May 25 / 17.18 Fontwell

17.18

Good

Smith & Western Mares’ Open Maiden National Hunt Flat Race (Category 3 Elimination) (GBB Race)

  • Prize money: £2450.7
  • 2m 1f 162y
  • Class 5
  • 9 runners
SKY
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Smith & Western Mares’ Open Maiden National Hunt Flat Race (Category 3 Elimination) (GBB Race)

Runners: 9 runners

Type: NH Flat

Surface: Turf

Weather: Mostly cloudy

Form: 3-

Last run: 34 days

W: 11st 2lb

5 yo Mare

OR: —

Form & Verdict
Irish point winner who kept on for third on last month's rules debut at Fakenham (good); that form isn't anything to get excited about but she's open to improvement here; likely contender.
Place /
No / Draw
Date / Going /
Distance / Class
Time + Course Horse + Weight
Jockey / Trainer
Verdict Starting price

7th

4

19th May 2026

Good To Firm

1m 7f 171y

Class 5

19:00 Huntingdon

Eastern Shores

11st 11lb

J: Jack Hogan

T: Fergal O’Brien

Kept on from the rear for second over C&D (soft) on handicap debut in February but was no threat to the easy winner and two lesser efforts have followed; not written off just yet but needs to learn to settle better.

12/1

6th

6

21st Apr 2026

Soft

1m 7f 182y

Class 4

18:12 Ffos Las

Eastern Shores

11st 4lb

J: Jonathan Burke

T: Fergal O’Brien

No match for winner when second on handicap debut at Huntingdon (2m, soft) in February and disappointed when upped to 2m3f at Bangor last month; not yet fully exposed but needs to find something extra here.

10/1

5th

3

31st Mar 2026

Good

2m 3f 123y

Class 5

16:50 Bangor-on-Dee

Eastern Shores

11st 10lb

J: Jonathan Burke

T: Fergal O’Brien

Lightly raced and has improved for the fitting of this headgear in her last three races, the latest her handicap debut (beaten 5.5l); could have more to offer over this longer trip.

4/1

OUR TIP

Form: —

Last run: —

W: 11st 2lb

5 yo Mare

OR: —

Form & Verdict
First foal; dam bumper winner, sister to fair hurdler Touchy Feely, closely related to stable's useful bumper/jumps winner Sure Touch; trainer does well in bumpers (20% strike-rate); appealing on paper.
Place /
No / Draw
Date / Going /
Distance / Class
Time + Course Horse + Weight
Jockey / Trainer
Verdict Starting price

2

22nd Oct 2025

Good

2m 0f 0y

Class 4

15:10 Worcester

Hyperbole

11st 0lb

J: Sean Bowen

T: Olly Murphy

Beaten about 11l in a good-ground bumper at Fontwell and was never closer than that; open to improvement over hurdles.

11/2

2

25th May 2025

Good

2m 1f 162y

Class 5

17:18 Fontwell

Hyperbole

11st 2lb

J: Kevin Brogan

T: Olly Murphy

First foal; dam bumper winner, sister to fair hurdler Touchy Feely, closely related to stable's useful bumper/jumps winner Sure Touch; trainer does well in bumpers (20% strike-rate); appealing on paper.

9/4

Form: —

Last run: —

W: 11st 2lb

5 yo Mare

OR: —

Form & Verdict
Seventh foal; half-sister to connections' fairly useful hurdler/chaser Shiroccan Roll and two other winning hurdlers for the yard; dam 2m hurdle winner, half-sister to a bumper winner; stable has very respectable bumper strike-rate (12%); no surprise if she features.
Place /
No / Draw
Date / Going /
Distance / Class
Time + Course Horse + Weight
Jockey / Trainer
Verdict Starting price

2

7th Sep 2025

Good

2m 1f 162y

Class 5

16:42 Fontwell

Opening Dance

11st 2lb

J: Ben Jones

T: Emma Lavelle

Well beaten here on debut in May but her staying-on fourth at Worcester (good; tongue tied) in July was much more encouraging and she has each-way claims at least today.

4/1

4th

5

2nd Jul 2025

Good

2m 0f 0y

Class 5

15:15 Worcester

Opening Dance

11st 2lb

J: Gavin Sheehan

T: Emma Lavelle

Half-sister to connections' fairly useful hurdler/chaser Shiroccan Roll and two other winning hurdlers for the yard; soundly beaten at Fontwell (good) in May but the new tongie-tie may enable improvement here.

25/1

3

25th May 2025

Good

2m 1f 162y

Class 5

17:18 Fontwell

Opening Dance

11st 2lb

J: Gavin Sheehan

T: Emma Lavelle

Seventh foal; half-sister to connections' fairly useful hurdler/chaser Shiroccan Roll and two other winning hurdlers for the yard; dam 2m hurdle winner, half-sister to a bumper winner; stable has very respectable bumper strike-rate (12%); no surprise if she features.

8/1

Form: 7-

Last run: 59 days

W: 11st 2lb

5 yo Mare

OR: —

Form & Verdict
Out of a bumper winner but was unable to land a significant blow when seventh of 11 on debut at Warwick (good) in March and needs that outing to have brought her on.
Place /
No / Draw
Date / Going /
Distance / Class
Time + Course Horse + Weight
Jockey / Trainer
Verdict Starting price

4

25th May 2025

Good

2m 1f 162y

Class 5

17:18 Fontwell

Queens Ginger

11st 2lb

J: Rex Dingle

T: Ben Clarke

Out of a bumper winner but was unable to land a significant blow when seventh of 11 on debut at Warwick (good) in March and needs that outing to have brought her on.

20/1

4

25th May 2025

Good

2m 1f 162y

Class 5

17:18 Fontwell

Queens Ginger

11st 2lb

J: Rex Dingle

T: Ben Clarke

Out of a bumper winner but was unable to land a significant blow when seventh of 11 on debut at Warwick (good) in March and needs that outing to have brought her on.

20/1

7

27th Mar 2025

Good

2m 0f 0y

Class 5

17:05 Warwick

Queens Ginger

10st 12lb

J: Rex Dingle

T: Ben Clarke

First foal out of a bumper and 2m/2m4f hurdle winner, and half-sister to winners Taradrewe (bumper and 2m3f-3m1f hurdle) and Horace Hazel (bumper and 2m7f-3m2f hurdle/chase); trainer 1-25 in bumpers the last five seasons.

14/1

Form: —

Last run: —

W: 11st 2lb

5 yo Mare

OR: —

Form & Verdict
34,000euros 3yo; sixth foal; sister to useful bumper/jumps winners Sevarano and Fire Flyer; dam placed in bumpers, half-sister to useful jumper Champagne Mystery; newcomer with an interesting pedigree.
Place /
No / Draw
Date / Going /
Distance / Class
Time + Course Horse + Weight
Jockey / Trainer
Verdict Starting price

3rd

3

5th Mar 2026

Good To Soft

1m 7f 50y

Class 4

14:07 Wincanton

Sevarana

11st 7lb

J: Harry Bannister

T: Richard J Bandey

Bravely overcame late carriage off a true line to oblige at Carlisle latest (2m3f, good to soft); thought one for longer trips with the EBF Final a named target, and racing sufficiently forward here to compensate for the drop to 2m may put her on a collision course with such as Our Peggy.

7/2

1st

7

3rd Feb 2026

Good To Soft

2m 3f 61y

Class 4

14:35 Carlisle

Sevarana

11st 2lb

J: Harry Bannister

T: Richard J Bandey

Good-ground bumper winner who was beaten just over 3l by Oh Clare (now penalised) when runner-up on hurdle debut at Lingfield (2m3f, good to soft) in December, following a break; open to improvement and she's one to consider.

3/1

Form: —

Last run: —

W: 10st 10lb

4 yo Filly

OR: —

Form & Verdict
Fifth foal; half-sister to useful Irish hurdler Aldo The Apache and another hurdle winner; dam placed 2m4f hurdle, half-sister to high-class jumper Fundamentalist; worth a glance in the betting but stable has only occasional bumper winners.
Place /
No / Draw
Date / Going /
Distance / Class
Time + Course Horse + Weight
Jockey / Trainer
Verdict Starting price

3rd

4

24th Apr 2026

Good To Soft

3m 1f 166y

Class 5

18:50 Fontwell

Approaching Storm

10st 2lb

J: Tabitha Worsley

T: Nick Gifford

Not too much encouragement in three maiden hurdles at up to 2m4f but there was a whiff of something on penultimate start and this new trip might help on her handicap debut.

10/1

5th

1

5th Apr 2026

Good

2m 4f 116y

Class 4

13:45 Plumpton

Approaching Storm

11st 4lb

J: Tabitha Worsley

T: Nick Gifford

Has no form claims and was 500-1 when tailed off in a C&D maiden last time.

100/1

4th

6

16th Mar 2026

Good To Soft

2m 4f 116y

Class 4

14:15 Plumpton

Approaching Storm

11st 0lb

J: Tabitha Worsley

T: Nick Gifford

Well held in both bumpers and fared no better when tailed off on last month's switch hurdle debut; goes up in trip but big improvement needed.

150/1

Form: 9-

Last run: 71 days

W: 10st 10lb

4 yo Filly

OR: —

Form & Verdict
First foal of a bumper and 2m-2m6f hurdle winner; 100-1 for junior bumper at Kempton (good) in March, where she was prominent for a long way but weakened from 2f out; others have more obvious claims here.
Place /
No / Draw
Date / Going /
Distance / Class
Time + Course Horse + Weight
Jockey / Trainer
Verdict Starting price

4th

6

13th Oct 2026

Good To Firm

3m 1f 119y

Class 5

14:55 Hereford

At Sunrise

10st 11lb

J: Philip Armson

T: David Weston

Has shown little in two bumpers or over hurdles so far, including when beaten 19l on handicap debut at Worcester (2m4f, good) last month; down 4lb but needs to improve to figure.

16/1

8th

8

10th Sep 2026

Good

2m 4f 0y

Class 5

16:30 Worcester

At Sunrise

10st 6lb

J: James Davies

T: David Weston

Ran well to a point and showed first glimmer of hurdling promise when fifth of six in Stratford novice (2m2f, good to firm) in May but needs to take another step forward on this handicap debut.

20/1

Form: —

Last run: —

W: 10st 10lb

4 yo Filly

OR: —

Form & Verdict
First foal; unraced dam closely related to bumper and useful jumps winner Little Miss Poet; has much less interesting pedigree than stable's other newcomer Shutfrontdoor.
Place /
No / Draw
Date / Going /
Distance / Class
Time + Course Horse + Weight
Jockey / Trainer
Verdict Starting price

9th

3

14th Feb 2026

Soft

1m 7f 157y

Class 2

16:45 Ascot

Grizzled Squirrel

11st 2lb

J: Caoilin Quinn

T: Gary & Josh Moore

Some promise in two good-ground bumpers last summer, finishing third at Uttoxeter latterly; will need to step up on that form to seriously trouble One Dimensional, though.

10/1

7

25th Jul 2025

Good

1m 7f 168y

Class 4

17:35 Uttoxeter

Grizzled Squirrel

10st 12lb

J: Caoilin Quinn

T: Gary & Josh Moore

First foal from close relative of useful jumper Little Miss Poet; made fairly encouraging debut at Fontwell (good) in May, keeping on for fifth in race won by a stablemate, and is open to improvement here.

7/1

Form: —

Last run: —

W: 10st 10lb

4 yo Filly

OR: —

Form & Verdict
Fifth foal; half-sister to stable's useful jumpers Robin's Dream and Jerrash and fair hurdler Lumi Plugin; dam placed bumpers/3m1f hurdle, sister to Cheltenham Gold Cup third Turpin Green; one to consider.
Place /
No / Draw
Date / Going /
Distance / Class
Time + Course Horse + Weight
Jockey / Trainer
Verdict Starting price

5

24th May 2026

Good To Soft

2m 5f 164y

Class 4

15:45 Fontwell

Shutfrontdoor

11st 2lb

J: Freddie Mitchell

T: Gary & Josh Moore

Course bumper winner who was placed on last three of her four hurdling starts, most recently when third here (2m1f, good) ten days ago; moves up in trip today and should have improvement to come in handicaps.

2/1

3rd

8

14th May 2026

Good

2m 1f 162y

Class 4

17:34 Fontwell

Shutfrontdoor

11st 4lb

J: Freddie Mitchell

T: Gary & Josh Moore

Bumper winner; well held when falling heavily on hurdle debut in December but returned from break with two pretty good seconds towards end of last season (both 2m, good); probably won't be far away.

7/2

2nd

7

19th Apr 2026

Good

1m 7f 195y

Class 4

14:52 Plumpton

Shutfrontdoor

10st 11lb

J: Freddie Mitchell

T: Gary & Josh Moore

Raced only four times and has produced form figures of 122 in good-ground attempts, the success in bumper; faller on hurdles debut, then earned her latest silver medal at Kempton (2m) where she was no match for the winner but ran respectably; one of the main players.

11/2

+o+e Accumulators

Payout
Exacta £32.40
Straight Forecast £35.45
Trifecta £329.20

Selections

RP RATINGS:

Eastern Shores

SPOTLIGHT:

Hyperbole

The Times:

Hyperbole

D Express:

Hyperbole

The Sun:

Hyperbole

POSTDATA:

Eastern Shores

WEST COUNTRY:

Eastern Shores

Telegraph:

Eastern Shores

Daily Mirror:

Eastern Shores

The Star:

Eastern Shores

Daily Record:

Eastern Shores