Lingfield Placepot: Wednesday April 10

Today's Placepot comes from Lingfield

Timeform's Tony McFadden tackles the racing at Lingfield today, hoping to land the Placepot...

14:00- A well-backed favourite, Teth was a disappointment at this venue on her latest start, beaten just over nine lengths in fourth. She was, however, given plenty to do on that occasion and it may be worth forgiving her and instead concentrating on the promise shown on her penultimate start where she finished second, producing an effort that would see her go close here. Titan Diamond hasn't always appealed as the most solid of propositions, but he has been running well of late, finishing in the frame on his four most recent outings, and should give a good account.

14:30- Without a win since his second start as a two-year-old, The Noble Ord has produced plenty of creditable efforts in defeat and appeals as an ideal type for the Placepot. The booking of Richard Hughes is an undoubted positive and it would be little surprise were the Champion Jockey able to coax enough improvement out of The Noble Ord to see him make an overdue return to the winners' enclosure. With some tricky contests to negotiate later on the card, we will bank on The Noble Ord.

15:00- It is hard to knock Dark Lane's consistency and he merits inclusion in the Placepot. A winner over five furlongs on his latest start here, David Evans' charge is at least as effective over today's six-furlong trip and can rely on the able services of Richard Hughes in the saddle. Desert Strike has been running well of late but appears to be in the grip of the handicapper, so the drop down to claiming company should, therefore, suit and this C&D winner has plenty in his favour.

16:00- A few well-handicapped horses clash in this seven-furlong event for three-year-olds and we may need to include a couple to be on the safe side, particularly with just the two places on offer. Intrigo possibly didn't achieve quite so much as his major rivals last term, despite gaining more experience, but there was plenty to like about his authoritative win on handicap debut at Leicester where he pulled four lengths clear of the opposition. Another Leicester winner that deserves inclusion is the Charlie Hills-trained Barbs Princess. Something was possibly amiss on debut at Sandown, but Barbs Princess improved notably to land a six-furlong maiden on her next start, and she remains open to plenty of improvement.

16:00- We are presented with the opportunity to include another banker as we rely on the Andrew Balding-trained Melvin The Grate. Hailing from a superb family, Melvin The Grate has plenty to live up to on pedigree but he is improving steadily, scoring on both all-weather starts at Kempton. He always looked to be holding on last time, having quickened well to take the lead, and a 3 lb rise in the weights seems more than fair, particularly with further improvement looking assured.

16:30- Another Cocktail sets the standard and should prove well suited by the step up to a mile and a half. However, he is likely to have plenty of the pool riding on him in the final leg and he does come up against two race-fit rivals that are open to improvement themselves in the shape of Could Be and Strategic Strike. The former was far too green to do himself justice at Kempton last month but stepped up considerably to finish runner-up at the same venue a fortnight later. While Strategic Strike has had just the one start, finishing fourth at Kempton, but remains open to plenty of improvement, today's step up in trip looking sure to suit.

Selections:
14:00- 2, 9
14:30- 2
15:00- 1, 5
15:30- 2, 3
16:00- 3
16:30- 3, 4
= 16 lines

Did you know that you can bet on the Tote from your Betfair account? Click here for our Tote gateway. 

Get open access to Timeform data for just 2.50 a day with Timeform Race Passes. It's like a Form Book, Black Book & Race Card all in one! Find Out More!