LEADING apprentice rider Keith Dalgleish, not long back from a successful stint in Dubai, can further enhance his burgeoning reputation aboard Roman King (4.15) at Epsom today.

Soon Dalgleish will become a fully-fledged senior jockey, so it makes perfect sense to side with any of his mounts in races such as the extremely-competitive £20,000 Stanley Racing Showcase Handicap, where his 3lbs claim might prove vital in the event of a tight finish.

A cursory glance in the paddock at Roman King when he was only seventh on his reappearance at Doncaster's Lincoln meeting confirmed the son of Sadler's Wells was badly in need of the outing.

A month has passed by since then - plenty of time for the selection to reach peak condition, with the added bonus that trainer Mark Johnston has hit a real purple patch over the past couple of weeks.

Proceedings get underway with the mile-and-a-quarter Blue Riband Trial - intended to provide a few clues for the Derby, due to be run at the course in early June.

I doubt whether any of the quintet are capable of hitting such dizzy heights, although the tenacious Black Knight (2.00), a promising third on his comeback at Kempton, seems sure to pay his way once again this term.

The Great Metropolitan Handicap features a handful of more-than-useful northern raiders.

Both Cool Investment and Dancing Bay may quite possibly be marginally short of match fitness after relatively long absences, not so Mick Easterby's Nowell House (2.30), who landed a lovely little tickle for connections when picking up a similar contest at Newmarket last week.

Stacks of runners over the sticks at Perth reflect end of season quantity rather than out-and-out quality.

The fact that Nigel Twiston-Davies bothers to travel all the way up from Naunton in Gloucestershire, suggests he means business with Brambly Hedge (2.50).

The seven-year-old mare deserves some reward for a series of consistent efforts, including her latest second to The Pickled Duke at Warwick.

Star chaser Lord Of The Sky (4.35) bids for a sixth successive victory over fences in the Nelson Steavenson Novices' Chase.

Lenny Lungo's unstoppable equine giant achieved his most recent win at Kelso where he showed no mercy to Trooper, brushing the latter aside with a pulsating turn of foot up the testing home run.

Warwick must pass a 7.30am inspection following heavy rain in the Midlands.

If the fixture does survive, the hock deep ground should not inconvenience Hot Tin Roof (3.15), fancied to defy top-weight in the £10,000 Joplin Stakes.

l 9-2 nap selection, Sophielu, continued the recent excellent run of form for Janus (Colin Woods) at Musselburgh yesterday.

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