Huntingdon Placepot: Sunday March 3

Alan King: Trainer of Dalavar.

Timeform's Matt Gardner turns his attention to Huntingdon for today's Placepot attempt...

14:30 - Partly due to this looking very open, but mainly because I don't want to make a first leg exit, we are going to take three in Huntingdon's opener, namely Celtic Abbey, Arabian Heights and Lyssio. The first mentioned was fairly useful in bumpers in Ireland and showed plenty of promise when fourth on his hurdling debut at Ludlow last time whilst Arabian Heights, although yet to build upon his first start over timber, could easily prove to be a different proposition now faced with less testing conditions. Lyssio was a useful performer on the Flat and his new connections went to 45,000 to secure the six-year-old in November; with there being a small amount of market support for him this morning he could go well on his hurdling bow. 

15:00 - Last Shot is on the verge of being labelled a weak-finisher, and he probably needs to see his races out with a touch more lan if he is to get off the mark, but he is at least fairly consistent which means that he makes our permutation. Smokey George is another that found less than seemed likely last time but it is possible to forgive that and he should be suited by the better ground presented with here.
 
15:30 - The two obvious ones in the third leg are Lost Legend and Dalavar but, with there being four places on offer at present, we need only select one of them, with the latter being chosen. The Alan King-trained gelding caught the eye at Newbury on his most recent start and has been granted a fair opening mark, so should make a good fist of notching his first win. 

16:00 - Several of these have questions to answer, making it a tricky race to assess, but we are going to tentatively side with Iona Days and Henry Hook. The former has put up contrasting efforts on his last two starts but is in with a definite chance of making the places if putting his best foot forward whilst Henry Hook, trained by Victor Dartnall, may need this run after a break but he is on a competitive mark and boasts form up with the best of these. 

16:30 - The yard of Warren Greatrex has been in decent heart of late and his Professeur Emery makes plenty of appeal here. The suspicion is that the six-year-old retains plenty of ability, for all that he hasn't really shown it in two starts this term, and the addition of the tongue-tie, coupled with the some decent market support, is of note. Tiny Tenor's fourth to subsequent Betfair Hurdle winner My Tent Or Yours reads well in the context of this race and he strikes as the type to improve now tackling handicaps, so he will do nicely as a spot of insurance. 

17:00 - A non-runner has reduced this field to 15, leaving us with just the three places to aim at, but we ought to be safe by banking upon Darley Sun. Although scoring no points for originality, the formerly smart stayer on the Flat should build on his promising start over hurdles, where he probably would have won but for making a hash of the last, and he can see us across the line. 

Selections:
14:30 - 1, 3, 8
15:00 - 2, 7
15:30 - 3
16:00 - 3, 5
16:30 - 2, 5
17:00 - 3
= 24 lines

Look out for Brand new features with Timeform Race Passes - In-Play Hints, Running Notes & Warning Horses. Find out more at timeform.com.