STARLIGHT Court must have a fighting chance of success over hurdles at Southwell.
The Dan Skelton-trained six-year-old has not yet won for the Warwickshire handler, but he has done enough on a racecourse to warrant support in a race like this.
Starlight Court was a little too keen for his own good on his first two outings over hurdles, when fourth at Bangor and at Worcester.
But he upped his game on his handicap debut at Warwickshire in January to suggest he has quite a bit going for him at the Nottinghamshire circuit.
Starlight Court came from well off the pace to finish third, beaten just five lengths, in a two-mile affair on soft ground.
Skelton will have been particularly happy with that run as his representative seemed a fair bit more mature than on previous starts over hurdles.
He also ate up lots of ground late on to indicated that this step back up to two and a half miles for a novices' handicap hurdle will be just the ticket.
More rain is forecast at Southwell, so the fact he is also proven in pretty grim conditions should also come in very handy.
Eaton Rock deserves respect in the three-mile handicap chase.
The eight-year-old was a disappointment at short odds at Towcester last month, but he was always chasing his tail from a difficult position and seemed to lack the gears over two miles.
To that end, it is not too big a surprise that trainer Tom Symonds has decided to step back up to a distance over which he did so well at Huntingdon on his previous start.
Eaton Rock remains fairly handicapped for this humdrum encounter if his Lingfield chase success in November 2015 is factored into the equation.
Mr Muddle looks the main man in the conditional jockeys' handicap chase at Lingfield.
Gary Moore's runner would not be too far away from a handicapping perspective, even before he turned in a really stout performance at Sandown in February.
Mr Muddle finished a three-length second to an in-form Speredek over two miles and this does not look anywhere near as good a race.
Moore will be disappointed the soft-ground winner has gone up 4lb for his Esher spin, but this looks there for the taking.
David Bridgwater looks to have a good one in Cohesion, who should go well in the feature race at Wolverhampton.
Formerly trained in France, the four-year-old Champs Elysees gelding turned in a big display on his stable bow at Lingfield in January, when an unlucky-in-running fourth in a good race.
He then returned to Surrey to contest a similar sort of heat over a mile and a half, but things did not run smoothly on the back of a weak pace.
Cohesion could never really get seriously involved, but he once again showed a little bit of quality to get to within two and a quarter lengths of Watersmeet.
Bridgwater must seriously fancy his chances in the Betway Handicap, assuming they go a decent clip, while the appointment of Oisin Murphy is a positive move.
Aragon Knight looks the one in the first division of the five-furlong sprint handicap.
Heather Main's four-year-old has slipped to quite an appealing handicap mark and is clearly in decent form on the evidence of his third-placed finish at Lingfield last time.
Aragon Knight bravely attempted to make all of the running that day, only to have been worried out of it at the death, so it is understandable that Main has reverted to five furlongs with him.
Siouxperhero was a pleasing second over course and distance in February and looks to be finally coming back to hand in time for the nine-and-a-half-furlong handicap.
He remains on a mark off which he won at this track in November.
SELECTIONS:
LINGFIELD: 2.20 Polly's Pursuit, 2.50 Flemcara, 3.20 Ardmayle, 3.50 Old Salt, 4.20 Magical Man, 4.50 Margaret's Rose, 5.20 Mr Muddle.
SOUTHWELL: 2.00 Virnon, 2.30 Eaton Rock, 3.00 Cruiseaweigh, 3.30 Grace Tara, 4.00 STARLIGHT COURT (NAP), 4.30 Overawed.
WOLVERHAMPTON: 2.10 Aragon Knight, 2.40 Loumarin, 3.10 Trotter, 3.40 Lacan, 4.10 Simply Me, 4.40 Siouxperhero, 5.10 Cohesion, 5.40 Enfolding.
DOUBLE: Starlight Court and Eaton Rock.
