Josephine Gordon: He has a good each-way chance in this competitive contest.
2.30pm Lingfield
Bint Dandy
Some of her better efforts have come at this track, the best of which was probably her second in this race two years ago. She also didn’t run too badly when a close sixth in this race last year, when not beaten far when one of the outsiders, so hopefully she can go well again. She has a fair bit to find with most of these on official ratings but she will have come on for her reappearance run here last month and the step back down to 7f won’t be a problem if there is sufficient pace. However, she will need a lot of luck in running from her wide draw in 12.
3.40pm Lingfield
Never Back Down
He returned from a mid-season break to post three decent efforts, rounding off the year with a good win for me at Wolverhampton. And that was a strong race, too. The second is a promising horse who hasn’t been out since, but the third, Corinthia Knight, has and he runs in this race after having won his next three starts. And the fourth home that day, Sound And Silence, had previously finished second on the Breeders’ Cup undercard. He looks to have done really well of late – he has had a couple of gallops around Chelmsford, too – and hopefully he has a good each-way chance here in this competitive contest, and maybe a winning one, too. Hugo’s horses look to be coming good, at the moment, but we could have had a better draw than seven.
4.40pm Lingfield
Star Archer
We thought a fair bit of him as a juvenile, and he has returned a much-improved horse after a long spell on the sidelines, during which he was gelded. He went up 6lb for beating the progressive, and subsequent winner, Mount Tahan at Wolverhampton and ran another fair race when third at Kempton last time, although things didn’t go to plan there in what was a slowly-run race. He does need to improve a fair amount to trouble some of these higher-rated horses but he is well drawn in three and is having only his eighth start, so of the course the potential is there. And, like a few of these I imagine, this race has been a long-term target for him.
