Andrew Asquith provides an overview of the key things to note on Thursday.
Three points of interest
Tortured Soul interesting back up in trip
The Midnite, Building The Future Of Betting Handicap (11:10) at Lingfield looks a competitive race for the grade, but the value may lie with the Tony Carroll-trained Tortured Soul.
He was prolific upon joining this yard, winning six of his first seven starts, all on the all-weather, and all at around a mile and a half. He went off the boil a little afterwards, but he returned to form around the turn of this year with back-to-back wins.
One of those included a second course and distance success and, following another baron spell more recently, he’s now dropped 3lb below that winning mark.
However, he signalled he’s on his way back to form when catching the eye over an inadequate seven furlongs at Wolverhampton recently, keeping on to be never nearer than at the finish under considerate handling, earning himself the Horse In Focus Flag as a result.
Tortured Soul steps significantly back up in trip now and, on the back of that promising effort, he looks very interesting, likely to be set for another productive winter.
Loughville can show her true ability
The listed BetMGM River Eden EBF Fillies’ Stakes (13:55) at Lingfield looks a solid if not spectacular renewal, with a mix of unexposed and more proven performers, but on form, Loughville looks the one to beat.
She has rose through the ranks and is now a near-smart mare, her win in a useful handicap over a mile and a quarter two starts ago a career-best effort.
That form has been boosted since and she was seen nowhere near to maximum effect in a listed contest at Doncaster last time. Loughville was in a similar position to the impressive winner entering the straight but, unlike that one, she was forced to explore a run between horses which led to plenty of traffic problems.
She had to weave through rivals, staying on well in the closing stages and finishing with running left at the line. Loughville is yet to win on the all-weather, but she has improved markedly since last tried, and this longer trip round a sharp track like Lingfield should play to her strengths.
Sky Safari ready for step up in class
The BetMGM Fleur de Lys EBF Fillies’ Stakes (14:30) is the second listed race on Lingfield’s card and by far the most interesting runner is the James Fanshawe-trained Sky Safari.
She has quickly developed into a useful filly, winning five of her eight starts, and she can also boast an unbeaten record on the all-weather (four wins).
Her last two wins have come over a mile at Kempton following a below-par effort at Royal Ascot, easily resuming winning ways in July and defying a 5lb higher mark when following up in September.
Sky Safari really took the eye in the preliminaries beforehand and produced a career-best effort to beat a course specialist with more in hand than the bare margin implies, going with plenty of zest under a confident ride and always doing enough once entering the lead inside the final furlong.
The runner-up and third have boosted that form since and this looks the obvious next step for Sky Safari, who is well drawn and could yet have even more to offer.
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