Ludlow's 15:15 is an intriguing contest with Lemon Drop Red and Ladies Dancing certainly worthy of consideration whilst the suspicion remains that El Gran Torino will come good at some stage over hurdles, but the one we are most interested in is Islandmagee, trained by Evan Williams. The six-year-old got off the mark at the third time of asking in this sphere when scoring at Kempton in February and, for all that he seemingly failed to back it up next time, he is worth sticking with. Islandmagee didn't necessarily help himself by jumping less fluently than would be ideal at Wincanton when last seen but the race did not pan out in his favour, the muddling nature of the counting against him, and he is readily granted a chance to make amends.
Plenty go to post in Wetherby's 16:45, 17 to be precise, but not all that many arrive at the course in the best of form. Pistol Basc hasn't really set the world alight recently either, with his losing run stretching back to October of 2010, but having re-joined former trainer Ferdy Murphy prior to his most recent outing we are going to side with him here. The nine-year-old showed a bit more than for a while at Sedgefield that day, jumping more proficiently than is usually the case, and as a result of his spell in the doldrums he is particularly well handicapped on a mark of 82. His attitude has let him down in the past but, so long as he puts his best foot forward, he seems likely to take a hand in the finish.
Huntingdon's 17:35, a handicap chase over three miles, is the scene of our final SmartPlay with Global Flyer taken to hit the mark. The nine-year-old won four times in 2011/12, including twice at this venue, but he looked out of sorts for much of last season, as demonstrated by the fact that his best effort came when finishing fourth at Wetherby. However he is now on a good mark and that Wetherby run was a more encouraging one so, if he can build upon it, he ought to go close here.
Timeform SmartPlays:
Back Islandmagee @ 7.26/1 in the 15:15 at Ludlow
Back Pistol Basc @ 5.69/2 in the 16:45 at Wetherby
Back Global Flyer @ 4.216/5 in the 17:35 at Huntingdon
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