It was another close but no cigar type of day with Thursday's Lucky 15, with 2/4 winners and the other two running to an okay level without really threatening the win.
Cairnzy's Tips
Looking for Lynda 9/2 – Doncaster 3.40
Looking For Lynda has been a consistent performer this season, consistently putting in strong performances despite narrowly missing out on victory. Her second-placed effort at York in a competitive class 2 handicap and her third-placed effort in the Dash at Epsom are strong pieces of form to take into this race. She runs here of a mark of 86 and if able to replicate the form of the runs just mentioned, she should be bang there.
Aesterius 4/5 – Sandown 2.30
Nothing is ever a ‘banker' in horse racing but if there is a horse that resembles anything of the sort on Friday it's probably the Archie Watson trained Aesterius.
My selection won easily at Bath on debut before being thrown in the deep end in the Norfolk Stakes at the Royal meeting. He finished a creditable fifth that day and only a length and a half of the winner Shareholder. The Actor looks like the main danger on paper but still has a bit to find with my selection. Nothing else caught my eye in this field as being a potential threat.
Aesterius has only run the two times and with more improvement expected on only his third start, it'll be disappointing if he isn't able to win this listed contest.
Rizzel's Tips
World Of Dreams 6/4 – Newton Abbot 4.00
This is a trappy contest and quite a few of the runners have a chance of winning this race, but the one which stood out for me was the Anthony Honeyball runner, World Of Dreams. A handicap mark of 110 seems to be a struggle for him, but I don't think we've seen the best of him so far. He won a Class 3 Plumpton novice race in 2022, which recorded an RPR of 122, and prior to that, he had finished behind Stag Horn who was 100 rated on the flat and became a 120+ rated over the jumps. He has clearly had problems away from the track as he was off the track for 809 days, but he has made a decent return. Even at the age of 8 with the problems he's had, connections must firmly believe he is on a very attractive handicap mark as he has been well found in the market on two of his three runs since his return, and was especially strong last time out, going off at 13/8F. His run last time out was his best run to date since his return, and if he can keep on building on that, he could definitely win a race of this nature. Anthony Honeyball does well at this track, and that has seen him operate at a 20% over the years.
Existent 8/1 – Sandown 3.05
It is easy to be drawn into backing horses sliding down the handicap marks but have not shown a good level of form for quite a while. More often than not, this tactic doesn't pay off, but Existent is becoming increasingly well-handicapped and the jockey booking for Oisin Murphy on seasonal reappearance is enough for me to give him one last chance. This horse has always been a very good sprinter but has been a horse who doesn't get his head in front all too often, especially on turf as his one win from nearly thirty attempts would suggest. However, he has dropped down to a mark of 87 which is becoming very low and I think Sandown is a track which could be perfect for him if he were to bounce back to form as it has a steep uphill finish, and knowing how strongly this horse hits the line on flatter tracks, it could be a good combination from such a low weight to what he has been running off in the past (rated as high as 107 in June 2022). Oisin is miles ahead at the top of the flat jockey championship, and this is something he'll want to maintain, so it's interesting that Stuart Williams has booked Oisin for this horse on the back of a layoff and considering he is becoming very well-handicapped. Stuart doesn't use Oisin too much these days, so it's a noticeable booking.
WHAT IS A LUCKY 15 BET?
A Lucky 15 bet consists of 15 unique bets, covering every possible combination that comes from backing four selections. The 15 bets are broken down like this:
– 1 fourfold accumulator
– 4 trebles, with each treble omitting one of your selections
– 6 doubles, again covering every possible combination
– 4 singles
The attraction of a Lucky 15 is that it offers many more ways to win than a standard accumulator. A Lucky 15 uses both your acca and your singles as well as producing trebles and doubles that reward you for correctly calling 2/4 or 3/4 of your selections. To cover the 15 separate bets, a Lucky 15 uses your stake 15 times. If you were to place £1 on a Lucky 15, you would be staking £15 in total across the various bets.
In December 2020 we sadly 
