Having passed an early inspection, Leicester is the venue where our first SmartPlay runs. Ballywatt (14:40) is lightly raced under Rules and has looked progressive over fences, following up a good effort at Newbury with a narrow defeat at Hereford last time. He travelled extremely powerfully on that occasion, looking all over the winner as they approached the final fence, and, while it was disappointing he didn't win, Kim Bailey's six-year-old looks to have been found a good opportunity to make amends here.
We head to the all-weather for our remaining two SmartPlays, with the final race at Lingfield being our next port of call. Glastonberry, a recent second over C&D last time, was forced wide as she attempted to throw down her challenge and shaped better than the bare result, not beaten far in a blanket finish. That wasn't the first time Geoffrey Deacon's filly had caught the eye and she has been in good heart of late, running with greater consistency than had been the case in the past. Granted a bit of luck in getting the splits at the right time, Glastonberry looks sure to launch another bold bid and can hopefully get her head back in front.
This may register as somewhat of a speculative selection, but taking a chance on Piscean hitting the frame in the 17:20 at Wolverhampton could prove to be a wise move. Although capable of winning on turf, Piscean seems at his best on an artificial surface and the return to Wolverhampton's polytrack, where he has produced some of his best efforts, could well see the seven-year-old sprinter outperform expectations. Switching back to the all-weather is the most significant factor, but stepping back up to six furlongs is also likely to be in his favour and he can go well at a generous price.
Timeform SmartPlays:
Back Ballywatt @ 3.1511/5 in the 14:40 at Leicester
Back Glastonberry @ 3.5551/20 in the 15:30 at Lingfield
Back Piscean to Win @ 15.014/1 and to Place @ 3.953/1 in the 17:20 at Wolverhampton
