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Racecards

15:55 Fontwell Park

Horses For Forces London Marathon Handicap Chase (Class 4)

  • 7 Runners
  • Distance: 3m 4f
  • Going: Good
  • Surface: Turf
  • £3,750 added
  • Winner: £2,439
  • 2nd: £716
  • 3rd: £358
  • 4th: £179
Weighed In
  • Winning Time: 7m 12.77s
  • Off Time: 15:55:19
  • 7 Ran
1
Silk - Grey, pink sleeves, grey spots, grey cap, pink spots
  • Form 6-53142
  • Age 7
  • Weight 11-12
  • Official Rating 110

held up in last trio, headway to chase leaders approaching 13th, mistake and lost place 17th, pushed along and struggling before 3 out, no chance when blundered 2 out, tailed off

2
Silk - Black and Yellow (halved), Yellow sleeves, quartered cap

Rebel Melody (IRE)

15 bt BFCD
5/1
  • Form 124632
  • Age 10
  • Weight 11-6
  • Official Rating 104

chased leading duo, ridden before 3 out, weakened before next, tailed off

3
Silk - Black, Pink triple diamond and diamonds on cap

Lavenoak Lad

26 t C
11/2
  • Form P43443
  • Age 11
  • Weight 11-1
  • Official Rating 99

led and disputed, narrowly headed 6th, led again and hit 9th, narrowly headed 12th, led again next, ridden and headed approaching 4 out, soon no chance with leading duo

4
Silk - Orange, beige cross belts, brown sleeves
4/1
  • Form 1-1215F
  • Age 8
  • Weight 11-0
  • Official Rating 98

held up in last pair, steady headway 16th, chased winner 4 out, ridden and stayed on flat, always held

5
Silk - Brown, Orange epaulets and star on cap
10/3
  • Form 2P8264
  • Age 11
  • Weight 10-11
  • Official Rating 95

led and disputed, led narrowly 6th, narrowly headed 9th, led 12th until next, led again approaching 4 out, driven and stayed on under pressure flat

6
Silk - Red, White chevrons, Dark Blue sleeves, White stars, Dark Blue cap, White stars
8/1
  • Form P14RP4
  • Age 8
  • Weight 10-10
  • Official Rating 94

chased leaders, not fluent 4th, ridden 11th, weakened when went badly right 16th, pulled up after next

7
Silk - Maroon, orange star, dark blue sleeves, white cap, orange star
14/1
  • Form 051PP-P
  • Age 8
  • Weight 10-1
  • Official Rating 85

in rear, not fluent, mistake 9th, hit 10th and next, ridden and struggling 15th, tailed off and pulled up before 4 out

In depth

Verdict

A reasonable case can be made for most of these in what's likely to become an attritional contest. Rebel Melody, River Indus and Lavenoak Lad will certainly stay but all prefer more juice underfoot to bring their stamina into play. Although all are shortlisted, ABBEY DORE is just preferred. The eight-year-old is no less than 34lb higher than when scoring at Plumpton just over a year ago, a success that provided the catalyst for four handicap wins in five outings. He may still improve further on the evidence of his latest effort, whilst Lady De La Vega is a massive threat if seeing out the longest trip she's faced to date.

Formwatch

Lady De La Vega (FR) 9-2 (11-9) Tracked leaders, mistake 4th, ridden after 5 out, led narrowly next, headed narrowly 2 out, kept on to press winner and every chance until no extra towards finish, 2nd of 8, 2l behind Theophrastus (11-12) at Exeter 3m nov hcp chs 0-115 (4) gd in Mar.

Rebel Melody (IRE) 15-8fav (11-3) Led, headed after 2nd, tracked leader, with leader 10th, led 13th, headed before 4 out, ridden before next, no impression, 2nd of 5, 17l behind Shammy Buskins (11-12) at Southwell 3m hcp chs 0-115 (4) gd in Mar.

Lavenoak Lad 9-2 (9-10) Tracked leaders, went 2nd 14th until 18th, outpaced 3 out, stayed on flat, 3rd of 7, 2 1/4l behind Justabout (10-1) at Warwick 3m 5f hcp chs 0-125 (3) gd in Mar.

Abbey Dore (IRE) 12-1 (9-13) In touch ridden in held 6th when fell 4 out, in a race won by Ammunition (11-2) at Exeter 3m 6f hcp chs 0-125 (3) gs in Mar, 16 ran.

River Indus 11-1 (9-10) Chased leader, narrow lead 10th, headed before 4 out, one pace in 4th from next, 4th of 16, 21l behind Ammunition (11-2) at Exeter 3m 6f hcp chs 0-125 (3) gs in Mar.

Celian (FR) 8-1 (11-8) Tracked leader, mistake and lost a couple of places 4th, slow and dropped to rear 10th, rallied on outer to chase leaders after 11th, slow 13th, soon ridden, weakened from 3 out, 4th of 7, 36l behind Theophrastus (11-10) at Folkestone 3m 1f hcp chs 0-100 (4) gd in Mar.

Doc Reason (IRE) 25-1 (10-10) Jumped moderately, led until jumped slowly and headed 1st, not fluent next, lost 2nd 4th, dropped to modest 4th at 11th, struggling 4 out, tailed off when pulled up 2 out, in a race won by Kercabellec (9-7) at Huntingdon 3m hcp chs 0-100 (4) gd in Mar, 5 ran.