RINGMOOR DOWN'S run of bad luck could be about to take a turn for the good at Bath this afternoon.

Nothing much went right for David Arbuthnot's speedy mare towards the end of last season and the same scenario applied on her recent Newbury reappearance when Ringmoor Down (3.00) lost all chance with a tardy start.

It was probably a case of being caught a tad ring rusty following a long break from action and I expect jockey Dane O'Neill to have his mount out of the traps like greased lightning for today's five furlong dash in the £30,000 Lansdown Fillies Stakes.

The main danger to the selection may well emerge from the rejuvenated Proud Boast, whose close-season switch from Geraldine Rees to David Nicholls reaped immediate dividends when the six-year-old bounced back to form at Nottingham 13 days ago.

In the later Property Finance Handicap there is evidence to suggest Goblin (4.30) can step up on his narrow Southwell fibresand success.

Straight after the victory jockey Seb Sanders was adamant that Goblin had won despite "hating the artificial surface". The hint has not been lost on trainer Don Cantillon, who now tries his improving three-year-old back on grass in the ten-furlong event.

In the closing Saffie Joseph & Sons Handicap, Laconia (5.00) is worth another chance having categorically failed to fire at Thirsk on her latest outing.

Ignore that lacklustre performance and return to the time before when she was only beaten by the width of fag paper over course and distance, and there is solid enough evidence to give Laconia an each-way squeak.

Although Southwell-bound Cleveland Way (5.40) was not long ago on the wrong end of a seven length drubbing by Beauteous, the form is by no means as bad as it first appears since the latter went on to win his next two races by even more authoritative margins.

With absolutely nothing of the calibre of Beauteous in the Littlewoods Apprentice Banded Stakes to take on Cleveland Way this time, there are good grounds for hope he can go one better in the weakly contested six-furlong affair.

Newton Abbot's National Hunt card has attracted most of the top jump jockeys, including Richard Johnson, Tony McCoy, and Mick Fitzgerald.

Of the talented trio I anticipate Johnson coming out on top in the newtonabbotracing.com Handicap Hurdle aboard Supreme Piper (3.15).

Richard owes us a favour after unwittingly allowing McCoy to mug him on line when partnering Saturday's 6-1 nap selection, Xellance. Let's hope the same fate doesn't befall Supreme Piper, a very cheeky three-quarter-length winner at Fontwell earlier on this month.

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