Saturday’s Horse Racing Tips: Tom Collins believes Japanese star can claim Meydan prize

With Cheltenham behind us and just a week to go before the British turf season begins at Doncaster, now is the time to start immersing yourself in flat form.

It’s over to the Curragh to kickstart matters on Saturday as the County Kildare track hosts its annual Irish Lincoln meeting. English challengers from the George Boughey and William Haggas yards top the market for the featured event (3.25), but it’s a similarly competitive sprint handicap earlier on the card that appeals to me more from a punting perspective.

The 5f DMG Media Handicap (2.15) features an enticing mix of talented up-and-comers, wiley veterans and plot horses. Ado McGuinness’ Laugh A Minute would fit into the last two categories as the eight-year-old returns to try and retain his crown after a length-and-a-quarter success on this day 12 months ago.

Laugh A Minute is able to race off a 7lb lower mark this time around and has warmed up for his D-Day with a spin around Dundalk, which had the sole aim of shaking off some rust. Despite creating a pretty solid case for him, the fact that he hasn’t won in the last year, hinting that he could be regressing, is enough to make me look elsewhere.

I ended up landing on the horse who followed him home in this race last season - Swift Flight. Ken Condon’s grey was making his return after a long layoff and a gelding operation when he flew home for second place that day - a highly creditable effort as he was way too far back in the early stages.

We have only seen him on the track six times since and he ran well on each occasion, even in a conditions race at Fontainebleau 77 days ago. Nevertheless, the handicapper has dropped him 4lb in the weights in the last year and, with ground conditions and his draw looking ideal, I’m expecting a career-best display under Niall McCullagh.

Plenty of eyes will be fixated on the racing over at Meydan given the international representation on show for Dubai World Cup night. The feature event (4.35) lost a bit of shine after the draw was made earlier this week as all three market leaders were pitched out in the carpark. Maybe a wide stall disadvantages US challenger Country Grammer most given his lack of tactical speed - Frankie Dettori will have to decide to take kickback or lose ground out wide on the track.

The Japanese are mob-handed in the feature, while also boasting a number of fantastic chances earlier on the card. Equinox is perhaps their big hope in the Sheema Classic (4.00), but I prefer the price available on the Hiroyasu Tanaka-trained Lemon Pop, who will break from stall six in the Group 1 Dubai Golden Shaheen (2.25 Meydan).

Now, before I make my case for this Godolphin-owned five-year-old I should admit that I’m not an expert in Japanese form. Nevertheless, I’ve trawled through online replays over the last 48 hours and was mightily impressed by Lemon Pop’s most recent success in the Grade 1 February Stakes at Tokyo. That race came over a mile, but this rapid improver possesses plenty of tactical speed and should be able to handle the drop back to six furlongs.

Already considered the most talented horse in the race according to official ratings, Lemon Pop’s yet to hit his ceiling and any kind of improvement would make him tough to handle. Providing he can get a nice early position under jockey Ryusei Sakai, his stamina reserves should see him outlast his main rivals in the final furlong.

Talking of main rivals, the US has a whole stack of runners in this field. The best of them is Gunite, who has been rerouted here after he finished second in the Riyadh Dirt Sprint last month. Steve Asmussen’s charge is gutsy and extremely talented, but he has been handed a pretty rotten draw in stall 13 and everything will need to go right for him to come out on top.

Saturday’s Horse Racing Tips

Swift Flight (2.15 Curragh) @ 9
Lemon Pop (2.25 Meydan) @ 5.2