Best bet for the Day 18th Dec Sat

[chris34]

1.35 Southwell Diggeratt proved useful enough in the autumn for the Fahey team before joining current connections after winning a claimer over 11f around here droped back to a mile last time out in a claimer again and was made to work before going on and very much shaping as if stepping back up in trip was the way forward and gets that today, not thrown in at the weights only having 4lb to spare on OR on nearest rival top weighted Camps Bay but she comes into this in much better form than Camps Bay so should hold upper hand and the rest of the rivals have a lot to find at the weights. 1pt win Diggeratt 5/4 hills

[Lars]

Re: Best bet for the Day 18th Dec Sat 14:30 Lingfield I almost backed Reverend Green last time when he ran at Kempton over 1m2f, but the absence of 6 months and the market signals put me off. He ran a fantastic race, finishing 4th at 40/1, and I think at today’s trip of 1m4f, he should be able to go very close. 4yo gelding, formerly with Kevin Ryan. He won twice for him, both times on the AW at Southwell. One was in a bumper over 1m6f, and the other over a mile on the flat. He ran a decent race over this trip there after those two runs, before running an absolute stinker. He was sold to his current stable, that of Chris Down during the summer for a quite hefty £22,500 fee, under the impression he was to go hurdling. Had his debut over timber, but couldn’t have run any worse, and that idea seems to have been postponed for now. Was given the summer off, but his last run, already mentioned at Kempton, was one full of promise. He didn’t settle as well as he could have, but still had every chance with a furlong left. He wasn’t stopping towards the end, although he just couldn’t get past the leading players in the race, finishing 0.25 lengths behind the very decent Franco Is My Name, who runs earlier on the card. That form is likely to be pretty decent in time I feel. I also felt that he wasn’t given that hard a time in the final 100yds. He wasn’t asked to work quite as hard as the horses around him. Perhaps the jockey knew he had nothing left or maybe they were keeping something in hand? Regardless, the extra 2f today should help see him at his full potential. Although he ran poorly at this trip last time he ran over it, he seems a different horse now and should last it out. He also should strip much fitter after his reappearance run, and the fact that it was so encouraging, is another big positive. Although all his wins have come at Southwell, he’s closely related to a winner here at Lingfield, so he should be able to handle it as adequately as he did the fibresand. A current mark of 76 looks very workable, having not been penalised for his last run, and that sort of weight to carry makes it look a very tempting betting proposition. Chris Down also has a fantastic record at Lingfield, it is 2/6, with a Level Stakes Profit of £55.50! That big winner at 50/1 also came under the guidance of today’s jockey Steve Drowne. So his jockey booking looks quite positive. He’s drawn in stall 5, so he’ll be able to avoid the slower ground on the inside. It’s a decent enough race this, with a few coming into it with decent records, such as Dean Ivory’s. However, Reverend Green has a more workable mark, should improve for the step up in trip, and the fact that he’s 6/1, is a big enough price to get involved. I can see him going off the 4/1 mark. One concern is that the horse won’t reach Lingfield due to the snow in Devon. Hopefully he will take his chance and the meeting will go ahead! Reverend Green; Win @ 6/1 Paddy Power (bog)