Lingfield Spring Cup best bets: Queen Of Zafeen to reign supreme, Ahlain could defy odds

15:20 Lingfield: BetMGM Spring Cup Stakes (7 furlongs)

If the early betting is to be trusted, then we should be in for a two-horse race between market leaders Queen Of Zafeen and Orne, both of whom bring decent form to the starting gate.

Any young horse emerging from the Gosden yard must be respected, and Orne won on Kempton’s all-weather track and on Newmarket’s turf in the autumn before coming a good second of 14 when last seen in Doha 19 days ago.

Queen Of Zafeen boasts even more impressive credentials after following up a debut success at Southwell with an emphatic 3.75-length win over this course and distance a month ago. She step up in class here, but should go well again in the capable hands of William Buick for what is his only ride of the day.

Planet Sport Bet Daily Special: Bet £20+ cash on any runner in the race and if Queen Of Zafeen wins by more than 2 lengths, get a £5 Free Bet

 

 

• Tip advised by Only Winners on Tipstrr

The short prices of the market leaders won’t hold much value for the casual punter among us, but with the other eight runners all available at 9/1 or higher, there’s plenty of each-way options to consider for the minor places.

If we can safely discount the two 100/1 outsiders, then the Gosden’s other runner, Blown Away, could be ready to perform under Hollie Doyle, while the Andrew Balding-trained Lessay could feature if able to step up from a win and two runner-up spots in minor events at Kempton.

Pick of our bunch, however, is another young filly Ahlain, who first caught the eye last summer and recently returned from a five-month break with a performance to suggest she has plenty more in the locker.

A couple of uninspired turf outings bookended a narrow win on her all-weather debut at Kempton, where she kept on strongly over this distance to hold off the nearest of nine rivals by a neck.

She returned to that same venue last month and was quickly into her stride, keeping in touch throughout and then being driven out from the two-furlong pole to win with half a length to spare.

Those two successes came under Ryan Moore and Clifford Lee respectively, and indeed she has had a different rider for every outing so far, so there’s nothing to suggest that she won’t respond equally well to Rossa Ryan, who is something of an all-weather specialist himself.

Each-way punt: Ahlain in the 15:20 at Lingfield

• Tip advised by PicksnTips Selections on Tipstrr

 

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