Early Inspection but if racing goes ahead......

Newcastle 14th December : 1.05 pm 2m 6f novices hurdle (Class 4)

Our novice hurdler Both Barrels ran a race full of promise at Carlisle last month (2m 4f) when 4th on his hurdling bow to a trio of above average novices. He should come on for that run but he will need to as there are another couple of highly rated types in the line up. Advance going is heavy.

Ikarak, a dual chase winner (on "very soft") in France as a 4yr old, won a Worcester novice hurdle in October on good ground so he'll be giving 7lb away all round. He's now under the care of Tony Charlton who has taken over the licence from Milton Harris. Not the most fluent of jumpers on the evidence of his runs this season so he may be vulnerable.

Probably the horse with the biggest improvement in him is English Point winner Workhardplayhard who was runner up on his hurdling debut at Sedgefield. He travelled really well that day but made mistakes at each of the final flights, going down by a couple of lengths.

7 runners and the above look to be the main protagonists. We like Both Barrels a lot, and this step up in trip should suit. The couple mentioned above will prove tough nuts to crack but we think Both Barrels can go very close in this contest.

Best of luck to Ann Marshall and Craig.