16:40 Lingfield

Friday 30 March 2018

All13:3014:0014:3015:0515:4016:1016:40

Betway Easter Classic All-Weather Middle Distance Championships Conditions Stakes

Off time: 16:42 | Winning time: 2m 1.51s

(10)

Abe Lincoln^b1,t¹³

Age: 5| Weight: 9-5| J: P Hanagan| T: J Noseda| OR: 99| BF| CD

14/1

Justified favouritism over C&D last month and form of that race has been franked since. Not as good last time at Wolverhampton though and has a bit to find on the bare form. Wears first-time blinkers.

Form: 003-113

(2)

Battalion³³

Age: 8| Weight: 9-5| J: D C Costello| T: J A Osborne| OR: 105| CD

33/1

Unreliable sort (can be slow to break and not an easy ride) but he did win a C&D Listed event here in 2016 and has four C&D wins to his name. Not been in that sort of form lately though and fell over hurdles last time. Opposable.

Form: 36966-2

(1)

Battle Of Marathon³⁴

Age: 6| Weight: 9-5| J: A Kirby| T: J Ryan| OR: 104

12/1

Consistent sort who placed behind Mr Owen in a Group 3 here last time. May struggle to confirm the form with the two that finished in front of him and this is possibly an even stronger race.

Form: 316-433

(9)

Master The World^p³⁴

Age: 7| Weight: 9-5| J: S M Levey| T: D R C Elsworth| OR: 108| CD

5/1

Won Group 3 Winter Derby here in the stewards' room last time (badly hampered closing stages) and has another win and two places from five starts here. Recent Derby form is strong but he needs a strong pace to aim at and everything to drop right.

Form: 60127-1

(6)

Mr Owen³⁴

Age: 6| Weight: 9-5| J: Oisin Murphy| T: D M Simcock| OR: 107

3/1

Lost the Winter Derby in the stewards' room here last time when he ran around a shadow, hampering the eventual winner. Has won twice in Listed company in France and shown no signs of a quirk in previous races; worth giving another chance to.

Form: 7331-2D

(5)

Pactolus^h,t²⁰

Age: 7| Weight: 9-5| J: Daniel Muscutt| T: S C Williams| OR: 100| C| D

25/1

Course winner and very consistent sort in handicaps but hard to see him competing off level weights with some of these.

Form: 4-32322

(8)

Petite Jack^b³⁴

Age: 5| Weight: 9-5| J: Hollie Doyle| T: A Watson| OR: 102| CD

10/1

Runner-up to Toast Of New York here in December and followed up with a Listed success over C&D later that month. Ran well but couldn't land a blow in the Winter Derby last time out and likely to find at least a couple too good again.

Form: 6421-65

(3)

Star Archer^h²³

Age: 4| Weight: 9-5| J: Josephine Gordon| T: H Palmer| OR: 96| BF

8/1

Progressive sort. Won his first two AW starts and he can be forgiven his run last time in a muddling race (finished behind Pactolus). Every chance he will reverse that form given a truer test and he brings a less exposed profile in than most.

Form: 216/113

(7)

Utmost³⁴

Age: 4| Weight: 9-5| J: Andrea Atzeni| T: J & T Gosden| OR: 105| CD

13/2

Listed winner over C&D last month and probably went off too hard in the Winter Derby last time. Could potentially get an easy lead in this and has each-way claims.

Form: 3483-16

(4)

Victory Bond⁵⁵

Age: 5| Weight: 9-5| J: James Doyle| T: W J Haggas| OR: 105| BF| D

3/1

Looked a little unlucky behind Master The World in Listed company in November and impressive when winning at Wolverhampton two starts back. No match for Utmost last time though and probably needs to have improved to reverse the form.

Form: 8912-12

Forecasts

Victory Bond (3/1), Mr Owen (3/1), Master The World (5/1), Utmost (13/2), Star Archer (8/1), Petite Jack (10/1), Battle Of Marathon (12/1), Abe Lincoln (14/1), Pactolus (25/1), Battalion (33/1)

Master The World and Mr Owen are settle to do battle again in the finale here after the latter lost the race in the stewards' room in the Winter Derby last time out. He may have been collared by Master the World that day even without running around the shadow but he is more versatile than his rival and for that reason he's preferred for the places. However, STAR ARCHER is less exposed than many in here and he can be forgiven his run last time. He's one of only two four-year-olds in the line up and he had looked progressive in his previous all-weather runs. Utmost is the other of that age group and can't be ruled out, particularly if he can secure an easy lead.