1:50 Lingfield: 2m3½f Class 3 novice hurdle
Sharon Knapp Memorial Cup EBF 'National Hunt' Novices' Hurdle Race (Qualifier)
This is a weak novice hurdle. Only Port Glen One has shown winning form over hurdles; the rest are bumper horses with modest form, a twice-pulled-up runner and a newcomer. The only unknown that could threaten is Wild Wescht.
The runners
In order of our rating, best first. The rating is in pounds, so the gap says how far behind the top each one is: a 2lb race is open, a 10lb race is not. Press Form on any horse for its runs, the case for and against, and what suits it. Prices as at 10:00.
11Port Glen One1-1 · Sam Twiston-Davies · Nigel & Willy Twiston-Davies-92top1/4It made all to win over hurdles at Market Rasen on 8 Oct on Good, form the rest have not matched; clean jumping is the only question.
It won its only hurdle start, a 3-runner Class 4 at Market Rasen on 8 Oct over 2m4½f on Good. It led from the first and set the pace. It jumped untidily 4 out, veered left at the next and clouted 2 out. Neither Who's Glen nor Downtown Nashville has run over hurdles since, but that race reads +4.6 better on our figures than on the day. Today is up one class and 1f shorter on the same ground. It has not run at Lingfield before.
Good ground and a trip of 2m3½f suit on the evidence of its win, and it carries 160lb, the top weight, for Sam Twiston-Davies.
The win came in a 3-runner race with an easy lead, and it made several jumping errors.
24Wild Wescht44/ · Freddie Gingell · Joe Tizzard-72-209/4It is unraced, so anything it shows is new; it only needs a little ability to beat the exposed bumper horses behind the top-rated one.
It has no previous runs, so there is no form to assess. It is a 6-year-old making its debut over hurdles for Joe Tizzard, ridden by Freddie Gingell. It carries 154lb. There is no line through any of today's rivals.
It is a hurdling debut at 2m3½f on Good ground with no previous racecourse experience.
It is unraced, so its ability and its jumping are both untested.
32Templar Knight h6 · Joe Anderson(3) · Oliver Signy-69-2325/1It was 6th of 8, beaten 5L, in a weak Class 5 bumper here on 3 Nov; the extra trip and first-time hood would need to bring big improvement.first-time gear
Its only run was 6th of 8, beaten 5L, in a Class 5 bumper at Lingfield on 3 Nov on Standard to Slow over 2m. It was waited with, pushed along over 2f out and plodded on at the same speed. Neither Thunderous Sea nor Cheese has run in a bumper since, so the race has not been tested, and it reads -2.8 on our figures. Today brings a hurdling debut, a step up two classes and 3½f further.
It wears a hood for the first time, and Joe Anderson claims 3lb on its hurdling debut over a longer trip on turf. First time in headgear.
It was one-paced in a Class 5 bumper and now steps up two classes over hurdles.
45Storm Dudley8 · David Bass · David Weston-65-2750/1It was beaten 27¾L in a Class 5 bumper at Worcester on 6 Jun and returns from 157 days off; it has a lot to find in this grade.
Its only run was 8th of 9, beaten 27¾L, in a Class 5 bumper at Worcester on 6 Jun on Good. It lost its position 6f out and soon weakened. That race has produced no winners since; Litaque, 19½L ahead of it, was later 2nd at Market Rasen, and the winner Redbarn has been 2nd twice since. It returns after 157 days, steps up two classes and is 3½f further over hurdles.
It is a 4-year-old making its hurdling debut after 157 days off, over 2m3½f on Good, for David Bass.
It was beaten 27¾L at a lower level and has been off for 157 days.
53Unknown Stranger/44-PP · Richie McLernon · Jim & Suzi Best-50-42125/1It pulled up at Fontwell on 15 Oct and 21 Oct and has never completed over hurdles; quicker ground is the only possible change.
It pulled up in both its hurdle starts, at Fontwell on 15 Oct on Good to Soft and on 21 Oct on Soft. Both were Class 4 races over 2m3f. It was towards the rear throughout the first, and trailed from the outset and was tailed off in the second. The 15 Oct race has produced one placing since, from Nightflyer at Warwick. It has never completed at around today's trip.
Good ground is quicker than in its two runs, but it steps up a class at a similar trip.
It has not completed in either of its two hurdle starts.
How to read this table
Rating is the read's own figure for each horse today, in pounds on one scale for the race. Our figure, a separate mechanical rating, is in testing and shows inside each horse's form until it has a record worth showing.
Days is days since the horse last ran. OR is its official rating. A small letter after the name is headgear (b blinkers, v visor, p cheekpieces, t tongue tie, h hood).
Key form lines
The past races that say most about this one, and what they mean today.
Port Glen One made all in a 3-runner Class 4 hurdle on Good, the best form in this field, though neither rival has run over hurdles since.
Templar Knight was only 6th of 8, beaten 5L, in a Class 5 bumper whose runners have done nothing since, a low bar for a Class 3 hurdle.
That bumper has produced four placings but no winners since, and Storm Dudley was beaten 27¾L in it, so it gains nothing from the company.
Where today's runners have met
Races two or more of today's runners have run in, the last 18 months first. "Terms" shows how the weights have moved since, against the best-placed of them that day.