Horse Racing Tips: Under The Twilight looks ready to shine again at Salisbury

There are six meetings in Britain and Ireland on Thursday and the pick of them comes at Salisbury, where there is Group 3 action. 

First off is Lingfield before they go at Haydock, Salisbury, Newbury, Clonmel and Wolverhampton. Among our Thursday fancies is one for trainer David O'Meara, who is fancied to bounce back from a below-par run last time. 

Today's Horse Races

14:00 Lingfield - Devizes @ 4/1

There haven’t been many more consistent performers this summer than DEVIZES and the eight-year-old can get reward for his string of good runs now that he returns to Lingfield. 

Devizes has won four of his 15 starts on the all-weather track and has been threatening to score away from here recently, recording form figures of 533372. 

All of those runs came at Chelmsford and Kempton, but he is far more effective at this course and returns to Lingfield for the first time since January, running off a 10lb lower mark. 

He is evidently well handicapped if coming back to Lingfield does the trick, and Aidan Keeley is a positive jockey booking. He has nine rides for the Pat Phelan yard and, while none of them won, two finished second and two third. That suggests connections mean business. 

This is an Extra Place Race meaning that Betfred will pay 4 Places instead 3 a 1/5 Odds.

16:25 Salisbury - Under The Twilight @ 6/1

The big meeting of the day comes at Salisbury and it’s worth sticking with the course specialist theme because UNDER THE TWILIGHT has a superb record on the plain. 

The Michael Blake-trained mare is an unbeaten three-from-three at Salisbury and is nicely handicapped now that she returns to her favourite track for the first time this season. 

Under The Twilight will be racing off the same mark as when last successful at Windsor in April and she shaped like she was coming back to form at that course on her last start. 

She finished only three lengths behind subsequent York winner Elmonjed on that occasion and was travelling strongly when repeatedly stopped in her run. She might have been a lot closer than ninth had she not suffered the interference and runs off 2lb lower here. 

That makes her of obvious interest back at her favourite track and she can win again. 

16:50 Haydock - Zarabanda @ 9/1

Class is the key to winning fillies’ handicaps and there is no doubt that ZARABANDA has the ability to take advantage of a drop in grade for in-form trainer O’Meara. 

Zarabanda has competed in Listed company on five of her last six starts and is now 1lb lower than when beaten only a length-and-a-half on her last outing in a handicap in May. 

She shaped well when back in a Listed race at York in July, finishing only three-and- three-quarter lengths behind Verbier in a hot contest that yielded a good time for the grade. 

A reproduction of that effort back in a handicap would almost certainly be good enough for Zarabanda to get her head in front and she is well suited by soft conditions. 

She has won three of her eight handicaps and all four of her career wins have come with soft in the going description, so conditions suit.

Get your stake back as a free bet up to £10 if your selection finishes second in this race.

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