Stats suggest Lelantos holds all the aces in East Midlands feature

Tuesday: 2.25 Southwell
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Many eyes will be drawn to the Nicky Henderson-trained Lelantos in this low-grade handicap hurdle.

The trainer boasts a record of four winners from 11 runners at Southwell this season, while jockey Nico de Boinville has won on four of his nine rides there.

Lelantos is still relatively unexposed in handicaps and the form of his last-time-out neck second to Imphal off a 2lb lower mark at Fontwell received a timely boost when that winner bolted up to complete a hat-trick at Huntingdon on Saturday.

It’s likely Lelantos will take a considerable chunk out of the market and those who remain unconvinced by his profile of no wins from nine starts may look for alternatives.

Ruth Jefferson’s stable has yet to hit top form this season but Lemon T is a course-and-distance scorer and probably needed his first run since May when fourth to The Ogle Gogle Man at Kelso last month.

That was the eight-year-old’s first run since wind surgery and a reproduction of his good-ground Southwell win in May when competing off a 4lb lower mark would put him firmly in the mix.

Topweight O’Hanrahan Bridge, who represents the bang-in-form Donald McCain yard, has been dropped an eyecatching 5lb for last month’s Aintree defeat, while the consistent Cry Wolf, a solid third to Hidden Depths at Hereford on his latest outing, will relish underfoot conditions.

He boasts form figures of 1323 this season and seems sure to run his usual bold race.
Race analysis by Richard Birch

What they say

Nick Scholfield, rider of Railway Muice
Like all of Sarah Humphrey’s horses he’s been in great form of late. I believe the plan was to give him a break after his last run but the ground is still in his favour, so we’re giving it another go.

Ruth Jefferson, trainer of Lemon T
He’s a course-and-distance winner and will enjoy going back over the brush hurdles they have there as he finds the conventional ones too small.

Tom Palin, racing manager to Middleham Park Racing Xci, owners of Lelantos
He bumped into an upwardly mobile rival when second at Fontwell last time and we go there hopeful as he’s just an out-and-out galloper. Nicky has brush hurdles down at Seven Barrows and he’s schooled nicely over those.

Alexandra Dunn, trainer of Cry Wolf
He’s done us proud and I’m sure he'll run his usual game race but Lelantos looks the one to beat. He’s a consistent sort and hopefully he can pick up some more prize-money.
Reporting by David Milnes

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