Phew! We got through Cheltenham and after this weekend’s action it’s full steam ahead to the proper racing season.  So all give yourselves a big pat on the back for surviving the winter dross and we’ll preview the last major all-weather meeting of the season.  Lingfield’s Saturday card features the third leg of the European all-weather series, namely the Betdirect.com Winter Derby.  The ten-furlong races at Lingfield tend to be falsely run affairs with the runners crawling until the last two furlongs where a sprint ensues.  I expect this year to be no different and this could well result in a few hard luck stories.  Hopefully one won’t involve Gerard Butler’s Silver Pivotal.  The filly’s aims included the Ribblesdale and Filly & Mare Turf at the Breeders’ Cup  before injury intervened and kept her off course until recently.  On her reappearance, defying an absence of 253 days, she scooted up over course and distance defeating a progressive if not top-notch opponent.  Butler has had a very good winter with his horses claiming many of the better prizes put on offer and I expect this one to be his as well.  Silver Pivotal’s 3lb filly’s allowance is an added bonus and expect her to be delivered on the line by co-champion Jamie Spencer, as is his style.  The preceding event is the seven-furlong Betdirect.com Spring Cup for three-year-olds.   This race tends to be won by a horse that has improved on the all-weather over the winter and there are several of that sort of animal in this race.  However, there are some particularly interesting runners from big stables that haven’t been seen since the turf ended and they could carry off the prize here.  One such runner is Michael Jarvis’s Tasdeer.  Considered good enough to run in a very handy renewal of the Sommerville Stakes at Newmarket last autumn, although he finished last, he could well be the type to take this on his reappearance before going on to better things once the turf begins the week after.  Furthermore Jarvis’s stables has been in good form over the winter recording a near 30% strike-rate which only improves Tasdeer’s prospects.

Selections – 2.40 Lingfield, 8 Tasdeer

                                                                  3.15 Lingfield, 15 Silver Pivotal