The evening meetings are well and truly underway for another year, and we send three down to Southwell on Monday night, where the predicted going at the time of writing is good.
First up in the two and a half miles maiden hurdle at 7.20.pm, is the five year old gelding Harry Go. He showed there is ability there by finishing midfield in each of his two bumper runs in December, and March, but he was beaten a long way on his hurdles debut at Hexham three weeks ago. In that race he showed up prominently early in the race, but eventually finished well down the field. Harry Go is learning with each race, and we will probably see him in a different light once he goes handicapping, Sean Quinlan will take the ride.
Great Raffles has now dropped 14lb in the weights since arriving from France in November of last year.He showed a modicum of form on his third and final start in France last June when being beaten 13 lengths in the French provinces, in a 13 furlongs flat race. He is yet to fire for us in four hurdles starts, but this will be only his eighth race in total.He runs in a two and a half miles 0-110 handicap hurdle at 7.50.pm, with Alain Cawley retaining the ride.
Our final runner is also an ex French racer, Lucou, who will go to post at 8.20.pm, in the extended one mile and seven furlongs 0-110 handicap hurdle, with Billy Garritty taking the ride. There is no doubting how well handicapped Lucou is, as he is now a whopping 38lb lower in the weights than when he arrived from France in the summer of 2019. Just prior to lock down in March of last year he went close on two occasions, on either of those runs he would probably win this, but in six runs so far this season he has failed to get competitive.
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Good luck to the connections, J B Harrison, The Golden Cuckoo, and A Walsh, J Hill, S Toomes.