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Sam King landed a 7/2 winner at Newcastle last night and is back with two all-weather selections for Kempton this evening…
Grenham Bay has been threatening to get his head back in front for some time now and the Happy Christmas From The Kempton-Park Team Handicap (7.40) could prove the ideal set-up for him to do so this evening.
He's 0-10 since winning over course and distance in March, but that success came off a 4lb higher mark and he's certainly proved this rating was well within his range when third over track and trip off 68 three starts ago.
Andrew Balding's contender almost looked to be keeping a bit back from himself when fifth in a similar contest at Southwell recently and it's not a massive surprise to see connections reach for the first-time blinkers.
Plenty of the expected pace is drawn around Grenham Bay in stall seven, meaning Jason Watson should find himself in a nice position tracking the speed for much of the six-furlong contest. I wouldn't be surprised if he came there travelling best at the furlong pole and hopefully, he has enough in the tank to fend off his rivals in the closing stages.
WIN - Grenham Bay
Odds – 4/1
Earlier on the card, it could be worth taking a chance on Dolce Courage in the Unibet More Extra Place Races Handicap at 6.40.
James Horton's new lightly-raced recruit shaped much better than the bare result when seventh on his stable debut at Newcastle last time, staying on nicely after meeting trouble having been poorly positioned due to a slow start out the stalls.
You'd hope that outing will have put him spot on for this and although he'll need to jump better from stall four, there's hope he can defy this current rating of 87 if finding a touch of improvement.
A recently gelded son of Siyouni, he beat the 83-rated Leadman in a novice event at Newcastle in October last season, leaving the impression there could easily be more to come as he continued to mature with both racing and age.
It's possible connections may look at racing over further in time, but if he's able to hold a decent track position from gate four this evening, he could easily outrun current odds of around 7/1.
EACH-WAY - Dolce Courage
Odds – 7/1