Lingfield (AW) 4:55 Result

Musical Soldier is the standout on form: recent figures of 022111 show progressive improvement culminating in back-to-back wins, and he's race-fit having run just 7 days ago. Top weight of 137lbs reflects his rating rise but he's clearly building momentum and beating rivals comfortably. The tongue-tie addition may have helped sharpen him up given the recent scoreline. Sean Bowen takes over and this small 5-runner Class 6 field looks well within his grasp given the two victories already logged. None of the rivals match that recent CV. Paranjape's form (-27460) is patchy and inconsistent, Heir Of Ambition has barely raced (059) and is stepping up in class off a 50-day break, Ahead Of Fashion's 772456 shows no win threat, and Laughterintherain (2-6784) has been fading after an initial promising run. Musical Soldier is clearly the most battle-hardened and in-form runner, with the profile of a horse still on an upward curve. Weight of top-rated horses in weak Class 6 races is rarely decisive against this level of recent superiority. I expect him to start favourite and he's worth it - this is backing proven current form over hoping for an unproven improver.