O Maonlai to hit right note at Newbury
O MAONLAI looks a player in the big race at Newbury tomorrow.
It all went wrong for the nine-yearold at Haydock on his last start in January, but that should not put anyone off too much as he tends to come alive at the Berkshire circuit.
Tom George has to work hard with O Maonlai as he is not a particularly easy horse to get right on a racecourse.
But Newbury is very much his bag, as he showed when winning the Sir Peter O’Sullevan Memorial Handicap so handsomely in November.
Despite having been off the track since May, he glided into contention before readily accounting for Warriors Tale by five lengths.
He was then sent into battle for the Peter Marsh Chase at Haydock, but he could never get serious under Adrian Heskin and was pulled up in the soft ground.
O Maonlai was, however, not the only horse to have been overawed by Bristol De Mai that day so that run can easily be forgotten as he reverts to a more suitable course and distance.
The handicapper certainly feels that way, at any rate, as he remains on a mark of 143 for the William Hillsponsored Greatwood Gold Cup.
There is a suspicion he still has a lot more to give over fences, though, so that weighty issue might not be the end of the world, either.
His trainer has given O Maonlai a nice break - a ploy that has worked so successfully with him in the past after Haydock and, with no fancy entries, this could be his big day.
Similar thoughts apply to Present Man, who should be trained to precision for the BetBright Grimthorpe Handicap Chase at Doncaster.
Paul Nicholls clearly thinks a bit of this seven-year-old or else he would not have allowed him to run in the Feltham, in which he was a nevernearer fourth.
Present Man is not yet at that level over fences, over which he has won three times from seven starts, so it is probably more relevant to recall his defeat of Potters Legend in a Grade Two over three miles at this track in December.
He was doing all of his best work close home so the hope is that he easily gets his extra quarter of a mile.
With Jack Sherwood taking off a handy 3lb, he rates a sound alternative to those higher up in the weights with Grand National aspirations. (21) P Nicholls 8 11-12 (BF) ..Stan Sheppard (5) (42) T R George 9 11-3 (C2) ........................ A P Heskin (28) D Skelton 6 11-3 ................... H Skelton (56) T Symonds 6 11-2 ..................... J M Davies (8)HenryOliver911-2 ................................. RJohnson (30) E Williams 11 10-10 (D) ......... A Wedge (35) P Nicholls 7 10-8 ............................. H Cobden (30) Miss V Williams 8 10-8 (D) ..... T Scudamore (84) M W Easterby 11 10-2 (D3)...G Sheehan (35) R Dickin 10 10-2 (CD) .................. C Poste BETTING: 5-2 Oldgrangewood, 5 Vic De Touzaine, 6 Vibrato Valtat, 7 Hollywoodien, 8 Thomas Crapper, 10 O Maonlai, More Buck’s, 12 Dresden, Tornado In Milan, 25 Shadows Lengthen.
4-1 Held up behind, steady headway on inside after 5 out, soon tracked leaders, went 2nd 2 out, shaken up to lead approaching last, soon clear, driven out, won at Wetherby 2m 3f hcp chs 0-150 FRANK THE BARBER (17) Steph Hollinshead 5 9-7 (CD) ... A Kirby 62 THE WEE CHIEF (224) J Fox 11 9-6 (C2) ..................... K O’Neill — DEER SONG (29) J Bridger 4 9-6 ....................... Jane Elliott (7) 60 ASK THE GURU (43) M Attwater 7 9-6 (CD2) .............. L Morris 54 ROY’S LEGACY (30) S A Harris 8 9-6 (CD6) ........... C Bennett (5) 62 FABULOUS FLYER (17) J Gask 4 9-2 (CD) ........... D A Parkes (5) 62 RED FLUTE (4) D P Quinn 5 9-0 (CD2) .................. Danny Brock 59 WILLOW SPRING (24) D P Quinn 5 9-0 (D2) ............ T Clark (3) 60 GIVE US A BELLE (8) Mrs C Dunnett 8 9-0 (D7)Josephine Gordon 60 MOLLY JONES (19) Mat Salaman 8 9-0 (C, D3) ............... J Fahy 56 BETTING: 15-8 Fabulous Flyer, 4 The Wee Chief, 5 Frank The Barber, 6 Roy’s Legacy, 10 Red Flute, 12 Ask The Guru, 14 Willow Spring, 20 Deer Song, 25 Others. (21) M Wigham 6 9-7 (CD4) .................. C Beasley (17) R Fahey 5 9-6 (D3) ......... P Hanagan (21) D O’Meara 9 9-4 (CD3) .... A Kirby (23) D Elsworth 4 9-1 (CD3) ......... S De Sousa (112) B Meehan 5 8-12 (D2) ............... D Costello (7) Archie Watson 5 8-12 (CD2) .............. L Morris (44) R Hughes 5 8-9 (BF, D) ...................... S W Kelly (9) D Shaw 10 8-9 (CD3) ........................ Martin Lane (458) M Wigham 4 8-6 ........... Josephine Gordon (7) P Hedger 6 8-6 (CD4) ....... T Marquand (21) S C Williams 8 8-4 (CD4) ..... Milly Naseb (7) BETTING: 7-2 My Target, 9-2 Third Time Lucky, 6 Loyalty, 13-2 Chevallier, 7 Alfred Hutchinson, Bunbury, 12 Mansfield, 14 Lunar Deity, Sea of Flames, 20 Others. (14) J Gask 4 9-10 ............................ D A Parkes (5) (7) M Bosley 6 9-10 ............. T Marquand (8) J S Moore 3 8-10 ...................... L Keniry (14) W Knight 3 8-10 .................. S De Sousa (164) G Margarson 3 8-10 ....... Jane Elliott (7) (80) S C Williams 3 8-10... Aaron Jones (3) Adam West 3 8-5 ...................... M Dwyer (14) Sir M Prescott 3 8-5 ................ L Morris (16) J Gask 3 8-5 .............. A Beschizza BETTING: 7-4 Miss Mirabeau, 4 Sparkling Cossack, 5 Cold Fire, 6 Daring Guest, 10 Allegheny Bay, Beach Dancer, 12 Amber Mischief, 25 Shouldertoshoulder, 66 Pocket Warrior. (9) D M Simcock 4 9-10 (CD) .............................. T Eaves 76 (28) A Brown 5 9-8 (BF, C3)Josh Doyle (5) 80 (31) T D Barron 4 9-5 (D) .................. S James 84 (36) J Santos 6 9-4 ....................... Renato Souza 82 (22) C Teague 4 8-13 (D2) ....... Megan Nicholls (5) 72 (28) B Smart 5 8-6 (D) ...................................... B A Curtis 80 (18) K Ryan 4 8-3 ............................................. Joe Doyle 88 (18) J Goldie 7 8-2 ................. J P Sullivan 78 BETTING: 15-8 Veena, 11-4 Poppy In The Wind, 4 Fredricka, 6 Ki Ki, 12 Semana Santa, 16 Thorntoun Lady, 20 Jess, 33 Silhuette. (9) B Smart 5 9-9 (D3) ........ C Rodriguez (7) (5) P Morris 5 9-7 (CD) ..................... L Edmunds (5) (79) R C Guest 5 9-2 (BF, CD) .......... P Mulrennan (9) I Jardine 4 9-2 (D) ................ T Eaves (50) Kristin Stubbs 4 9-0 ......... T Hamilton (105) R C Guest 8 8-13 (BF, CD2) ... J F Egan (18) Miss T Waggott 7 8-11 (CD2)... B A Curtis (17) S Dixon 4 8-8 (D) .............. R P Walsh (7) BETTING: 3 Horsforth, 4 Bahango, Ambitious Icarus, 11-2 Compton River, 6 Top of The Bank, 12 Entertaining Ben, Windforpower, 14 Socialites Red. 15-8fav Held up in touch, headway over 2f out, chased leaders over 1f out, kept on same pace final furlong, 2nd of 13, 1/2l behind Lady Nayef at Newcastle 5f hcp (6) in Dec. 11-4fav Towards rear, switched right entering final furlong, ran on, nearest finish, 4th of 9, 2 1/4l behind Head Space at Lingfield 6f hcp (6) pol in Nov. 11-2 Went right start, chased leaders, ridden to lead inside final furlong, headed and unable to quicken close home, 2nd of 8, 1/2l behind Powerful Dream at Wolverhampton 5f hcp 0-75 (5) in Feb. 9-2 Rear division, ridden and headway over 1f out, kept on same pace, 6th of 11, 3l behind You’re Cool at Wolverhampton 5f hcp 0-75 (5) in Feb. 8-1 Made all, ridden clear over 1f out, driven out, won at Wolverhampton 6f hcp 0-60 (6) in Jan beating Harmonic Wave by 1/2l, 11 ran. 22-1 Tracked leaders in 3rd, ridden over 1f out, weakened inside final furlong, 9th of 11, 4 1/2l behind You’re Cool at Wolverhampton 5f hcp 0-75 (5) in Feb. 14-1 Tracked leaders, ridden and kept on inside final furlong, 6th of 11, 2 1/4l behind Indian Pursuit at Newcastle 5f hcp (6) in Feb. 16-1 Mid-division, beaten halfway, 6th of 9, 5l behind Times In Anatefka at Wolverhampton 5f hcp 0-60 (6) in Feb. (2) sft in Feb beating Dresden by 2 1/4l, 9 ran. 5-1 Mid-division, headway before 5th, chased winner after 10th, closed flat, unable to challenge, 2nd of 10, 2l behind Dusky Lark at Wincanton 2m 4f hcp chs 0-140 (3) hvy in Feb. 6-4fav Tracked leaders, mistake 11th, went 2nd 13th until 3 out, 2nd again form next, no impression winner, 2nd of 5, 7l behind Templehills at Warwick 2m 4f hcp chs (2) hvy in Feb.
11-4 Held up in 5th, hit 9th, pushed along in 3rd after 3 out, ridden and one pace when dropped to 4th between last two, went 3rd again towards finish, 3rd of 7, 4l behind Garde La Victoire at Sandown 1m 7f hcp chs (2) sft in Jan. 9-1 Held up in rear, headway 13th, weakened before 2 out, 7th of 13, 22l behind Foxtail Hill at Cheltenham 2m 5f hcp chs G3 (1) sft in Jan. 20-1 Led until 6th, jinked left and jumped doll fence after 9th, continued and chasing leaders when fell 12th, in a race won by Royal Vacation at Cheltenham 2m 5f nov chs (2) sft in Jan, 14 ran. (24) J R Jenkins 9 9-7 (CD) ............... A Kirby (4)ArchieWatson89-6(CD) .................. EGreatrex(3) (23) J Butler 4 9-5 (C, D) ...... R Winston (80) D Pipe 4 9-4 (C) ................. D Costello (10)SDurack59-2(C) .............................. JFanning (12) A Carroll 7 9-0 ............... G Downing (194) Miss Z Davison 9 8-13 (D) ........... L Keniry (57)NGifford78-12 ......................... MDwyer BETTING: 15-8 Synodic, 4 Attain, Juste Pour Nous, 6 Leonard Thomas, 8 Genuine Approval, 10 Karam Albaari, 25 Party Royal, Art History. (15) T D Barron 5 9-10 (D2) ......... B A Curtis (9) M Johnston 4 9-7 (BF, D2) ................... J Hart (28) K Dalgleish 4 9-6 (C) ... Shirley Teasdale (5) (18) J Goldie 7 9-3 (CD4) ....................... S James (15) I Jardine 7 9-3 (CD2) .C Rodriguez (7) (126) R C Guest 4 9-0 (D) .................. J F Egan (57) R Fahey 4 8-12 (D) .......... T Hamilton (129) M Dods 6 8-12 (D4) ............ P Mulrennan (18) P Niven 6 8-10 (CD3) .......................... A Mullen BETTING: 10-3 Barwah, 7-2 Byres Road, 5 War Department, Swift Emperor, 8 Eastern Dragon, 10 Amber Mystique, Testa Rossa, 14 Trinity Star, 25 Billy Roberts.
4-7fav Held up mid-division, led approaching 1f out, headed inside final furlong, no extra, 2nd of 10, 1l behind Forest Ranger at Redcar 7f 2yo mdn (5) gf in Sep. 5-1 Tracked leaders, ridden over 1f out, no extra towards finish, 4th of 5, 2l behind Timeless Flight at Kempton 7f 2yo hcp 0-90 (3) pol in Sep. 10-1 Tracked leader, led entering final 2f, ridden and headed approaching final furlong, ran on, 2nd of 6, 1/2l behind Log Off at Southwell 1m 3yo mdn auc stks (6) fbs in Jan. Caspar Netscher filly out of Twin Love. (23) D M Simcock 9-7 .......................... Jordan Uys (3) (231) T D Barron 9-7 .......... Ben Robinson (3) (190) K Dalgleish 9-6 ............... R Scott (79) B Haslam 9-5 ....................... Megan Nicholls (249) M Dods 9-0 ............................... C Rodriguez (11) L Mullaney 9-0 .......... B Sanderson (5) (15) D Broad (IRE) 8-13 .................. P Vaughan (11) Mrs A Duffield 8-12 ..... Ger O’Neill (3) BETTING: 9-4 Hollywood Harry, 3 Panther In Pink, 7-2 Alfolk, 8 African Grey, 10 Kazanan, 12 Rey Loopy, Annie Apple, 33 Albizu Campos.