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Sam King may have failed to get on the board yesterday, but he did advise a 22/1 second as a strong each-way fancy and returns with a trio of selections for this wonderful Wednesday.
There are six meetings to get stuck into today from across the UK and Ireland and it's Leicester that provides us with our first selection.
The dead eight go in the Daisy Lambden-Francis Birthday Handicap at 6.45 and it looks wise to concentrate on both Haaf A Diamond and Astronomica, who battled out the finish over course and distance 27 days ago.
The latter-mentioned runner was unable to peg back the former that day, who made all the running, but I'd be disappointed if she couldn't turn the tables this evening.
Dr Jon Scargill's filly came from the rear of the field in a steadily run race that day and did well to make up the ground she did. It's probably also fair to say conditions were quicker than ideal given she won comfortably in torrential rain at Windsor on her penultimate outing.
I'm expecting George Wood to ride her a bit more handily this time around (although not up with the pace) and back on softer ground, she looks like a really solid bet with a 3lb pull in the weights also an added bonus.
Selection: Astronomica – General 9/4
We head to Bath for our second wager. The Margaret Parrott 60th Birthday Classified Stakes at 3.05 certainly will not be winning any awards for the highest quality contest of the year and with that in mind, it's quite easy to narrow it down to a handful that hold a winning chance.
Recent course and distance fourth Lilandra should be on the premises, but I prefer the less exposed Ceilidh for the George Baker team.
The gelded son of Highland Reel produced a credible effort on his first start over the mile trip in a similar classified event at Brighton last time and it's certainly possible further improvement could be on the cards.
Connor Planas has enjoyed a fine season thus far and takes off a very handy 5lb. The return to a slightly softer surface should pose no issues and he looks a decent bet to come out on top in what is a moderate contest.
Selection: Ceilidh – General 3/1
Lingfield plays host to six races on the turf this afternoon. I'm happy to see overnight market support for Alfred in the At The Races App Market Movers Nursery at 4.05 and he should have every chance of making a winning handicap debut.
Peter Chapple-Hyam has had a handful of well-backed handicap debutants go in recently and this son of City Light may well provide him with another similar success story.
He's been by no means disgraced in three outings to date in maiden/novice company and caught the eye when ninth at Windsor earlier in the month. The drop back to five furlongs on that occasion was clearly against him and he certainly wasn't knocked about in the closing stages. With all that in mind, he was only beaten five lengths at the line and definitely shaped much better than the bare result.
The step up to seven furlongs on this nursery bow looks like a major positive and with a sizeable step forward probable, he can score off an opening mark of 61.
Selection: Alfred – General 3/1
