2:50 Nottingham

Cloud Forest (1pt)

Best price 4/1 at the time of publishing.

It is rare that I recommend backing a horse on debut but neither the previous winners Bay Royale and Knights Charge set a high standard under penalties and I am willing to take a chance on CLOUD FOREST (best priced at 4/1). Saeed Bin Suroor has developed a reputation for his patient approach in nurturing his stock and it is common for him to have debut winners at four. The gelded son of Blue Point is a half brother to two winners and the booking of Oisin Murphy for the ride is notable. In his career he has ridden 93 winners from 307 starts operating at a 30% strike rate resulting in a level stake profit of +£22.85 to a £1 level stake.

The stable have started 2026 in good form with 4 winners from 9 runners including when combining last night with Mountain Cat at a short price under Oisin Murphy at Wolverhampton. Cloud Forest looks worth backing on his debut.

5:20 Lingfield

Regal Guest (0.5pt ew)

Best price 50/1 at the time of publishing.

If first-time cheekpieces and Tom Queally getting back on board REGAL GUEST (best priced at 50/1) can spark him back to the form of his debut 2nd at Kempton then he should prove well handicapped off this mark of 62. The four-year-old cost 85,000gns as a yearling and finished 3rd in a smart Kempton novice race on his second start behind the 80 rated White Crown Star and the 103 rated Fearnot.

Since that run he hasn’t only beaten three horses home in four runs but shaped well at Newmarket on Saturday before weakening late on. Hopefully cheekpieces can mean his finishing effort improves and he looks worth taking a chance on back on the AW with Tom Queally on board.