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Derby Trial Day at Lingfield
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A 10/1 opening leg pick for Michael Bell
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Gosden has another Kingman improver
Handicap debutante a big price at Ascot
Testing ground at Ascot for a quality card is hardly ideal, and Timeless Melody already has form on bottonless (Leicester) ground which is a huge plus, but there's no price on her at all at the top of the betting, and the surface is a question mark for a few.
Michael Bell's One Morning is one, as her turf victory came on good, but the price of 10/1 compensates for that and we can back her each-way for the three places.
She ran well on debut last term at Newbury and followed up with a win at Newmarket - overcoming a farcical pace to win in a small field. The filly held a Royal Ascot entry but whatever the setback was, she wasn't seen until September before running third against the very smart Laurel.
Her pedigree is rather illustrious, counting Shantaram in the line, and I wouldn't be surprised to see her go up in distance at some point this year.
The dam of the selection All's Forgotten has served her owners with distinction as a broodmare as ten of her horses have all been individual winners.
Bell is very quiet at the moment with just one winner from his last 20 at the time of writing, but she could be let in lightly off 82 here given her profile from last term.
Derby Trial candidate has strong sire stats
The Lingfield turf loss is the All-Weather's gain for the Derby Trial on Saturday, and with two candidates already rated over 100, the lesser experienced runners will have to find a huge chunk of improvement to lay a glove on the main contenders.
Step forward John Gosden's Inquiring Minds, who uses trial races well, even if not for the intended race.
The 3yo was another good advert for Kingman, and he brushed aside some vastly inferior opposition on his debut at Newcastle to win by 5L.
The slow pace, almost pedestrian, wouldn't have helped him as he has plenty of stamina in his pedigree, and the race finishing speed of nearly 120% reflected the crawl.
However, his ability to quicken on the AW could stand him in good stead, and he ran 11.20 in the closing stages in the hottest part of the race.
It's a quick turnaround, but horses at this stage of the season can take giant leaps from first to second start.
Kingman has a marvellous 24% strike-rate at the track and around 37% placed.
Eight need to stand their ground for the each-way part of the multiple too, and we know he handles the artificial.