English/Ire
King’s best bets – 27th February 2026
Sam King is back with three selections on Friday.
The cards at Newbury and Doncaster both look trappy, so it could pay to concentrate on a classy card at Lingfield instead.
Superposition bolted up under Hector Crouch on his seasonal reappearance last year and it's interesting that connections opt for the same rider on his return to action in the BetMGM AWC Mile Trial Handicap (4.53).
Off the track for 116 days, Ed Dunlop's charge should be ready to rock and roll in this field and barring a slight blip when racing too keenly at Kempton in November, he's been largely consistent on an artificial surface.
A mark of 92 doesn't look beyond him based on his good second behind Witch Hunter at Newcastle last season, while the form of his fourth at Kempton in the same month has taken some notable boosts with Sky Safari, who is now rated 17lb higher, going on to land the Winter Derby recently.
With Popmaster back out just two days after a slightly below-par effort at Kempton, Apiarist looks like the right market leader based on his recent promising run at Newcastle. However, at the slightly bigger price, Superposition looks worth siding with on his reappearance.
Superposition – 1pt Win
Odds – 9/2
Albeit from a select pool, Ralph Beckett's horses have been running well of late, and I'm fascinated to see how the classy Anniversary gets on now stepping up to two miles in the Midnite AWC Marathon Trial Handicap (3.45).
Connections might have been hoping for more than running in an all-weather handicap off a mark of 91 when you go back to see him defeating dual Group 1 winner and St Leger hero Scandinavia on his debut at Newmarket's July Course, while the third King Of Cities is also rated 110 for good measure.
It's fair to say he's not really gone on to match the level of raw ability that he showed that day but it's still very early stages after just five starts and just like Scandinavia, it's possible that he's wanted this stiffer stamina test all along.
He couldn't have been much more eye-catching when fifth at Doncaster on his last start in June. Ralph Beckett's charge lost all chance when coming out of the stalls, yet he still looked like being a major player when cruising into contention at the three-furlong marker before understandably fading late on.
I'd be surprised if stamina proved an issue here now stepping up to two miles on a sharp track like Lingfield and with all-weather winners in his pedigree, the switch to this surface ought to be no problem.
The early market signs suggest that he's also ready to go on his return to action and I suspect a mark of 91 might just prove lenient over this trip.
Anniversary – 1pt Win
Odds – 3/1
Clive Cox has had two winners from just the pair of runners in the last fortnight. His horses are clearly in good heart at present and the unexposed Fast Track Harry might prove a spot of value against some hardy sprinters in the Midnite AWC Sprint Trial Handicap (3.12).
Five-time all-weather winner and defending champion Ferrous has to be feared alongside the progressive El Bodon, but Fast Track Harry gets upwards of 9lb from those rivals and might just have more to offer as a sprinter this season.
His three-year-old campaign petered out slightly with two disappointing efforts at Ascot, but the form of his York second earlier in the season is solid and he perhaps should have won there, given the fact that he was poorly positioned on the wrong side of the track.
A subsequent gelding operation should also help his cause, while he's two from two on his seasonal reappearances thus far so there's little concern about him going well fresh.
Rob Hornby should get the perfect set-up from his kind draw in stall two and the 5/1 on offer looks fair enough to warrant a 1pt win.
Fast Track Harry – 1pt Win
Odds – 5/1
Check out the latest South African News