15:25
31 Days Free Racing TV At racingtv.com/freetrial Novices' Handicap Hurdle Race
Class 5, 2m2½f (2m2f148y), Hurdle, 3yo+, Rated 0-105, £3,697, 7 runners
- Going
- GOOD TO SOFT, Good in places (GoingStick: 5.3)
- Surface
- Turf
- Weather
- Misty
Tip for this race
All today's tips ›Cotton Socks gets the vote at Stratford over 18f on good to soft, as he arrives with a fitness edge, a progressive profile and a more solid book of form than Red Rubio. Red Rubio is the top-rated runner on our figures at 112, only five pounds ahead of our pick, so the gap is a narrow one that the extra fitness and consistency can bridge. Molly's Lad is just a pound behind Cotton Socks and cannot be dismissed, while Exactly Right is the other one to keep onside at the weights. Cotton Socks is the pick, narrowly preferred to Red Rubio.
Runners
Adam Wedge
Clive Boultbee-Brooks 0/2
Red Rubio arrives in rock-solid recent form, a second last time out following a third and two fourths, and he has run on today's going before. Our rating has him top of seven, though 173 days off and 168 lb are the main risk.
- Sire
- Sumbal (IRE)
- Dam
- Alexander Divine (GB) by Halling
- Owner
- C C Boultbee Brooks
- Foaled
- 15 May 2021
- Stable
- Woolhope, H'fords
- Trainer last 14 days
- 0 wins from 2 runs (0%)
- Trainer running to form
- 33%
- Ratings
- Perf 113
Fern O'Brien (5)
Fergal O'Brien 2/24
Molly's Lad is yet to win in his last five starts but has been consistently competitive, a second two starts back and a third three starts back, while he has run on today's going before and our rating of 106 ranks him third of seven. The main risk is a 223-day absence, coupled with a hefty 167 lb.
- Sire
- Falco (USA)
- Dam
- Molly Childers (IRE) by Stowaway
- Owner
- The Ravenstone Partnership
- Foaled
- 11 May 2022
- Stable
- Withington, Gloucs
- Trainer last 14 days
- 2 wins from 24 runs (8%)
- Trainer running to form
- 32%
- Ratings
- Perf 106
Tom Cannon
Lucy Wadham 1/5
Cotton Socks looks the pick on profile: a winner two starts back, with a third, a third and a second before that, and 24 days since his last run keeps him fit. He has run on today's going, though a sixth last time out is the one blot.
- Sire
- Passing Glance (GB)
- Dam
- Giving Back (GB) by Midnight Legend
- Owner
- Mrs P Toye
- Foaled
- 30 Apr 2022
- Stable
- Newmarket, Suffolk
- Trainer last 14 days
- 1 wins from 5 runs (20%)
- Trainer running to form
- 32%
- Ratings
- Perf 107
Harriet Tucker (7)
Neil Mulholland 6/23
Exactly Right has finished third in each of his last two starts, with a fourth before that, and he has run over today's trip and going before. The trainer's yard is in cracking form, but he is yet to win in recent starts and carries 161 lb.
- Sire
- Kingman (GB)
- Dam
- Mot Juste (USA) by Distorted Humor
- Owner
- C E Handford
- Foaled
- 22 Jan 2022
- Stable
- Limpley Stoke, Wilts
- Trainer last 14 days
- 6 wins from 23 runs (26%)
- Trainer running to form
- 48%
- Ratings
- Perf 98
Lorcan Williams
Jeremy Scott 1/5
Clear Sky is winless in her last five, finishing seventh last time out and unplaced the run before, so she is hard to fancy at 156 lb. On the plus side, she has run on today's going before and returns after 31 days, while our figures rank her fifth of seven.
- Sire
- Jack Hobbs (GB)
- Dam
- Nova De Teillee (FR) by Poliglote
- Owner
- The Hills And Ways
- Foaled
- 29 Mar 2022
- Stable
- Brompton Regis, Somerset
- Trainer last 14 days
- 1 wins from 5 runs (20%)
- Trainer running to form
- 44%
- Ratings
- Perf 95
Conor O'Farrell
Kerry Lee 0/4
Lightly raced and still unexposed, Drumlee Orders has been winless in his last four starts, though he was third four starts back before a seventh last time out, and he returns after 33 days off carrying 156 lb with scope for improvement.
- Sire
- Order Of St George (IRE)
- Dam
- Chinara (IRE) by Supreme Leader
- Owner
- R L Baker R Lee
- Foaled
- 2 Jun 2020
- Stable
- Byton, H'fords
- Trainer last 14 days
- 0 wins from 4 runs (0%)
- Trainer running to form
- 30%
Freddie Keighley (5)
Martin Keighley 1/10
Lord Virginia is winless in his last five, with a fifth, a fifth and a seventh in the middle of that run, so he is hard to fancy, ranked sixth of seven on our figures. A third last time out and experience of today's trip help, but 153 lb after 37 days off is a big ask.
- Sire
- Walzertakt (GER)
- Dam
- Virginia Bella (FR) by Laveron
- Owner
- Martin Keighley Racing Partnership 17
- Foaled
- 1 Apr 2021
- Stable
- Luckley, Gloucs
- Trainer last 14 days
- 1 wins from 10 runs (10%)
- Trainer running to form
- 42%
- Ratings
- Perf 93
Draw in brackets. Headgear: b blinkers, v visor, h hood, t tongue strap, p cheekpieces, e/s eye shield; ¹ first time. C course winner, D distance winner, CD course and distance winner. Form reads oldest to newest.