Saturday Racing Tips: Tony Calvin backs Lingfield pair at 9/1 and 14/1

• Plantadream is best bet at Lingfield

• Karen Jewell runner has very strong chance

• Eleanor Cross has pedigree and weight to get involved

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Ryan Moore Superboost

Betfair Ambassador Ryan Moore returns to race riding in the UK on Saturday and the Betfair Sportsbook have superboosted his mount Talis Evolvere to finish in the top four in the 14:00 at Lingfield from 4/71.57 to 1/12.00. Just click on 'Bet now' below to go directly to the betslip.

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It's a bit of a dog's dinner (breakfast or lunch works, too) for an ITV Saturday but it is no-one's fault bar Mother Nature, so let's play the hand we have been dealt after both Ascot and Haydock failed to beat the freeze.

As it stands, ITV are definitely showing Lingfield, but Taunton has just been abandoned, and Navan (though unraceable on Thursday) will presumably now enter the terrestrial mix.

Come what may, I am not getting involved with Navan, so it is just Lingfield's four contests for me in what is obviously a much shorter column than usual.

Lingfield 14:00 - Back Plantadream

Plantadream is the best bet on the Lingfield card at the current 9/110.00 each-way, four places, with the Betfair Sportsbook in the 14:00.

His trainer Karen Jewell broke a long losing run when sending out the backed Red Flyer to win at Kempton earlier in the month. Plantadream has a fair chance of doubling up for her after an encouraging fourth to Talis Evolvere (who re-opposes here and is the 10/34.33 favourite) on that same all-weather card on January 6th.

Plantadream looked like he was coming to win that race at the furlong marker - he traded at 2.021/1 in running - and hopefully he is ready to strike now, having been dropped a further 1lb to a mark of just 85.

It could be that second run off a monster 891day break was still needed, as it can be with smaller yards who don't have access to the premier facilities and possess similar-level horses in order to test out their better charges at home.

I appreciate he is a 9yo but that is 11lb below his peak level and many of his better efforts have been at Lingfield. Indeed, his course form figures read 2122. Two of those runner-up performances came off marks of 96 and 95.

Now, obviously there are negatives. His age, and his draw in one, and some stiff competition to boot - Dragon Icon up the top, last seen in the German 2,000 Guineas, is a likely sort off 95 - but he looks to have a very strong chance to me.

Lingfield 14:35 - No bet

All-weather sprint handicaps would be near the bottom of my punting pile but I looked at the 5f handicap at 14:35 before it was priced up, and I was prepared to give One Night Stand a go from off 4lb out of the handicap.

However, I was expecting 25s in truth, so I was amazed that the Sportsbook opened up at just 10s (currently 12/113.00), so no way am I getting involved as things stand.

The logic was that he has started to run well again after tumbling to a mark of 70 last month and, even if 4lb wrong, he is still very feasibly treated here on his 2022 and 2023 exploits.

Furthermore, his best efforts have come around here and a strongly-run 5f could be his optimum, and there is a shedload of pace in here for him to aim at.

But it's a huge "no" at 12s; I want at least 20s in a deeper Exchange market on Saturday to get involved.

Lingfield 15:10 - Back Eleanor Cross

Shades of last week's 33/134.00 Lanzarote winner Jay Jay Reilly last week - it was good to hear some of you got involved on the Exchange, on which he returned at a Betfair SP of 55.34 - but I can't tip him now, when he is eight points bigger elsewhere on the fixed-odds line and with the Exchange market in its infancy.

However, the Sportsbook are puffing their chests out with the 14/115.00 about Eleanor Cross in a hugely competitive Winter Oaks Fillies' handicap at 15:10, for all there are only the dead-eight (a fearsome prospect for potential each way punters) in the race.

Oh So Grand has been the early money horse from 10/34.33 to 2/13.00 - not that would have taken much to engineer such a move - and you can obviously see it, given the way she took off to win here last time and a 4lb rise may not stop her. I can fully see her winning.

But this is a deep race and I have to walk the walk (after talking the talk about her on the Racing Only Bettor podcast) and tip Eleanor Cross win-only at 14s.

She has a lot to prove on the clock and she could be less of a polished jewel than some of these with more experience, but she clearly gets a lot of weight and she shaped well enough in a decent novice over course and distance last time.

A mark of 75 could be very workable, as they say.

The winner was a well-bred and punted newcomer, the second (who she was getting 7lb from) has since improved massively to finish fourth in Listed company here (and is now rated 95) and the fourth ran okay when second at Kempton last time.

And there is the small matter of her pedigree.

By Pivotal out of a mare beaten a short-head in the Ribblesdale, she is a sister to Earlswood and Making Miracles, who were rated 110 and 108 respectively at their peak, and that suggests a mark of 75 gives her plenty of scope to get involved here.

She may run well and finish fifth, such is the depth of the race, but she is worth a small win-only tickle at the Sportsbook's 14/115.00 or 15.014/1 or bigger on the Exchange.

Lingfield 15:45 - No bet

I toyed with Smart Champion, now rated just 65, at [16/1] in the 2m handicap at 15:45, but decided that two bets were plenty on such a low-key day.

Here is hoping Lingfield's turf NH actions on Sunday survives, as they nearly hit -9 overnight on Thursday night and are now frozen in places, and they are inspecting at 2pm on Saturday.

I'll probably file my copy on that before the inspection as I have better things to do than wait around for the decision through Saturday afternoon. And maybe even a Sunday morning look, too.

Good luck.

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Now Read Paul Nicholls' Ditcheat Decs: Bravemansgame will go straight to Cheltenham

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