Up first is a 23-furlong handicap chase from Leicester (14:10) in which it may pay to take a chance on Oscar The Myth. He won on his third chase start for David Phelan way back in May 2012, and looked set to play a hand in the finish at Southwell in December on his belated return for current handler Jeremy Scott when falling four out. He has very few miles on the clock considering his age and this will only be his seventh start in over three years. Providing he is fully tuned up for the occasion that leaves him open to significant improvement, and considering he receives a fair chunk of weight form main market rival Carli King, who disappointed over C&D last time, he looks to have an excellent chance to return to winning ways after a long layoff.
It's a seven-furlong handicap from the all-weather at Lingfield under consideration next (15:30) and considering the form Bertie Blu Boy has been in of late it seems foolish not to keep him on side. It's fair to say his rivals gave him too much rope last time but he still did well enough to complete a C&D hat-trick eleven days ago. It's unlikely he'll be allowed to dominate proceedings up front once again, but he is well drawn to attack today and as his most recent outings have put beyond doubt, he will take some catching. 5 lb claimer Eoin Walsh negates the 3 lb rise he received from his last success and sees him lining up off a 2 lb lower mark than he won off on his most recent start, and as a result rates as a confident selection. If his exertions have caught up with him the likes of Lutine Charlie or Resonare are most likely to pick up the pieces.
Our final bet of the day sees us head north for the two-mile handicap chase from Catterick (15:50) and it has the potential to be a tricky little contest. Both Divine Intavention and recent winner Turf Trivia look to hold strong claims, but narrow preference goes to Lucky Sunny. This isn't the first time he's been selected as a SmartPlay in recent weeks, having made the frame in both of his last completed starts and shaped considerably better than the result suggested on those occasions too. That was never clearer than last time at Ludlow where he confirmed the impression that he's attractively weighted and possibly paid the price for doing too much in the early stages. He jumped left that day as well which didn't help his chances, but faced with an left-handed track today he has an excellent opportunity to take advantage of his lenient mark and get his head back in front at last.
Timeform UK SmartPlays
Back Oscar The Myth @ 4.67/2 in the 14:10 at Leicester
Back Bertie Blu Boy @ 3.39/4 in the 15:30 at Lingfield
Back Lucky Sunny @ 3.3512/5 in the 15:50 at Catterick