3 minute read
Sam King tipped 3/1 and 5/2 winners yesterday and he returns with two selections, including a horse that looks a touch overpriced at Chelmsford this evening.
Lingfield hosts a split six-race card on both all-weather and turf. I'm slightly surprised that the Free Tips Daily On attheraces.com Handicap at 3.50 has only attracted eight runners given three-year-old handicaps of this nature tend to supply larger fields at this time of year.
Desert Falcon has to be feared in his hat-trick bid, but I can't help but feel we haven't seen the best of Resolute Man yet, who was seemingly held in very high regard by top trainer Roger Varian at the beginning of the season.
Given the way connections were talking about campaigning him, it's probably fair to say that after three runs they wouldn't be expecting to be racing in Class 4 handicap company at Lingfield on a Tuesday afternoon. That said, he has had excuses on both starts this season.
He pulled too hard when third on his seasonal reappearance at Newbury and the race didn't pan out for him when fourth at Doncaster last time. It paid to be handy that day and the action unfolded away from where Resolute Man was situated.
The form of his debut success at Yarmouth last year is solid enough without being anything to write home about but it was the manner of that victory that really caught the eye. The son of Dubawi travelled like a good horse that day and put the race to bed in a matter of strides with a striking turn of foot.
Ray Dawson gets onboard for the first time on this handicap debut and the pair have the perfect draw in stall four. I'd expect Ray to take a lead off the first turn with there being a handful of horses likely to go forward and I can just see this race developing perfectly out in front.
An opening mark of 86 possibly looks steep enough on the face of what he has achieved thus far but I'm almost certain there's more to come from this horse, who could well be seen in a much better light on his first start since a gelding operation. The switch to the all-weather for the first time should pose no issues whatsoever and he can come out on top on this handicap bow.
Selection: Resolute Man – General 11/4
Sticking with the all-weather theme, we head to Chelmsford, where Greatgadian looks like an interesting each-way contender in the feature Ministry Of Sound Disco 2nd September Handicap at 6.45.
It could be a good day for trainer Roger Varian with four well-fancied runners across the UK and I'm expecting a big run from Greatgadian back at his favourite track.
Current favourite Wonder Legend chased a frantic pace when eighth in the King George V Stakes at Royal Ascot and as so often is the case, that race is working out nicely. That said, Prefuse, who caught the eye when back in fifth that day, was also sent off a short price on his next start but failed to get involved at Goodwood and I can't help but think Wonder Legend is taking out a too bigger chunk in the market here.
Recent form figures of 367307 don't look overly appealing for Greatgadian but only the first third-place finish came at Chelmsford and that effort was off 9lb higher than today's mark.
Although ultimately, he finished seventh of eight runners at Newmarket (1m) last-time-out, Roger Varian's gelding was only actually beaten three and three-quarter lengths and plenty went against him on that occasion.
The step back up to a mile and a quarter at this track is just what he needs and the son of Siyouni clearly saves his best for the Essex venue with two wins from three outings over course and distance.
As previously mentioned, he's dropped to a mark of 90, 8lbs below his last winning rating and with David Egan likely to get a nice early position from stall two, a massive run could be on the cards.
Selection: Greatgadian – General 6/1