Timeform UK SmartPlays: Wednesday October 16

Early murmurs in the betting for the 14:50 suggest that Stagecoach Pearl is fancied to further improve his good recent record when fresh, while Temple Lord is expected to progress again. It could pay to side with Castlelawn, however, as he is a truly progressive chaser who is being relatively ignored. He won a couple of events at Hexham in June and, although he hasn't won either start since, the signs of continuing improvement have been there. He was ridden a bit too aggressively at Perth for a start, then had any chance of staying two and a half miles dashed by another forceful ride next time. Castlelawn might be pestered for the lead today, but if Peter Buchanan isn't drawn into another bit of mutual destruction he ought to go very close.

In the following handicap hurdle (15:25), it's probably best to focus on the pair of Blackwater King and Big Water. The second-named is expected to improve through the season, but he's been handed a high-enough mark on what he's achieved to date so the recommendation is to side with Blackwater King, who we know to be well handicapped. He finished second in a stronger race than this at Doncaster last December, and was still going well when coming down four out at Bangor on his only start since. The presumption is that Donald McCain will have Blackwater King ready to do himself justice first time up, so he should be more like 2.707/4 than current odds of 3.8514/5.

The 15:55 is a competitive handicap chase, in which some sort of case can be made for the majority of the field: Grandad's Horse represents the scorching Longsdon yard; Golden Call is useful and unexposed; Dorset Naga is on a hat-trick and Riguez Dancer starts his days for Donald McCain on a lenient mark. However, preference is for the mare Tara Rose. She was only really getting going as a chaser last spring, though she was still able to take a valuable event at Cheltenham before signing off for the season. She returns at a time of year when her yard so often thrives, and probably hasn't finished improving as a chaser yet.

Timeform UK SmartPlays
All at Wetherby

Back Castlelawn @ 6.411/2 in the 14:50
Back Blackwater King @ 3.8514/5 in the 15:25
Back Tara Rose @ 6.25/1 in the 15:55

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