A tip in itself? Paul Townend travels to Lingfield for just one ride on Friday ✈️

Paul Townend after winning the Cheltenham Gold Cup

Ireland’s champion jumps jockey Paul Townend is travelling over to Lingfield Racecourse for one ride on the opening day of the inaugural Winter Million festival on Friday. Surely that is a tip in itself?

Townend will be having his first ever ride at Lingfield, which will be his second ride in Britain this season. The maestro missed the early winter months with a nasty shoulder injury but is looking to make up for lost time this weekend.

It must give us more hope that the eagerly anticipated Energumene versus Shishkin clash looks set to go ahead on Saturday. Townend would more than likely take the ride if Energumene is declared for the Clarence House Chase on Thursday.

Moving back to his Friday ride, he rides one of the Emmet Mullins pair in the valuable Sovereign Handicap Hurdle at 3.35pm.

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3.35 Lingfield

Carrarea finished a narrow second to Broomfields Jeremy on handicap debut over hurdles in November off a mark of 116 at Fairyhouse. It is no surprise that the British assessor has taken no chances here, and the five-year-old will have to race off 127 on British handicap debut.

The son of Notnowcato won both of his bumpers and has been running well in defeat since. Given connections, the handicap route was always going to be the weapon of choice this season.

Mullins is a dab hand at improving a horse. All you have to do is look at the job he did with The Shunter in the last couple of seasons, a horse that won a handicap hurdle off 128 but finished up second in a Grade 1 and rated 146 over hurdles and 153 over fences. Carrarea could well follow in the same footsteps.

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