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THE recent wet weather has changed the landscape of turf racing in this country so much so, that the Oaks and Derby Trials at Lingfield Park are now rendered hugely insignificant, as regards the two classics at Epsom next month now that they are going to be run on the Polytrack.

From a betting perspective, Ascot will be my main port of call this afternoon and as always at this meeting the Victoria Cup (2.40) will be the centre of the betting day and I shall be playing two horses at double figure odds in this seven furlong handicap.

I have long been a fan of the old boy ACCIDENTAL AGENT and even though he is the most exposed runner in the field and his form has seemingly plateaued out at the age of nine, he still has some outstanding form on the straight track here that makes him a likely each-way play, with one bookmaker offering seven places and several others six.

In addition, he kicked off this season with a lovely warm-up for this race when a close up fifth at Newmarket off a mark of 101. Georgia Dobie once again partners the veteran and it seems the older he gets the better he acts with give in the ground. The cream on the cake is that he has a seemingly nice draw in box 20 as does my back up bet, PEROTTO, next door in 21.

A winner of the 2021 Brittania Handicap off 99, he has since been placed in the Group Three Sovereign Stakes and raced mainly in Listed, Group 3 and even Group 2 company. However, his form tailed off badly towards the end of last season which has seen his official mark plummet from 110 to 97.

However his final run last year will surely have given his new trainer, Roger Varian, cause for optimism when he was beaten under six lengths, when ninth of 20 behind Shelir in the Balmoral Handicap.

Of the dangers, well, how long have you got? Likely favourite Baradar is respected as is Darkness who could prove to be well handicapped for the new handicap king David O’Meara, but he is drawn low in stall number three.

Sent off the 5/1 second favourite for last year’s November Handicap, NATHANAEL GREENE was never travelling that day at Doncaster, but it could merely have been a case that he was over the top.

With only eight career runs under his belt I fancy that he could take another step forward this year, and it wouldn’t surprise me were he to line up as a market leader in the Ebor Handicap in August at York, after running well in a heritage handicap there over that course and distance. Off a rating of 87, I think he well be a blot on the handicap for the opening mile-and-a-half handicap at 1.30, with ground conditions of no consequence.

DUBAI CRYSTAL could be the answer to the mile and a quarter fillies handicap at 4.20, while I strongly fancy MISTER BLUEBIRD to end the winning run of Coco Bear in the six furlong handicap at 4.55.

There is a cracking mixed meeting at Haydock Park this afternoon, we should have more of them to attract people into the sport, and my outstanding wager at the Merseyside track is GENTLEMEN AT ARMS (nap) in the opening staying handicap hurdle at 1.35.

He started the season off from a mark of 143, and is now set to run off 129 and he showed that his turn is just around the corner when a very good fourth of 10 to Regarding Ruth, beaten less than two lengths at Warwick last month.

The big prize of the day there is the £100,000 Swinton Handicap Hurdle at 3.15 and HOMME PUBLIC could well be the answer to this conundrum. Oliver Greenall’s charge simply hasn’t got home over two and a half miles on three occasions this season, and a fast run two miles on a flat track could be his optimum set-up. He is hardly thrown in here off a mark of 137, but this year’s race looks eminently winnable in what looks a below par renewal.

Of the flat races on the eight race card, I think that CONSERVATIONIST is well worth another chance in the three-year-old, one-mile handicap at 2.10. The Clive Cox-trained youngster was heavily backed to win over the course and distance handicap first time out, but ran way too freely early on and Rossa Ryan didn’t persevere with him once his chance had gone fully two furlongs from home. Set to race off the same mark here, he gets the vote over all-weather winner Florida and  the lightly raced Arkendale.

And so back to the classic trial meeting at Lingfield which I think is now redundant as an Epsom warm-up. If I was going to have a wager at the Surrey track then it would probably be on top weight THE DEFIANT in a lowly class five handicap over six furlongs at 4.10.

The Daniel Steele runner ran a cracking race back on turf at Brighton last month, and if anything, this looks an even easier task for the seven-year-old. Finally, at Leicester in the evening have a second look at both ZURAIG at 6.10 and BROKEN SPEAR in the 7.40.

The last named has run in better class races in the past 12 months, but has suffered from both bad draws and/or lack of pace in a race. That was again the case at Chester on Wednesday and set to run on his favoured deep ground, the seven-year-old can finally land a gold medal at the main expense of fellow veteran Cold Stare.