Dow's Epsom specialist Corazon Espinado ready to prove himself a Lingfield ace

12.15 Lingfield
Bombardier British-Hopped Amber Beer Handicap | 1m, 3yo+ | Sky

With three wins, two seconds and a third from eight starts at Epsom, Corazon Espinado has garnered a reputation for being a bit of a specialist at the home of the Derby. However, he is equally effective on an all-weather surface and should be a Lingfield ace judged on pedigree.

Corazon Espinado's sire Iffraaj has an impressive record with his progeny on the all-weather at Lingfield. In the last five seasons, his offspring have a 19 per cent strike-rate (40-216) on this Polytrack surface and a £1 bet on all runners would have yielded a profit of £10.26.

A deeper look into Corazon Espinado's form proves he is a typical son of his sire. Three of his five highest Racing Post Ratings have been achieved on the all-weather at Lingfield, including two over course and distance, and he is now 7lb lower than for his last success here.

Trainer Simon Dow won this race in 2015 and 2016 with Forceful Appeal and jockey Callum Shepherd is an eyecatching booking. The pair have teamed up for three winners and a second from eight runners for a £1 level-stake profit of £5.75. That is a tidy 38 per cent strike-rate.

Martyn Meade and Rob Hornby are another profitable trainer/jockey combination. They have a 16 per cent strike-rate (16-97) and a £1 bet on all their runners yielded a profit of £49.83.

Hornby partners the lightly raced Hover for Meade here and the three-year-old, who made a successful handicap debut at Goodwood when last seen in June, returns from a long absence.

Hover has been gelded since his last run and looks the potential improver in the line-up.

Race analysis by Graeme Rodway

What they say

John Bridger, trainer of Delicate Kiss
She seems well, but got beaten last time and is on a career-high mark so I suppose we're a bit up against it. That said, she ran a bit free last time and I think she'll run a big race. She feels good and came out of that race well, while she runs better at Lingfield than Kempton. She's got one big galloping pace, but can be slowly away so things will depend on how the race is run.

Eve Johnson Houghton: trainer of BuckinghamCredit: Dan Abraham

Eve Johnson Houghton, trainer of Buckingham
It's the first time in about ten runs he's had a half-decent draw. He seemingly always gets drawn wide and it just completely ruins any game plan we might have. It's really nice to have a good draw in stall four and he seems in good form so we're hopeful.

Martyn Meade, trainer of Hover
He's very lightly raced and we've just brought him on slowly. He's got great form and I think he'll be better on turf having won nicely at Goodwood last time he ran. He had niggly problems after that and we didn't want to rush him, but he's competitively handicapped and I think he's good enough for this. I'm very pleased with him and he should go well.

Roger Teal, trainer of Lucky Louie
He ran okay at Chelmsford last time and hadn't been on the all-weather for a while. I think a mile will suit better than seven furlongs on it and he's dropping in the handicap, so he could get competitive. He's a course winner, but needs the cards to fall right on the day and he's no certainty. He used to be so consistent, but the ground's been wrong on certain times he's run and then the handicapper probably had him in his grip, but I think he's dropping to a decent mark now and I've left the headgear off just to freshen him up. He's going well at home, but he always does, and he just might need the confidence of getting his head in front.

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