With Ascot and Haydock having succumbed to frost, the GG Weekend Watch team of Kate Tracey, Andrew Mount and Dave Young have scoured through the Lingfield card to continue bringing you some best bets ahead of the weekend.
As well as this, the team look ahead to the Cheltenham Festival, with some antepost tips from both Dave and Andrew.
You can bet on all of their selections courtesy of BetMGM’s HUGE new customer offer of £40 in Free Bets when you deposit and bet £10!
2:00 Lingfield – Bet £10 Get £40 At BetMGM Handicap
Andrew: There are a couple of firms betting on this and there’s 20/1 about my selection, and that is DARWELL LION. Ruth Carr doesn’t have many runners at Lingfield, with four winners from 21 runners to a profit of 20.5 points to a level stake. Darwell Lion was a winner at Kempton on his final start for John Butler back in May over 1m. That London Mile qualifier worked out well, with all of the first six in behind winning since. We didn’t see him for 199 days when he ran over 7f at Newcastle in December; he raced keenly and very fresh, then finished last of eight at 22/1 at Chelmsford. Now that he has had those two 7f runs he is back at his optimum trip over 1m and is travelling all the way down from Carr’s yard to Lingfield. He has won two of his three starts and finished third at 25/1 in the other at this track. Anything double figures each-way is a fair price and Darwell Lion looks reasonably drawn in stall five.
Kate: I like one I’ll hopefully get a double figure price about as well and that’s STARSHIBA. I’m delighted Andrew mentioned the draw, as he’s drawn in stall seven here. I’m still expecting more to come from him for Michael Appleby despite being a seven-year-old. He has only had three starts for this yard since leaving David O’Meara and made a winning stable debut in December when dropped back to 6f. He has run well up in grade in subsequent runs even though he was running to a similar level in those, but is back down in grade here, and down 1lb, as well as being back to his optimum trip at a course and distance he’s previously won at.
Andrew’s Selection:
Kate’s Selection:
2:35 Lingfield – Build Your Acca With BetUK Handicap
Andrew: Cracking race this. The draw looks a little bit tough for Bergerac who heads the market in stall two bidding for a hat-trick. Bedford Flyer, in stall one, could be inconvenienced by that post position as well. Silky Wilkie was short-headed in this race last year, but he was rated 92 that day and is now 11lb higher; he is also only one from nine on the all weather. The obvious one is DIOMED SPIRIT: it’s a case of the stronger the pace, the better he runs, as he likes to come from midfield or further back, which are ideal tactics for Lingfield in what should turn out to be a burn-up. He actually improved his career best RPR (Racing Post Rating) to 96, when upped from class 4 to class 3 company at Wolverhampton last time, but is up just 3lb for that. Regular rider Marco Ghiani goes to Wolverhampton with Hollie Doyle taking over coming out of stall seven. I am happy with both jockey and draw. Zarzyni is hard to win with, but is blinkered first time and did win in first time cheekpieces back in April; he might be the one for the forecast. Clearpoint is worth an honourable mention, as both his previous defeats have been followed by wins at 50/1 and 13/8, the former coming after I NAP’d him on his stable debut and he ran like a hairy dog! He’ll probably bolt up without my money on him.
Kate: I totally agree, because we’ve seen this before with DIOMED SPIRIT’s profile. These handicappers from the Stuart Williams, when they get on a roll, there’s no way of telling where their ceiling is going to be, with Quinault being the flag bearer for that. This lad has won his last four, so while he’s got a bit to go to reach the six-win streak that was achieved by Quinault, and has to prove himself at Lingfield with those wins coming at Wolverhampton and Chelmsford, he has raced three times at the track, winning and finishing second over this course and distance. The manner in which he won last time out was a very likeable one, finishing off his race really well. If anything, with his style of racing, I thought Lingfield might suit him even better than Wolves.
Andrew & Kate’s Selection:
3:10 Lingfield – BetMGM Winter Oaks Fillies’ Handicap
Andrew: I’m positive about half the field, but particularly BEHIND THE SCENES. She’s two from two on the all weather in single-figure line-ups, as she tends to meet trouble when there’s plenty of runners. She has run fairly good efforts in big fields in Listed company on polytrack the last twice, including a fourth of 12 at Dundalk and a sixth of 15 at Deauville last time out. I thought Behind The Scenes at 8/1 was fair enough. Eleanor Cross was on the radar too, currently the outsider of the field. She did too much too soon when third here last time out, but if she goes forward, that would be a concern at a track favouring those who come from off the pace. Storymaker is very much like Diomed Spirit, she’s probably going to be a better horse in a better race because they’ll go faster and that will suit her come-from-behind style. She’s four from four since fitted with this tongue tie and blinkers combination, while Tommie Jakes has been good value for his 7lb claim of late and it’s good to see him get this sort of opportunity. Lastly, Twirling who is one I would normally be worried about: a front runner drawn in stall one. However, a certain Ryan Moore takes the ride for last year’s winning yard. Moore has only had 14 rides from stall one at Lingfield in recent years, but has won on five of those for a profit of £3.52 (level £1 stake) so if there’s anyone who knows how to get a horse off the rail and change tactics, it will be him. She is a bigger price than I thought she would be here. I’ll go with Behind The Scenes, but Storymaker and Twirling definitely on the radar as well.
Kate: I’m being less original with OH SO GRAND (NAP). I was hoping for 4s, but I’ll take 100/30 and hopefully she won’t get too much shorter as this is a wide-open contest. I think she’s capable of bringing up the hat-trick in this race, as she just continues to progress with each and every one of her runs. She has a cracking strike rate of 4/7 in her career, and 3/4 on the all weather. A 4lb rise for winning the trial for this race is very fair, and follows the same route as last year’s winner Al Agaila, who won the trial before the main event. Also similar to that horse, she bids for a hat-trick for the Simon and Ed Crisford yard. Oh So Grand, on paper, represents their best chance for this, and the RPR she posted last time out suggests there’s more mileage in her mark just yet.
Andrew’s Selection:
Kate’s Selection:
12:15 Lingfield – Best Racing Odds Guaranteed At BetMGM Handicap
Andrew: I want to bookend the card at Lingfield. In the 12:15, REVOLUTIONISE (NAP) is a horse goes particularly well at this time of year and has a great record in January. He also has a good record for Jason Hart, who’s back on board. In seven runs with Hart, he has posted four wins and two seconds, for a profit of £13.58 (level £1 stake). He was second on this horse last year behind the 79-rated All The Kings Men, who is now rated 98 and runs at Meydan on Friday.
Andrew’s Selection:
3:45 Lingfield – BetUK. It’s Where The UK Bets Handicap
Andrew: The interesting one in the last race, a modest 2m handicap, is our old friend SMITH. His stable have had two runs in the last couple of weeks and both have won at 11/2 and 4/1. Smith has had 12 runs over 2m at Lingfield and won six of them. When he has started at a single-figure price and shorter, he has won all six. He has had two runs back this winter, being well-beaten at 66/1 and was weak in the market when 16/1 last time out. If there is support for him, he may make it seven from seven at single-figure prices: look out for that market support for him.
Andrew’s Selection:
Cheltenham Ante-Post Selections
National Hunt Chase – Cheltenham, Tuesday 12th March
Dave: Navan has a decent meeting at the weekend and MINELLA COCOONER is a horse I’ve put up for the National Hunt Chase is entered over 3m. He’ll get qualified for the race and will go on to win it, so if you haven’t got him in your book, I would strongly advise having a look. Sandor Clegane and Senior Chief are also in the race, and they would be good potential yardsticks as other horses being looked at for the National Hunt Chase.
Cheltenham Gold Cup – Cheltenham, Friday 15th March
Dave: L’HOMME PRESSE is currently 16/1 for the Gold Cup. If he goes and dots up here, he will be the “wise guy” one for Cheltenham, so you will want to get on ahead of Sunday.
Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle – Cheltenham, Friday 15th March
Dave: One I would strongly advise you do bet before it runs is HIGH CLASS HERO. He is running at Thurles over 3m on Sunday, a race Willie Mullins has used in the past, including last year with Embassy Gardens and further in the past with Monkfish. It’s a good race, but this doesn’t look a great renewal. This horse dotted up last time, and I think he’ll be a very impressive winner. I think he will be the Albert Bartlett favourite come Sunday afternoon.
Grand Annual – Cheltenham, Wednesday 13th March
Andrew: Just one for Cheltenham: UNEXPECTED PARTY, the big outsider for the Clarence House at 80/1. I think he’s the Skeltons’ long term plot for the Grand Annual. They haven’t been as successful in this handicap as the County Hurdle, but he’s on a mark of 141 at the moment and I think we’ll see him in the Grand Annual, where he’s 20-25/1 at the moment, so keep an eye on him.
Andrew’s Selections:
Andrew Mount’s tips for Saturday, 20th January.
Kate’s Selections:
Kate Tracey’s tips for Saturday, 20th January.
Don’t forget to check out occasional Weekend Watch pundit, Matty Sutcliffe’s selections for this weekend as well as Dave Young’s weekly Cheltenham ante-post picks.
Matty Sutcliffe’s Weekend Pointers & Punts
Dave Young’s Cheltenham Ante-Post Book
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