The remarkable Soaked, trained at Stillington by David Chapman, returns to Lingfield tomorrow with excellent prospects of landing his 11th handicap win since last March in the Book A Meal For Valentines Day Handicap.

There was an unmistakable irony in Soaked's latest victory over this course and distance on January 2.

He had previously spent the closing weeks of 1998 bidding to achieve the outright 20th century record of ten handicap wins in a season.

As it turned out, he was two days too late and so, along with Sihafi, ended the campaign as joint record-holders on nine wins apiece.

Prolific winners are commonplace at Chapman's Mowbray House yard, as he has also had two other 'niners' in Chaplins Club (twice) and Glencroft.

Soaked's most recent success was achieved by almost two lengths from Tear White, the 9-4 favourite, who renews rivalry again tomorrow on much more favourable terms.

The North Yorkshire sprinter has plenty on his plate to confirm his superiority over Tear White, but he has come up trumps so often, and defied logic so regularly, that it would take a brave man to say he can't score again.

With regular rider Tony Culhane in the saddle, Soaked is fancied to make a bold bid.

Kings Arrow gets the nap vote in the Newport Apprentices Handicap.

Trainer Paul Howling is enjoying an excellent campaign on the sand, and Kings Arrow contributed to his score-sheet when winning here on New Year's Day.

That victory, his second successive triumph over this course and distance, was gained by a neck from Confronter, but the pair put seven lengths of daylight between themselves and the third horse home.

Kings Arrow has good prospects of obliging again tomorrow and Howling has significantly engaged the services of Shane Copp, a strong rider, to make the journey south from his base with Mary Reveley in Cleveland.

Howling can also take the Ventnor Selling Stakes with Glastonbury, a largely disappointing horse, but one perfectly capable of picking up this modest event if he produced even half of what he can do.

Madame Chinnery (1.00) and Love Diamonds (2.30) are also worthy of serious consideration on the sand.

After two frosty nights, Newcastle requires a rise in temperatures to ensure tomorrow's meeting can go ahead as planned, and Jonjo O'Neill will be one trainer hoping to see the green light given.

O'Neill saddles Ivy House in the four-runner Polyflor Handicap Chase and this evergreen 11-year-old is fancied to prevail.

Ivy House finished third to Prime Example at Ayr last time having previously come to grief at the final fence at Carlisle when looking like a winner. Compensation awaits him tomorrow.

TOMORROW'S TIPS

LINGFIELD

1.00 Madame Chinnery

1.30 Glastonbury

2.00 Soaked

2.30 Love Diamonds

3.00 Woolly Winsome

3.30 Kings Arrow (Nap)

NEWCASTLE

1.10 Scotsmail Lad

1.40 Ivy House

2.10 Bobby Grant

2.40 Robbo

3.10 Master Nova

3.40 Wynyard Dancer

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.