Weekly Handicap Sleeper Notes: 28th-30th June
As the dust settles from the weekend’s races, I’m once again turning my attention to those unassuming contenders who quietly, in their own unique way, made their mark. These are the horses that slipped under the radar, but did so on a handicap mark that should see them defying market expectations in coming weeks…
Yep… it’s time for the next set of ‘Handicap Sleeper Notes‘… 📝🏇
So saddle up, racing fans, as I dissect the form, analysing both those that went close as well as those that finished down the field, and reveal the latest bunch of sleepers who are handicapped to steal the spotlight…
Weekly Handicap Sleeper Notes 28th-30th June
📅 Friday 28th June
135 Doncaster – 6f Class 5 Handicap
2nd – SHOWTIME MAHOMES
Only just run out of this in the closing stages but he’s been slowly creeping back into form on recent starts and he looks ready to score in the next few weeks… he ran here off OR 67, a mark 3lbs below his last winning mark and 10lbs below his highest winning mark and he’s got plenty to work with on the handicapping front (he went up 3lbs to OR 70 for this effort)… I have his PC as… C3 or less | OR 77 or less | Flat-Slightly Undulating tracks | May-Sept | DSLR <43 = 21594112 (3/8, 2p – all 3 career wins)…
9th – J R CAVAGIN
Does all his winning in the July to September period and he’s worth taking an interest in now we’ve turned into the second half of the year. He ran here off OR 66 so he’s on a winnable mark at present as he’s won off marks of 67 and 79 previously… I have PC for him as… July-Sept | G/S+ | 5f-5.5f | DSLR 56 or less | Flat-Slightly Und tracks = 1827111 (4/7, 1p – all 4 career wins)…
**
505 Doncaster – 1m2f Class 5 Handicap
2nd – BEARWITH
A solid effort from the 6yo here, who just bumped into an unexposed 3yo on the up, in the shape of the winner GLISTENING NIGHTS. These were Prime Conditions for the 6yo… 1m0.5f-1m3f Hcps worth <9k | March-Oct | OR 71 or less | DSLR >10 = 221211136131812 (7/15, 6p – all 7 career wins)… and he’s worth looking out for under similar conditions… he’ll likely go up a pound or two for the run (went up 2lbs to OR 72) but he’s yet to race from a mark above OR 71 so he could be up to defying a higher mark (if other conditions are ticked)…
4th – RISE HALL
Now 0/13, 0p since moving to the Geoff Oldroyd yard but this was a better run now returned to the turf… he’s 0/9, 0p on the A/W, all 9 of those runs coming since he’s been with Oldroyd… he ran here off OR 62, a whopping 34lbs below his last and highest winning mark back in 2019, and although I’d strongly doubt he’d get anywhere near that mark nowadays there was enough in this run to suggest around OR 62 looks a mark he can at least be competitive from… this was his first run for 139-days so he’ll likely come on for the outing and he may be worth looking out for under the following… Turf | C3 or less | OR 96 or less | Apr-Sept | wearing Blinkers = 401131 (3/6, 1p – all 3 career wins)… the blinkers were back on here after a few starts with a visor and the headgear mixed with the return to turf did seem to liven him up at least a little… probably not one to hang on to for too long but he could be one of those to spring himself a win or places at decent odds…
5th – STAR START
Back on a winnable mark at present but will likely need a drop back from this Class 5 level as all his wins to date have come in Class 6 races… he ran here off OR 60 (went down 2lbs to OR 58 for the effort) and his last and highest win mark came off OR 62, so he should be more competitive when back in his own class level… I have his PC as… C6 Turf Hcps | OR <63 | 1m0.5f – 1m2.5f = 51213221 (3/8, 4p – all 3 career wins)… his unplaced effort came from a wide draw at Ponte in a race that didn’t suit those held-up (which he was that day)…
**
**
📅 Saturday 29th June
225 Chester – 1m4.5f Class 4 Handicap
Race Note: You had to be front-running, or at worst just behind the pace, at Chester this day, with 6 of the 7 winners front-running and the race a front-runner didn’t win it was won by a runner sitting handy on the inside with the front-runner a head back in second…
4th – PERCY JONES
Could never get into it from his wide draw and was stuck out the back for most of the race and had to make his effort on the outside… you had to be either making the pace or just off the pace at Chester this day and as such PERCY JONES was up against as soon as the gates opened… he ran here off OR 74 (went down 2lbs to OR 72 for this run), which is 1lb below his last winning mark and 6lbs below his highest winning mark, so he’s handicapped to be winning at present and he’s worth looking out for when meeting with the following… OR 81 or less | 1m4f+ | fields of <11 | June – Dec = 4313621212 (3/10, 4p – all 3 career wins)…
**
300 Chester – 6f Class 3 Handicap
8th – PAWS FOR THOUGHT
Hasn’t shown a great deal since reeling off 3 wins on the bounce last summer… but he’s been given a chance by the handicapper (will likely go down again for this run) and he might just be worth keeping in the radar in the short-term… he ran here off OR 83, which is 4lbs below his last and highest winning mark and 11lbs below his peak mark and if he meets his PC he should hopefully be able to try and take advantage of his slipping mark… I have his PC as… 6f-7f Hcps | OR <88 | Good-G/S-Soft | fields of <15 = 111325921116 (6/12, 3p – all 6 career wins)…
**
520 Chester – 1m2.5f Class 3 Handicap
6th – GOLDEN MELODY
Another that did her racing held-up and that simply wasn’t the wrong place to be at Chester (generally can be but it was even more evident this day) the Good to Firm ground won’t have been ideal for her either (0/9, 1p on G/F)… she’s ran here off her highest winning mark of OR 71 so a little drop down the rating for the effort won’t be a bad thing (handicapper didn’t shift her and she remains on OR 71 after the run) and she’ll be better suited to the following PC… C3 or less (race worth <12k) | June-Oct | Good or softer | OR <72 = 6/18, 7p – all 6 career wins…
**
400 Newmarket – 1m2 Class 4 Handicap
5th – SPERIAMO
Was still in the battle for the win at around the 2-furlong marker but she backed out of things in the final furlong to finish 5th of 5… no major surprise though as this was her first run for 41-days and all her wins have come off breaks of <28 days, so she’ll likely have needed this run to get her tuned up… she ran her off OR 74 (was dropped a handy 3lbs to OR 71 for this outing), the same as her last winning mark and 1lb below her highest winning mark, so we know she can be competitive from on or around her current mark, and she’s worth looking out for running under the following PC… OR <76 | DSLR <30 | fields of <12 = 111 (3/3 – all 3 career wins)…
Shorthand explanations…
PC = Prime Conditions
DSLR = Days Since Last Run
OR = Official Rating
Hcps – Handicaps
LTO – Last Time Out
If you are looking for a tracker tool to add the above to then I’d highly recommend the following, who both have excellent options to allow you to keep track of any horses you wish to follow…
www.geegeez.co.uk (£1 for 30-days access to GeeGeez Gold HERE>>>)
www.horseracebase.com (7-day free trial for NTF readers HERE>>>)
That’s all for me today…
Remember to check out the weekly podcast I produce with me old mucker Tony Mac…
Award nominated… only 20-minutes long… and has the best jingles in town!
What more could you want! 😀😎
I’ll be back on here next week, with the next installment of Handicap Sleeper Notes…
Cheers – Ben (NTF)
p.s. get all previous free NTF blog posts on the main menu page HERE>>>
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