Hat Trick Bid For Dovils Duel

After a very disappointing start to his two-year-old career, it was a relief that Dovils Duel finally got off the mark at Leicester, even if it was only off a mark of 60. However, his confidence was clearly boosted by this initial success as he won convincingly off a five pound higher mark at Lingfield, travelling strongly before powering clear inside the final furlong to win by two and a half lengths. The handicapper has put him up ten pounds to 75 so our hand is forced to run him under a six pound penalty but he's had eight days to recover from Lingfield and he certainly didn't have a hard race that day. The way he travelled over six suggests that five furlongs with a bit of give in the ground should be fine and it will be disappointing if he doesn't go close in the hat-trick bid on Thursday.