15:45 Lingfield

Saturday 23 March 2019

All14:0014:3515:1015:4516:2016:55

Betway Casino Handicap

Off time: 15:47 | Winning time: 58.37s

(8)

Doctor Sardonicus³⁰

Age: 8| Weight: 10-1| J: R Kingscote| T: Tom Dascombe| OR: 106| BF| D

20/1

6-20 on the AW and strongest when able to dominate; made all when beating Foxy Forever by 1¼L at Wolverhampton (5f) in December; 3lb higher in the weights; poor run on sole previous start at Lingfield Park.

Form: 18071-8

(2)

Stone Of Destiny²⁸

Age: 4| Weight: 9-13| J: James Doyle| T: A M Balding| OR: 104| D

11/4

Showed promise for David Simcock but has improved further for Andrew Balding in recent months, finishing 4¼L third to Kachy and Gorgeous Noora in the Cleves Stakes over 6f here in February; very unlucky loser in Doha latest; major player.

Form: 776-332

(10)

Corinthia Knight¹⁴

Age: 4| Weight: 9-13| J: Thomas Greatrex⁽⁵⁾| T: A Watson| OR: 104| CD

10/1

Wide draw aside, everything else looks perfectly primed for a big run; best suited by racing over 5f at Lingfield Park, beat the re-opposing Gracious John by 1½L over C&D in December and also very closely matched with Royal Birth.

Form: 8-58328

(7)

George Bowen^v¹⁴

Age: 7| Weight: 9-12| J: Sebastian Woods⁽⁵⁾| T: R A Fahey| OR: 103

7/1

Seven-time career winner; enjoyed a productive season on turf in 2018 with fast ground 6f wins at York and Hamilton; placed on his first AW start since June 2016 when beaten a head and ½L by Desert Doctor at Wolverhampton (6f) two-weeks ago.

Form: 15090-3

(9)

Royal Birth^t²¹

Age: 8| Weight: 9-11| J: S M Levey| T: S C Williams| OR: 102| CD

8/1

Listed Hever Stakes runner-up (beaten by Gorgeous Noora); edged out both Corinthia Knight and Gracious John when taking a recent C&D Class 2 handicap for the second time in four years; raised 2lb; almost certainly there or thereabouts.

Form: 954-221

(4)

Merhoob¹⁴

Age: 7| Weight: 9-11| J: A Kirby| T: J Ryan| OR: 102| C| D

10/3

Versatile, hardy and reliable but at his sharpest around Lingfield Park (6f-7f); 8lb higher than when scoring at Wolverhampton in February, so it'll take a gargantuan effort to score off a mark of 102; has previous with plenty of today's rivals.

Form: 1-26212

(3)

Gracious John²¹

Age: 6| Weight: 9-8| J: J F Egan| T: P D Evans| OR: 99| CD

8/1

Four-time C&D winner, including when beating Encore D'Or by a short-head in the 2018 Hever Stakes; falling marginally in the weights (below 100 for the first time since November); has various recent form-lines with Corinthia Knight and Royal Birth.

Form: 923-643

(5)

Gold Filigree¹⁶²

Age: 4| Weight: 9-1| J: S W Kelly| T: R Hughes| OR: 92| D

20/1

Boasts a 33% AW strike-rate (3-9), albeit sits 4lb above her last winning mark and is yet to score above a Class 3 handicap; off the track since October 2018 (York); in truth this looks to be an overly ambitious assignment.

Form: 141340-

(6)

Verne Castle^b⁸

Age: 6| Weight: 9-0| J: F Norton| T: M Wigham| OR: 91| CD

16/1

Made all to score over 5f off this mark at Chelmsford in late September (Class 3), notching a seventh career success; no problems with Lingfield either but can be expected to come up short again versus the re-opposing Royal Birth et al.

Form: 134-573

(1)

Shining Armor⁵¹

Age: 3| Weight: 8-3| J: Darragh Keenan⁽⁵⁾| T: J Ryan| OR: 92| D

10/1

Inexperienced stablemate of Merhoob; has improved at a rate of knots since scoring off a mark of just 57 at Yarmouth (7f) in October 2018; 3-5 on the AW; in plenty deep enough on his return from the Dubai sunshine.

Form: 1121-50

Forecasts

Stone Of Destiny (11/4), Merhoob (10/3), George Bowen (7/1), Gracious John (8/1), Royal Birth (8/1), Corinthia Knight (10/1), Shining Armor (10/1), Verne Castle (16/1), Gold Filigree (20/1), Doctor Sardonicus (20/1)

A top-notch Saturday afternoon sprint which really serves to whet the appetite for the fast-approaching All-Weather Championships Finals Day. Royal Birth finished second to the exciting Gorgeous Noora in the Listed Hever Stakes over C&D in February and went one place better when justifying favouritism in a Class 2 handicap here three-weeks ago, beating today's opponents Corinthia Knight and Gracious John. From just a 2lb higher mark, he'll almost certainly be on the premises. However, a confident selection is the fast-improving (& always promising) STONE OF DESTINY. A very unlucky loser in Doha recently (6f), he's again expected to be making giant late strides.