Racecards
13:50 Fontwell Park
Crown Racing First For Service Beginners' Chase (Class 4)
- 6 Runners
- Distance: 2m 2f
- Going: Soft, Heavy in places
- Surface: Turf
- £9,200 added
Dancing Bay
316- Form 5/U3620-
- Age 10
- Weight 11-4
- Trainer N J Henderson
- Jockey M A Fitzgerald
prominent, ridden after 4 out, outpaced approaching 3 out, rallied 2 out, ran on to go 2nd flat
- Form 14004-0
- Age 8
- Weight 11-4
led to 5th, ridden and chased leader 4 out, led approaching 2 out, headed last, no extra
- Form 331176-
- Age 7
- Weight 11-4
- Trainer Miss H C Knight
- Jockey Timmy Murphy
held up towards rear, headway approaching 3 out, soon ridden, led last, pushed clear flat
Monzon (FR)
27- Form PP3-PF3
- Age 7
- Weight 11-4
- Official Rating 107
- Trainer Miss Z C Davison
- Jockey O Nelmes
held up in touch, lost place 8th, soon ridden and weakened
- Form 4264-32
- Age 9
- Weight 10-11
- Trainer G P Enright
- Jockey J E Moore
held up last, blundered badly 3rd, soon well behind
- Form 141-322
- Age 5
- Weight 10-10
- Official Rating 125
- Trainer O Sherwood
- Jockey L P Aspell
chased leader, led 5th, jumped right after, headed approaching 2 out, weakened last
In depth
Verdict
An intriguing beginners chase can go to Desert Air, with Caribou and Dancing Bay looking like obvious dangers. The ground could be the key factor here, and the selection is one who should appreciate the testing conditions. His stable is in fine form at present, and the selection should have benefited from his run in the Ladbroke Hurdle last month. Two of his three wins came on soft ground so he looks the solid option today. Dancing Bay represents another stable in good form so must be feared, however he may be a bit long in the tooth to be going chasing at the age of ten so is passed over. Caribou has been placed behind decent sorts in all three of his chase runs, however the competition looks just as stiff today so a place may be the best he can hope for again. Glasker Mill is interesting having won around here before, and he makes his chase debut today. Timmy Murphy gets on well with this horse, however a break of 293 days means that fitness must be taken on trust and he may just benefit from this outing. Carly Bay will need to step up significantly on her chasing debut at Plumpton to feature today, whilst Monzon looks out of his depth. Ultimately we will side with David Pipe's Desert Air to make his chasing debut a winning one.