The Student Punter

13:25 Lingfield The one in the line up who initially caught my eye was Shaffire  for Harry Whittington, the booking of Silvestre De Sousa could be what finally get's this filly's head in front after a number of unlucky runs. She must surely be capable of this mark given she ran the progressive Agent Of Fortune close when second by half a length back in early December, that rival is now rated 26lb higher while Shaffire is only 8lb higher. She drops down in grade and is greatly respected in this field but I have two main worries for her: tactics and weather. She has been reliant on being held up off a strong early pace and picking up the pieces late on but there doesn't look to be a great deal of pace in this field. In addition to this storm Dennis may play his part in how this race pans out (if he doesn't postpone the meeting entirely). If forecasts are correct then there could be a very strong tailwind in the home straight tomorrow afternoon at Lingfield, a co...

17:50 Newcastle I'm fairly surprised that Lady Of Aran  isn't a shorter price in this class 4 handicap. She ran in a higher grade at Kempton last time out in a race which has worked out well since. Charlie Fellowes' mare was awkward leaving the stalls that day and raced keenly but stayed on well to finish a good second. The winner of that contest was only beaten a neck off a 6lb higher mark on her next start, while the third won a class 2 handicap at Wolverhampton on her next start. This will be her Tapeta debut but this is a course which often suits those who are held up and in the hope that Jungle Speed  and Barrington  force the early pace, I'll be backing Lady Of Aran  to swoop by them late on. Reckless Endeavour  is an obvious danger as he will do better than when not suited by the slow pace last time out, but the selection comes here off the back of a career best and may do better still. Lady Of Aran 9/2   - 1 Point Win ...

20:10 Wolverhampton I'm going to keep this write up fairly brief as I put this fella up as a selection last week when he finished second but this looks like another race which could be run to suit Qaaraat . With plenty of pace in the race courtesy of Jorvik Prince , Superseded  and Stoptheworldnletmeof  this will suit those held up and the selection has a nice draw in stall 5 too. He ran well last time out when keen in the early stages and gets to race off the same mark today, hopefully the stronger early pace should help him to settle better and hopefully get his head in front at the line. Qaaraat 6/1  - 1 Point Each-Way

16:35 Chelmsford I have no doubt that Bold Decision  is by far the most likely winner of this contest, it doesn't take a genius to tell you that given a current price of 5/4, but the combination of his tendency to miss the kick and this big field of 16 runners is enough to put me off backing him. There is a fair bit of deadwood in here and with some bookmakers offering 5 places each-way I think it would be sensible to take advantage with one at a bigger price. Sharp Operator  would be an obvious option, he seems to like it round Chelmsford and is a fairly consistent performer in the context of this race. However, one who is far less obvious is Musee D'orsay   and Tony Carroll's 'second string' is the one I'll be chancing with a small each-way bet. This is a bit of speculative selection as the son of Showcasing is running from 8lb out of the handicap but he is certainly one of the less exposed runners in the field. He was clearly fancied to run well on...

18:10 Wolverhampton The drop back to 5f poses a question here for  Knockabout Queen , it is a question she may well be capable of answering but at a current price of 5/2, I won't be risking any of my money on finding out. Instead, I think Qaaraat  presents a decent each-way play here off bottom weight. He ran well on the fibresand at Southwell last time out and looked unlucky in a couple of his runs on tapeta prior to that, as a result Anthony Brittain's runner is now back on his last winning mark. That win came in a 0-70 at Newcastle back in November so this 0-65 presents a slightly easier task than that day on paper. Although there isn't a plethora of out and out front runners in this line-up, there enough prominent racers to suggest he should have a good pace to aim at. Tabaahy  looks a likely danger with David O'Meara (25%) and Adam Kirby (20%) both in flying form at present but the price didn't last too long with him and I think the value now lies wit...