Tony McFadden provides an overview of the key things to note on Monday.
Saliko set to benefit from Murphy booking
A four-timer at Kempton on Saturday extended Oisin Murphy's healthy advantage at the head of the jockeys' championship and he's not far off establishing an unassailable lead with only six weeks of the title race left.
Murphy may have a fifth championship in his sights but he's not resting on his laurels and has a six-strong book of rides at Lingfield on Monday. Included among them are three horses with Timeform's Jockey Uplift Flag as a result of Murphy's presence in the saddle.
Those horses are Saliko (14:22), Recon Mission (14:52) and My Ambition (17:29), with the progressive Saliko arguably holding the strongest claims of the trio.
A winner of back-to-back handicaps at Nottingham, Saliko was unable to complete the hat-trick over this course and distance last time, but she was beaten less than a length in fourth in a steadily-run race in which she wasn't seen to best effect given she was forced to make her challenge very wide into the straight.
She is better judged on her previous effort and still looks fairly treated following a 4 lb rise in the weights for that decisive two-and-a-half length victory. She is 2 lb clear at the head of Timeform's weight-adjusted ratings for this mile-and-a-half handicap.
Penelope Valentine can bounce back for Owen
James Owen is one of the rising star's in the training ranks, and a feature of his success has been how well he has done with recruits to the yard. This has been especially notable with horses starting out for the stable in Flat handicaps. He's had 20 winners from 71 representatives with such types at a remarkable strike rate of 28.2%, while backing each of those runners to £1 level stakes would have returned a profit of £23.61.
Penelope Valentine, therefore, catches the eye on her stable debut for Owen in division one of the six-furlong handicap (16:28) at Lingfield. She's been largely disappointing since opening her account in clearcut fashion at Kempton in February but the handicapper has been relenting and she's now 3 lb lower in the weights than she was for that four-and-three-quarter-length success. She narrowly heads Timeform's weight-adjusted ratings here based on that Kempton performance.
Penelope Valentine needs to bounce back, but the switch to Owen has generated Timeform's Trainer Uplift Flag and she starts out for a stable firmly among the winners. Owen has already had seven winners this month across Flat and jumps, from only 29 representatives, and Penelope Valentine looks well enough weighted to add to the tally.
Desperate Dan to relish any cut in the ground
The rain in recent weeks will have been welcomed by connections of Desperate Dan given how well he progressed when encountering testing ground last season.
Desperate Dan ran out a five-length winner of a handicap at Nottingham last autumn before running to a similar level in defeat over a mile at Windsor, where he lost out by only a nose. Both of those contests were on heavy ground, and conditions won't be as testing when Desperate Dan returns to Windsor for the mile handicap (16:34) on Monday. However, even following a drying weekend, there should be some cut in the ground, with the going described as good to soft on Sunday evening.
Desperate Dan has beaten only one rival in two starts this season, but he didn't have his conditions on either occasion, and he wasn't disgraced when finishing within five lengths of the winner at Sandown last time. He's able to run off the same mark as when only narrowly denied over course and distance last season, so looks capable of giving a good account.
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