Nick Luck’s William Hill blog: Side with rising force L’Eau Du Sud in Tingle Creek

William Hill ambassador Nick Luck previews Saturday’s ITV racing from Sandown and Aintree.

Sandown, Saturday

KIKIJO can land the TV opener (1:20pm) at Sandown on Tingle Creek day. I was hugely impressed with him at Cheltenham when the ground had got pretty soft, and a mark of 127 is surely not beyond him. The yard remains in great form, and I’ll be disappointed if he can’t follow up.

LUMP SUM is a sporting alternative to Lulamba in the Henry VIII (1:50pm). Whilst the favourite is a massively exciting talent, and his Exeter win was boosted yesterday, he may find this as sharp a test as he wants, particularly as his jockey said he felt he jumps more like a stayer than a speed chaser. As such, a chance is taken against him with a horse who walloped a good subsequent winner last time, whose stable is still hot, and who could get into a lovely rhythm round here.

AFADIL could be the answer to the handicap hurdle (2:25pm). His profile is slightly patchy, but he very nearly won the Imperial Cup in March (better off with Go Dante) and had a perfectly respectable pipe opener at Ascot. There’s no suggestion he’s on the downgrade, yet he is down to a career low mark. Cobden takes over for the first time in two seasons, and – although campaigned like a good ground horse – his career best came on heavy.

L’EAU DU SUD is taken to win the Tingle Creek (3:00pm). It’s a bit hard to read the value of his Shloer win, but I’m happy to do so positively, particularly when he glided round in the Arkle like the best horse – that race is beginning to look much hotter form than we imagined at the time. He was good here last year as a novice, and I’m inclined to side with the coming force against the established championship horses. No doubt Il Etait Temps is a massive talent, but I wonder whether that Celebration Chase had a slight “end of a long season” vibe for most of his rivals.

TANGANYIKA gets the vote in the London National (3:35pm). He ran really well in the circumstances at Cheltenham on his comeback in a better race than this, only beaten 12 lengths after trying to force the issue all the way at a pretty fierce pace. He might just be able to pull off those tactics round here, though, and the overnight rain will have helped his cause with the yard slowly cranking into gear.

Aintree, Saturday

SCARLET MOON looks the wrong price in the juvenile at Aintree (2:05pm). A pretty fair flat horse, he travelled and jumped well when beating a big field at Warwick, form that looks more than ok compared with his shorter priced rivals, who have been beating up on uncompetitive fields. Edelak is clearly interesting on his debut for Dan Skelton, but is priced accordingly.

EXCELLO is the pick in the William Hill Half A Mill Becher (2:40pm). He gave notice of being in good heart here in the Sefton, and also of likely requiring a trip nowadays. If he can build on that, he should be right in the mix.

SUNRAY SHADOW can take the Aintree finale (3:15pm). The cobwebs will have been blown out by a perfectly satisfactory seasonal debut, and he’ll appreciate softer ground and a longer trip at a track where he’s won already.