Not to put too fine a point on it, with a better ride Picture Dealer would have won at Doncaster last time...
Timeform's Keith Melrose offers his suggested Placepot perm for this evening's meeting at Sandown...
17:55 - Dominate rates as the likeliest winner, but in a field of six and currently odds on he's probably not ideal banker material, especially considering two of his rivals stand out as likely sorts should he fluff his lines. Red Explorer is ultimately going to need further than five furlongs, but he was beaten by inexperience first and foremost at Haydock on debut and will at least be suited by this more testing course, while Starlight Angel was highly tried last time yet still showed enough to suggest she can make an impact again returned to calmer waters.
18:30 - Unlike the first, this six-runner handicap is very much one for a banker selection. Not to put too fine a point on it, with a better ride Picture Dealer would have won at Doncaster last time, finding trouble having started from an unpromising position yet still held off by only a nose. Ryan Moore replaces Tom Queally in the saddle and, quite frankly, we'd be surprised if Moore can't get a win out of Picture Dealer this evening for father Gary.
19:00 - With eight still in this maiden at the time of writing, we can probably afford to bank on Haatefina, whose third-placed finish to Maureen at Newbury last time is easily the best form on offer from those that have run. Should the field shrink any further between now and when you place your bet, you may want to put Hannon debutant Law Enforcement in as backup, but for now we're happy with one selection.
19:30 - Another race teetering on the edge with eight runners. Banking isn't really an option in this, mind you, with no standout and plenty with a chance. Shavansky is our first choice, his consistency at this level hard to crab, while his last run, when he was arguably unlucky, suggests he's possibly in the mood to win let alone place. Although Viscount Vert mightn't have completed the hat-trick had he not unseated rider last time, he clearly shaped as though still in form and more than warrants a place in our perm.
20:05 - A seven-runner handicap for three-year-olds in which we're going to take two, neither of which are bombproof but who between them are likely to supply a horse in the first two. First of them is Debating Society, who has shaped as though ahead of his mark on a couple of starts and travelled best over 11 furlongs at Kempton last time. He's joined by Ace of Valhalla, who could be chucked in on the strength of some of his maiden form and will likely find the test at this trip right up his street, for all that a three-month absence raises some minor concerns.
20:35 - Although this closing race isn't an easy one to weigh up, there are a couple in the field who've thrived since tackling conditions such as those likely to prevail this evening. They are Byron Blue and Bathwick Street. The first-named opened his account on soft ground over this trip at Haydock last time, though admittedly some of his improvement that day might have stemmed from him breaking on terms for a change. You have to go back two starts for Bathwick Street's distance win, but he showed a most willing attitude that day at Nottingham to score by five lengths and, for all he finished third last time, there's every reason to think his current mark is at least fair.
Selections:
17:55 - 6, 7
18:30 - 4
19:00 - 8
19:30 - 2, 3
20:05 - 1, 2
20:35 - 2, 6
= 16 lines
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