Racecards
15:45 Lingfield Park
Betway Handicap (Class 3)
- 5 Runners
- Distance: 1m 2f
- Going: Standard
- Surface: Polytrack
- £11,500 added
- Winner: £7,246
- 2nd: £2,169
- 3rd: £1,084
- 4th: £543
- Form 207V15/
- Age 8
- Weight 10-0
- Official Rating 97
- Trainer M Appleby
- Jockey Alistair Rawlinson
raced keenly in touch, pushed along well over 1f out, ridden and one pace final furlong
- Form 56561-1
- Age 5
- Weight 9-13
- Official Rating 96
- Trainer H Palmer
- Jockey Andrea Atzeni
held up last, pushed along on outside well over 1f out, strong run to lead well inside final furlong, readily
- Form 0122/9-
- Age 4
- Weight 9-7
- Official Rating 90
held up in touch on inside, pushed along and weakened 2f out
- Form 30055-2
- Age 4
- Weight 9-6
- Official Rating 89
- Trainer C & M Johnston
- Jockey J Fanning
chased leader, niggled along over 3f out, ridden 1f out, kept on same pace, regained 2nd last strides
- Form 73535-4
- Age 6
- Weight 9-2
- Official Rating 85
- Trainer S Dow
- Jockey S De Sousa
set steady pace, pushed along and quickened 3 lengths clear over 1f out, ridden and caught well inside final furlong, lost 2nd last strides, finished lame
Previous results
In depth
Verdict
EL GHAZWANI has a 7lb rise to contend with bidding for a hat-trick of course and distance wins but Hugo Palmer’s charge scored with the more to spare last time than the narrow winning margin would suggest and doubts surround today’s opposition. Greatest Journey won a decent handicap at Wolverhampton in 2018 but missed the whole of last year while Smile A Mile and the selection’s stablemate Ours Puissant have plenty to prove over this far with the latter returning from a lay-off. Mr Scaramanga was expected to do better in a lower grade here last time and Normal Norman is upped in class.
Formwatch
Greatest Journey 5-2fav (9-13) Chased leaders, took closer order over 2f out, every chance over 1f out, faded final furlong, 5th of 6, 4l behind Breden (9-6) at Chelmsford City 1m hcp (3) pol in Dec.
El Ghazwani (IRE) 9-4 (9-6) Slowly into stride, held up towards rear, headway last bend, went 2nd entering final furlong, quickened up well to lead towards finish, won at Lingfield 1m 2f hcp (3) pol in Jan beating Sky Defender (9-5) by 3/4l, 7 ran.
Ours Puissant (IRE) 12-1 (9-6) Chased leading pair, weakened and eased over 2f out, 9th of 10, 37 3/4l behind Masaru (9-7) at Sandown 1m hcp (2) gf in Apr.
Smile A Mile (IRE) 11-1 (9-7) Outpaced in rear, pushed along over 3f out, kept on final furlong, went 2nd post, no chance with winner, 2nd of 5, 3 1/4l behind Mosakhar (8-10) at Southwell 1m hcp (3) pol in Jan.
Mr Scaramanga 4-1 (9-8) Keen tracked leaders, ridden over 1f out, kept on same pace, lost 3rd final strides, 4th of 8, 3 1/4l behind Torochica (9-0) at Lingfield 1m 2f hcp (4) pol in Jan.
Normal Norman 3-1 (9-6) Soon tracking leader, ridden over 2f out, no impression in last from over 1f out, last of 4, 5 3/4l behind Lucky's Dream (9-7) at Chelmsford City 1m 2f hcp (4) pol in Feb.