Lingfield Placepot: Monday December 31

Robert Winston will be aboard Lyric Ballad at 12:30.

Lingfield's all-weather card is the target of Timeform's Matt Gardner, as we attempt to make the final Placepot of 2012 a winning one...

12:00 - There is very little to separate Eagle Nebula, Mount Abora and Priestley's Reward in the opening leg so, with just the two places on offer, we will stick in the first mentioned pair relatively safe in the knowledge that at least one will hit the mark. 

12:30 - Lyric Ballad's current price of 5.85/1 is fairly surprising given how she has caught the eye on each of her last two starts and remains open to improvement. Three places are up for grabs here, and the two-year-old goes in as our first banker of the afternoon. 

13:00 - This looks between Sherinn and Liliana but with six looking likely to line up we need only take one, and it is the former that makes the list. Her latest effort at Wolverhampton wasn't quite up to the form of her Newmarket debut but it was much better than her second start and she is bred to be suited by this step up in trip, so should go well here. 

13:30 - Commanche made his all-weather debut a winning one at Kempton earlier this month and is taken to follow up here. That effort saw the three-year-old return to form on his first outing for this yard, having left Bryan Smart, and he remains well-treated on his old form on a mark of 64, so is entitled to go close. 

14:00 - This is fairly competitive so we will need to take two in order to progress. Do More Business races from just out of the weights but returned to form in a C&D handicap recently and ought to go well once more. Johnstown Lad hasn't shown much in two starts since returning from a lengthy break but is equipped with headgear once more and that may spark a return to form, so is worth sticking in. 

14:30 - Sunshine Always' win record suggests he isn't a certainty to follow up his C&D win earlier this month but, with a strong pace in evidence once more, conditions seem to be in his favour, and he is banked upon to see us across the line. 

Selections:
12:00 - 1, 3
12:30 - 8
13:00 - 5
13:30 - 2
14:00 - 5, 9
14:30 - 8
= 4 lines

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