Racecards
16:40 Wolverhampton
107.7 The Wolf Stayers Handicap (Class 5)
- 10 Runners
- Distance: 2m 119y
- Going: Standard
- Surface: Fibresand
- £5,000 added
- Form 51/3
- Age 8
- Weight 10-0
- Official Rating 74
- Trainer R Curtis
- Jockey Dale Gibson
led, ridden over 3f, weakened over 2f
- Form 215455
- Age 4
- Weight 9-10
- Official Rating 71
- Trainer C E Brittain
- Jockey R L Moore
held up mid-division, ridden and headway over 3f, hung left from over 1f, stayed on same pace
Salute (IRE)
22- Form 175034
- Age 7
- Weight 9-5
- Official Rating 65
- Trainer P G Murphy
- Jockey S Sanders
chased leader after 2f, led over 3f, hard ridden over 1f, headed well inside final furlong
- Form 334332
- Age 3
- Weight 9-0
- Official Rating 72
- Trainer B W Hills
- Jockey Michael Hills
steadied start, held up in last, headway over 2f, no impression from over 1f
- Form 868466
- Age 4
- Weight 9-0
- Official Rating 61
- Trainer R J Price
- Jockey Kerrin McEvoy
held off, reminded 5f, headway over 2f, edged left from over 1f, no impression
- Form 4-01176
- Age 7
- Weight 8-13
- Official Rating 59
- Trainer P A Blockley
- Jockey T P O'Shea
chased leaders, ridden over 4f, weakened 3f
Dovedale
16- Form 64516-8
- Age 6
- Weight 8-9
- Official Rating 56
- Trainer H S Howe
- Jockey Ted Durcan
held up towards rear, headway on inside over 3f, weakened over 2f
- Form 388476
- Age 9
- Weight 8-9
- Official Rating 40
- Trainer J M Bradley
- Jockey Barry Savage
mid-division, ridden over 6f, soon dropped to rear
- Form 9-42348
- Age 3
- Weight 8-7
- Official Rating 65
- Trainer P J McBride
- Jockey D Holland
chased leaders, shaken up briefly 7f, ridden over 2f, one pace final furlong
Synonymy
13- Form 093442
- Age 3
- Weight 8-1
- Official Rating 59
- Trainer M Blanshard
- Jockey N Mackay
always prominent, went 2nd 3f, soon ridden, stayed on to lead well inside final furlong
In depth
Verdict
Taxman gets the call here ahead of Reinstated and Dovedale. Taxman looks a key player today as he is on a winning mark for a 14-furlong win here in July. Salute remains on a mark from which he ought to be able to win, but we've been saying that for a while now, while the 2003 Champion Bumper winner Liberman is probably best watched at present in terms of winning. Lightly raced, Reinstated has shown more than enough to be given some thought, while Wotchalike still has it to prove at today's trip. Eight pounds higher than for his most-recent win, French Mannequin has it to prove also, while Dovedale is arguably well-handicapped based on his summer 2005 form and must be given some thought. Those last comments applies also to the lightly-raced Dickie's Dream, and Synonymy's latest narrow defeat at Bath sees him come here in good heart, although he does not have too much in the way of all-weather form. All of which returns us to the selection, which is Taxman.
Formwatch
Liberman (IRE) 16-1 (9-3) Tracked winner, ridden over 4f out, weakened 2f out, 3rd of 5, 19l behind Som Tala (8-3) at Pontefract 2m 2f stk (3) gs in Sept.
Taxman (IRE) 8-1 (9-10) Mid-division, headway 6f out, led approaching 3f out, headed inside final furlong, 5th of 15, 3l behind Captain General (9-1) at Lingfield 1m 4f hcp 0-75 (5) pol in Sept.
Salute (IRE) 25-1 (9-2) Tracked leaders, ridden over 2f out, not clear run over 1f out, one pace final furlong, 4th of 14, 5l behind Numero Due (9-8) at Warwick 2m hcp 0-85 (4) gs in Sept.
Reinstated (IRE) 7-1 (8-11) Slowly into stride, held up, ridden and switched left over 2f out, headway over 1f out, kept on inside final furlong, not trouble winner, 2nd of 8, 3/4l behind Juniper Girl (8-11) at Nottingham 2m 3yo hcp (4) gd in Sept.
Wotchalike (IRE) 8-1 (9-2) Held up, ridden and headway over 2f out, stayed on, 6th of 12, 1l behind Inch Lodge (9-11) at W'hampton 1m 4f hcp 0-70 (5) pol in Sept.
French Mannequin (IRE) 13-2 (9-6) Tracked leaders and keen, ridden 6f out, soon weakened, 6th of 12, 11l behind Irish Ballad (9-0) at W'hampton 1m 6f hcp 0-60 (6) pol.
Dickie's Dream (IRE) 10-1 (8-8) Led, ridden and headed 2f out, weakened approaching final furlong, 8th of 9, 11l behind All The Good (9-7) at Newmarket 1m 6f 3yo hcp (4) gd in Sept.
Synonymy 10-1 (7-12) Held up mid-division, headway approaching 4f out, chased winner well inside final furlong, kept on, 2nd of 12, 3/4l behind Maystock (9-6) at Bath 2m 1f hcp 0-75 (5) gf in Sept.