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  • Friday Lingfield Top Racing Tip: Jason Watson Booking Could Give Lilkian The Edge

Friday Lingfield top racing tip: Jason Watson booking could give Lilkian the edge

Tipstrr racing pundit Steve Jones believes that the booking of Jason Watson for a solitary ride at Friday's Lingfield meeting could be a significant move by connections of Lilkian.

One of the early favourites is Pablo Del Pueblo, who has never won at this level, and although he has won at this venue three times before, those wins were all in Class 6 over the longer six-furlong trip and his revised mark of 67 also makes him vulnerable at five pounds above his top winning mark. 

He was able to win a weak race over five furlongs at Kempton last week, but he will be vulnerable from a speed perspective in this tougher five-furlong race on this, the quickest of all the synthetic tracks in the country.

Doubts about the favourite very much bring Lilkian into the reckoning, and one of the first things that takes the eye is the fact that Jason Watson is here for just this one ride.

Since Darryll Holland began training in April 2021, he has booked Jason to ride for him on the all-weather on a total of 22 occasions, resulting in no less than nine wins, together with a further four places.

3.55 (Lingfield) Lilkian

The most significant piece of recent course and distance form in respect of this event is the Class 5 handicap which took place two weeks ago and also featured Man On A Mission and Mick's Spirit, both of whom finished narrowly ahead of third-placed Lilkian.

There was only a length between the three of them at the line and it was essentially the slow early pace that did for Lilkian, who was ultimately beaten for a bit of finishing speed by the other pair.
Lilkian much prefers a fast pace over this trip, which is precisely what he got when he won a stronger 0-75 handicap here last season, when racing off the top mark of 75.
Always prominent, he really got motoring in the home straight and came right away from his seven rivals to win by an easy 2.5 lengths.

Off a mark of just 67 today (eight pounds lower) and facing lesser 0-70 opposition, he would appear to only need anything near that level of form in order to win.

Interestingly, the well-held runner-up on that occasion was one of today's main rivals, Mick's Spirit, with whom Lilkian is now six pounds better off.
No fewer than eight of today's nine runners have either led or contested the early pace on at least one of their last three outings, and that suggests a strong pace that is likely to suit Lilkian perfectly, which is no doubt why Jason Watson is here for just the one ride.
Of the others, Man On A Mission looks a decent prospect in his current mood after winning his last three starts, the last two of which were over this very trip, and his come-from-behind style should be well-suited to the likely strong pace.
He deserves credit for winning here a fortnight ago, given that he came from off a modest pace, and the four-year-old is full of confidence at present.
Another big run looks on the cards from a handy stall 3, although his recent sequence has now taken him three pounds above his previous highest mark, so he will need another jolt of improvement to defy it.

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