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Wednesday Lingfield top tip: Emperor Spirit set to rule from a handy draw

After landing another 5/2 winner yesterday (advised at 13/2), racing tipster Steve Jones has cast his eye on today's all-weather meeting at Lingfield to pick out today's best value bet.

The rails runner Tyger Bay headed the early market but he is yet to win above Class 4 standard and there is little doubt that he prefers the right-handed track at Kempton, where four of his five all-weather wins have been achieved.

One horse that really stands out today is the four-year-old Emperor Spirit, who looks handicapped to strike off his revised mark of 90.

In October, Emperor Spirit gave notice that his turn isn't far away, finishing third of thirteen in a Class 3 race over six furlongs on Wolverhampton's tight left-handed tapeta circuit.

13:25 (Lingfield) Emperor Spirit

In what was a much stronger handicap than today's, Emperor Spirit came out of a wide draw and was carrying four pounds more than today, plus he contested the pace the whole way, which couldn't have done much for his finishing effort.
The form of that Wolverhampton race was advertised in no uncertain terms when the winner, Strike Red, came out again a week later to win the valuable 19-runner Class 2 Coral Sprint Trophy sprint at York.
The subsequent form of the other principal finishers in that Wolverhampton sprint, all of whom were drawn far more favourably than Emperor Spirit, lends further support to the notion that it was a very hot race for its class.

Emperor Spirit has recorded both of his wins going left-handed, so today's configuration will definitely suit. 

His most recent success, over today's trip on the Chelmsford polytrack in June, saw him make the most of a decent stall two draw to make every yard and hold off six rivals to land a Class 3 carrying only 2lbs lower than today.
From a very handy stall four draw today, Emperor Spirit looks poised for another bold-running performance, this time with Danny Tudhope in the saddle.

Tudhope's booking could be significant, because he is piloting this sprinter for the first time, and his record for the in-form Archie Watson (two winners on Monday) on the all-weather over the last five seasons is ten out of 26 for an impressive 36% win rate.

The potential value elsewhere brings in Total Commitment, a six-year-old who drops down in grade following a big run over this trip, and is overdue a win, judging by his run on the Kempton Polytrack last month, in which he finished fourth of twelve in a strong Class 2 contest.

Emperor Spirit and Total Commitment represent the most potent early pace in this race and, provided they don't take each other on too strongly, the others will struggle to peg them back around this very sharp circuit.

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