTRA SQUARE 8-10 ~ Finished 4th in the Group 3 Acomb Stakes at York as a 2yo and then last season as a 3yo he ran some fine races behind Arabian Gulf and Al Tharib. However as encouraging as those efforts were his subsequent efforts in two maidens on the all weather at Kempton and Lingfield were extremely disappointing. From his effort in a Newmarket maiden when finishing only a neck behind Arabian Gulf (who went on to finish 2nd in the Group 2 Chester Vase behind Soldier Of Fortune) to a Lingfield maiden when he was beaten 3 lengths by the 65 rated River Deuce the horse has regressed at an alarming rate. If the 4yos trainer Paul Cole has returned the horse to somewhere near his best then he is thrown in off a mark of 75. However the horse hasn’t run since October and he has previously shown that he is better for a run. Considering how he finished the season a watching brief may be the most logical approach before the horse becomes a viable betting proposition.

ROCK ‘N’ ROLLER 8-9 ~ To go off at 8-13 having been unplaced in all of the horses’ four previous starts highlights how weak his Newcastle maiden was. His subsequent mark of looked rather harsh and he only managed to beat home 5 horses in two starts in handicap company. This is his first start on the all weather and the horse could need the run having been of the track for 5 months. The William Muir 4yo looks up against it if he is to record his first win in handicap company.

SHAPE UP 8-9 ~ Yet another horse that runs well on Fibresand with both of the horses wins on the all weather coming here at Southwell. The Ray Craggs gelding hasn’t seen a racecourse since June last year and his trainer states he will need the run but he has gone well fresh before. However he looks plenty high enough in the handicap, rated 1 lb higher than his career highest winning mark and at the age of 8 you’d doubt he’d be improving.

SAHRATI 8-8 ~ Started favourite on his only previous visit here and was hugely disappointing and was eased when beaten. Last of 4 he was even beaten by the 65 rated Inflagrantedelicto and his form on the all weather was only slightly better than when next seen out as a 3yo. Improvement came for the switch to turf and a step up in trip which enabled the horse to record two wins in handicap company. He finished the season on a mark of 90 so running today on a mark of 73 the horse is thrown in on his turf form. However he still has questions to answer as to whether he is just as good on the all weather and all his best turf form has been over 1¼. He also has to overcome an absence of 6 months but his trainer has stated he should be fit enough.

CONCLUSION

Sahrati sets the standard as the class horse in the race and as he is 17lbs well in on his turf form. The question is whether he can reproduce the same level of form on Fibresand and it’s a big question after his last effort at Southwell. At such prohibitive odds it could prove worthwhile to take him on with an each way angle into the race.

They All Laughed looks like the best of those who have raced predominantly on the all weather but the unexposed Tartan Tie looks the best alternative.

Having beaten the 84 rated Murbek by 5 lengths in his Redcar maiden he could be well handicapped off his current mark of 83. He made a solid debut on the all weather at Wolverhampton and a slight drop in trip should inconvenience him. The more galloping track at Southwell should play to his strengths and as we well know a Mark Johnston horse is difficult to pass.

1pt EACH WAY - TARTAN TIE @ 13/2

RESULT

TARTAN TIE 1st = +7.8pts