Light can show the way

13 April 2012

The tipping has been going along swimmingly and the Flat season is gathering momentum every week. So what can mess things up on a weekend when Lingfield opens its doors after a £10m refurbishment for its biggest meeting of the year?

Well, heavy going for starters. Form tends to take a back seat when the ground is as deep as seems likely at the Surrey course tomorrow but, even so, North Light looks well worth a second look when he lines up for the Gallagher Group Ltd Derby Trial.

Only five horses have stood their ground for this £60,000 contest, and the quintet can swiftly be reduced to a quartet given that Maidstone Midas showed very little on his debut at Windsor.

Of the rest, Five Dynasties bids to erase memories of a frustrating Guineas weekend for Aidan O'Brien, while Percussionist is well regarded by John Gosden and looked very much a stayer when landing a valuable Newmarket maiden last month.

Hazyview is thriving on racing and steps up to a mile and a half for the first time following his win in a Listed race at Newmarket last week, but North Light probably has the greater scope for improvement after running just twice as a juvenile.

The first of those two runs came in a valuable maiden at Sandown in late August, where he took time to grasp what was required before finishing with a flourish to go down by a short head to Post And Rail.

And the second came at Goodwood in September, where he was sent off at long odds-on to beat four rivals and did so in smooth fashion without having to be put to anything like his best by Kieren Fallon.

With good stayers like Researched and Cover Up close up in his pedigree, North Light is clearly bred to improve granted time and middle distances.

Whether he will be fully effective in the mud remains to be seen, but Sir Michael Stoute seldom takes chances where the ground is concerned and North Light looks the safest bet in what could be a gruelling contest if the forecast for further rain proves accurate.

The fact that plenty of trainers are worried about conditions at Lingfield is illustrated by the fact that only seven out of 35 five-day entries for the totescoop6 Sprint Handicap have stood their ground.

One horse well equipped to handle the mud is Molcon, who produced a powerful late run to beat a big field at Ascot last week, and with his stable in such good form Neville Callaghan's gelding is plainly entitled to go close again. Morse and Petardias Magic have also shown useful form in handicaps this spring, but Star Pupil is so well handicapped that it seems well worth taking a chance that he will cope with the testing conditions.

With Selkirk as his sire and the high-class sprinter Lochangel as his dam, Andrew Balding's colt is clearly bred to be well above average.

More importantly, Star Pupil seems to be improving steadily as he gains in experience. He ran a fine race in staying on strongly to chase home the well-regarded Spliff in a handicap at Salisbury last weekend and, from the same handicap mark tomorrow, his chance at the weights is second to none.

Much of the interest in the totesport Chartwell Fillies' Stakes will centre around whether Illustrious Miss can confirm the promise of her runaway debut win at Newbury last month.

David Loder's filly was highly impressive that day, but she takes a step up in class on much softer ground here and could represent poor value.

Gonfilia looks the obvious alternative. Granted, stall one could prove less than ideal for Saeed bin Suroor's filly if the field packs towards the stand rail, but she handles soft ground very well and looked back to her very best with an easy success in Dubai last time out.

Lingfield Park selections:

2.05 Gonfilia;
2.35 Star Pupil;
3.10 North Light.

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Athletics, Track And Field

Derby (horse Race)

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Kieren Fallon

Newmarket Racecourses

Sprint Running

Light can show the way

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