Tony McFadden provides an overview of the key things to note on Saturday.
Three points of interest
Gincident can add to Owen's Wolverhampton tally
James Owen has quickly established himself as a trainer capable of improving recruits to the yard and he shows a healthy profit of £23.68 to £1 level stakes with horses starting out for the stable in Flat handicaps.
Gincident, who was previously with another successful trainer in Richard Fahey, contributed to that total when making a winning start for his new yard at Leicester a couple of weeks ago. He bids to back that up in the seven-furlong handicap (18:30) at Wolverhampton, a course where Owen has fared especially well.
Owen has had 26 winners at Wolverhampton - more than at any other Flat course - and they have come at an impressive 24.5% strike rate. Backing each of his runners at the venue would have generated a profit of £12.74 to £1 level stakes.
Gincident looks a big player on Saturday as a 3 lb rise in the weights for his neck success at Leicester still leaves him well treated on the pick of his efforts and he narrowly heads Timeform's weight-adjusted ratings.
Wiltshire Lad starting out for stable in flying form
Andrew Balding's superb spell continued on Friday when Berkshire Whisper and Storm Star landed valuable handicaps on All-Weather Championships Finals Day and those victories made it 12 wins for the trainer since last Saturday.
Unsurprisingly, no other Flat trainer comes close to matching that tally - Charlie Appleby is next best with five in that timeframe - and Balding has Timeform's Hot Trainer Flag to highlight the yard's form.
Two of the wins on Newbury's valuable card last Saturday were provided by stable debutants as Divina Grace, formerly with Rae Guest, won the John Porter, while Jonquil, previously with Sir Michael Stoute, won the Greenham.
In the opening Royal Mile Handicap (13:50) at Musselburgh on Saturday, Balding unleashes Wiltshire Lad who, like Jonquil, was sent to him following the retirement of Sir Michael Stoute.
Wiltshire Lad signed off for Stoute by winning at Southwell on his handicap debut and the way he thoroughly saw out the trip on his first start at a mile impressed Timeform's reporter who awarded him the Horse In Focus Flag to mark him out as one likely to be of interest next time. A 5 lb rise in the weights for that success could well underestimate him as he is 3 lb clear on Timeform's weight-adjusted ratings here and also has the 'small p' to show he's considered a likely improver.
Rip Wheeler should be suited by step up in trip
As a point winner described by Timeform as a rangy gelding with scope, Rip Wheeler looks sure to come into his own when tackling fences. However, he offered enough encouragement on his handicap debut at Sandown last time to suggest that he's capable of raising his game over hurdles before making the switch to chasing.
Rip Wheeler was outpaced before the second last in a two-mile handicap run at a modest gallop and never threatened to land a telling blow, but he stuck to his task in encouraging fashion to run on into fourth, catching the eye of Timeform's reporter who awarded the Horse In Focus Flag with stiffer tests of stamina in mind.
Rip Wheeler gets a longer trip to tackle in the opening novice handicap hurdle (13:54) at Huntingdon and he's the only runner in the line-up with the Timeform 'small p'. It's hoped the step up to an extended two and a half mile can help unlock that bigger effort.
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