4:55 Ascot Tips

Beaten by So Regal by just over a length on debut at Newmarket in April. Lyrics of Life now gets a six-pound pull from her previous rival today. And although So Regal looks like a future good thing, in the here and now, Lyrics of Life looks very good value at the price taken.

So Regal sets a fair standard in the hands of Ryan Moore, but the rest are a bit of a much of a muchness. I think it’s worth siding with the some newcomer who gets weight all round. The race has been won by newcomers getting weight in 2 of the 3 runnings, which intrigues. James Doyle takes the ride, and he’s got a solid record for Balding over the years, being 29/74 to place since 2013, with 17 of them winning. With 2- and 3-year-olds that record improves to 25/53, with 14 wins. She’ll have plenty of stamina for this stiff mile from her dam's side. It’s the first Mehmas filly to be trained by Balding, but he has trained plenty of colts and geldings, with a sound 38/83 place strike rate overall.