THERE are reasonable grounds to believe Newcastle-bound Celtic Carisma (3.20) is one step ahead of the handicapper at present.

Keith Reveley's filly, already a previous course and distance winner, came out all guns blazing this season with an effortless three-and-a-half-length victory at Southwell last month.

Considering Southwell's less-than-testing track didn't particularly play to Celtic Carisma's strengths, the wide margin of victory was still impressive.

Owner Bill Brown cannot have had any complaints about his three-year-old only being put up 6lbs for the success, a potentially insufficient rise to prevent the selection capturing the two mile Reg Vardy Handicap.

The William Haggas' stable boasts an admirable strike-rate, a trend quite likely to be maintained by Whispering Death (2.20) in the opening Motorshow Handicap.

Despite the Newmarket raider not being seen out in public for 209 days, Whispering Death made massive strides towards the end of last term, improvement which suggested he'd be an even better horse this year.

Pam Sly's fairytale 1,000 Guineas win with Speciosa represents one of the most incredible rags-to-riches stories ever witnessed in British racing history.

But for all the euphoria, the show must go on and Sly has more work to do, albeit at a far lower level with Ask The Clerk (4.20), a leading contender for the seven furlong Betfred Poker Sprint Handicap.

Ask The Clerk failed to draw in 2005, however, as a result of that lean streak has tumbled down the weights to a realistic mark. Chip in the fact he also ran well at Pontefract recently, and a small each-way bet is recommended.

Yesterday's rain significantly enhanced the prospects of Queen's Echo, who simply loves a bit of juice in the turf.

Queen's Echo (4.50) did well to finish fourth from a poor draw at Ayr, staying on in sterling fashion following a relatively tardy exit from the stalls.

The final piece of the jigsaw revolves around the five-year-olds' rating, which is only 1lb higher than when scoring at the Scottish track just under 12 months ago.

Gay Kelleway's horses have come back to life during the past few weeks, putting Veneer (4.00) bang in the picture for Southwell's Ladbrokes Banded Stakes.

Veneer has yet to collect on the fibresand, nonetheless his overall career' profile makes positive reading in the context of what is a very weak affair.

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