12:15 Lingfield – Pinzolo @ 5/1
In the second race at Lingfield, Ismail Mohammed’s Pinzolo looks as though he’s been found a nice little race.
From a lenient looking mark of 97, this horse could easily return to the winners enclosure now back at the scene of one of his previous victories.
The five-year-old is fairly experienced at this level and does come into this race having not done a great deal in recent times; however, as a result, his mark is sliding down and he’s given a task here that isn’t all that tricky. Considering some of the races he’s previously won, if retaining any of that ability, then a contest of this nature should be well within his grasp.
Having moved to the Ismael Mohammed yard from Charlie Appleby, connections have been patient with this runner, giving him just two runs this season (early October and late November). With this in mind, it’s fancied that they might just have been waiting for the right opportunity, and, in a Class 2 race that certainly lacks depth, they might just have found it here.
This race bares resemblance to Pinzolo’s previous C&D win (March 2015) – a race that happens to be the only other time this horse has run over such a distance on the all-weather. He won that race somewhat comfortably by three lengths off a mark of 103 (now down to 97) and it would be no surprise to see a similar sort of performance here.
As mentioned above, this isn’t an overly warm contest and Pinzolo can definitely get himself involved in a race that should suit. On the pick of his form, 5/1 looks a decent price and is well worth snapping up.
14:35 Lingfield – Threediamondrings @ 15/2
Brendan Powell’s Threediamondrings looks a good bet to continue his progress on Saturday in a race where he seems to have been overlooked in the early betting.
This colt may have taken a while to get the hang of things in maidens, but his last two runs in handicaps look very solid and there’s no reason why he cannot run a big race in this field.
He won from the front over C&D back in November before running another excellent race in 3rd over a slightly extended trip at Wolverhampton last time out, this time from just off the pace.
Given what this runner has achieved in comparison with all of the chief protagonists, it’s hard to see why he’s priced as high as he is. With this in mind, it’s hard to argue against the fact that Powell’s entrant has to be the value angle here.
Major Ben is down as the relatively short priced favourite here, but he looks far too short. He may have won last time out, but he certainly made hard enough work of it, just about getting up late in the day. Balancing Act doesn’t exactly stand out down in trip, while Reckless Wave is far from guaranteed to perform as expected now stepping up in trip after over four months off.
Based on his form, the selection looks nicely weighted, plus his rider takes off a handy 3lb. There’s plenty to like about the last two performances from Threediamondrings and it’s fancied that a repeat, never mind improvement, of such form would see him go close here.
At the prices (15/2), Brendan Powell’s colt is definitely the one to side with.