Timeform UK SmartPlays: Wednesday April 2

Our first SmartPlay on Wednesday runs in the opening contest at Wincanton (14:15) as we side with the Paul Webber-trained Koolala. Koolala showed obvious signs of ability in bumpers, winning at the first attempt at Lingfield, and she has taken well to hurdling, building on the promise of her hurdling bow when comfortably getting off the mark at Uttoxeter. She couldn't quite take the step up to handicap company in her stride, finishing runner-up on her latest start at Doncaster in February, but she wasn't beaten far despite having to challenge from an unpromising position, and there's more to come from Paul Webber's mare at this trip.

We head to the all-weather for our next two bets, starting with Lingfield's five-furlong handicap at 15:25. Dishy Guru took advantage of a falling mark to end a long losing run when scoring over this C&D last month and he shaped as if still in good form when finishing a respectable fourth in a more competitive event at Kempton last time. This looks like an easier task for Dishy Guru and he ought to go extremely close in a race which many of his rivals enter having been out of sorts.  

We head to Kempton for our final bet, waiting for the penultimate race on the card, the one-mile handicap at 20:25, as we back the unexposed Love Excel on his handicap debut. The Charles Hills-trained colt boasts a useful pedigree - he is a half-brother to several winners, including the Group 1 National Stakes winner Mus-If - and he has shown clear signs of ability, finishing an encouraging fifth in a strong maiden over C&D before justifying strong support to win at Wolverhampton. An opening mark of 77 could well underestimate Love Excel, particularly as he remains open to significant improvement, and he rates as a strong fancy.

Timeform UK SmartPlays:
Back Koolala @ 3.1511/5 in the 14:15 at Wincanton
Back Dishy Guru @ 5.49/2 in the 15:25 at Lingfield
Back Love Excel @ 2.6813/8 in the 20:25 at Kempton