Our horse racing expert Andy Holding has four tips for today's action.
15:30 Salisbury
INVINCIBLE SOLDIER (best price 11-4) proved his liking for today’s track when scoring in gritty fashion a month ago and despite failing to build on that effort at Leicester last time out, Clive Cox’s progressive three-year-old is still fancied to go well on his return to the Wiltshire venue.
Runner-up in a competitive all-age handicap over a mile the time before, the son of The Gurkha was a well-backed favourite here a week later and although he was made to work hard for success that day over the 1m2f trip, he answered every call in a sustained dual with the runner-up during the final half a mile. An awkward start and having a tendency to race a little too free in the early stages meant his finishing effort wasn’t the strongest at the Midland track last time out but with a drop back in distance seen as a possible answer to the latter of those problems, he can hopefully take advantage of slipping back into Class 6 company.
16:05 Salisbury
One of the big races of the season at the Wiltshire track and with Sir Michael Stoute having landed the prize twice in the last four years with Ballet Concerto and Regal Reality, there’s a decent chance SOLID STONE (best price 6-1) can provide the Newmarket handler with another success.
Although the five-year-old has won and run well several times in defeat over 1m2f, he’s often left the impression shorter distances suit him best and his victory over a mile at Windsor back in May certainly backs up that viewpoint. In what turned out to be a strongly run affair despite the small field, the son of Shamardal stayed on extremely powerfully in the latter stages and with the second fourth and fifth all going on to endorse the form subsequently, a repeat performance around the same standard should be good enough to see him bang on the scene here today.
19:08 Lingfield
LANKARAN (best price 9-4) clocked a big speed figure in making it 2-2 on an all-weather surface at Kempton last time out and even allowing for a slight adjustment in his rating, he still should be good enough to keep that unbeaten record intact.
Gelded since being a beaten odds-on favourite at Brighton previously, Roger Varian’s charge was still relatively positive in the market beforehand at the Sunbury venue and for those who kept the faith with the three-year-old grey, they were handsomely rewarded. Still in last place as the field turned for home 50 days ago, the son of Kendargent managed to outrun all his nine opponents with an unstoppable surge inside the final two furlongs and with one of them being the subsequent Newcastle scorer, Bonneval, the form has a solid feel to it. Although he could have done with a slightly better draw here today, it should at least mean he gets a clear shot around the outside once turning for home and if he shows the same turn of foot as he did last time out, he’s likely to prove too strong for his 11 rivals.
19:38 Lingfield
In cracking form so far this season, the five-year-old highlighted his general wellbeing with a victory here a month ago and with the time figure strongly suggesting he’d run to a career-high by some way, it’s no surprise to see the form work out well subsequently (even the last horse home that day has won since). Despite running over a much stiffer track and one that he’d never set foot on before last time out, he still managed to run to a pretty fair standard and with his regular pilot, Pat Cosgrave, able to do the steering again tonight, the combination look set to outrun their morning odds.
