Thursday Lingfield racing top tip: Delgany Monarch looking to rule

The most attractive prospects in this very moderate looking handicap would appear to be the two seven-year-olds, Delgany Monarch and Lakeside Lad, who stand out in an otherwise mediocre-looking field.

The early favourite, Roger Rarebit, heads the betting on the back of his near-miss at Ffos Las earlier this month, but a runner-up spot in an even weaker race than today hardly screams of top pedigree.

13:30 (Lingfield) Delgany Monarch

Richard Rowe's hurdler is still a maiden but he is very lightly-raced for his age with only eight career outings to date, and his final run before his nine-month break came in a higher-graded Class 4 handicap. 

Under a sharper combination of conditions, Delgany Monarch finished a never-nearer fourth of ten in what was a much stronger handicap in which every one of his nine rivals were rated higher than any he faces off a two-pound lower handicap today.

Nevertheless, even that result looks very good in the context of today's weaker company. The trio who beat him at Chepstow are far superior to anything Delgany Monarch faces today and, given that the Chepstow contest didn't play to his strengths by any means, he looks a good bet off seven pounds lower.

It's worth noting that his hurdling debut also came after an extended absence and also came on soft going over today's course and distance. 

He came a creditable third of twelve that day and all the principals in that race were well above today's lower standard and Delgany Monarch himself was racing well above this standard prior to his latest break.