FRANKIE DETTORI, who made an appearance in the winners' enclosure at this week's Cheltenham Festival when Dodging Bullets, a horse he bred, landed the Queen Mother Champion Chase, returns to his day job at Lingfield today with bright prospects of clinching a Derby victory.

Dettori, pictured, rides Cloudscape in the £100,000 coral.co.uk Winter Derby and the John Gosden-trained colt is fancied to come out on top in the climax event to the all-weather winter campaign.

A classy horse on turf, who was knocking on the door in Pattern races in the first half of last season, Cloudscape, who was absent after July, made a fine comeback on this course three weeks ago when finishing third, beaten only a length, in the Winter Derby Trial.

The two horses who finished fractionally ahead of him then, Grandisar and Lamar, are in the field again and have leading chances. But Cloudscape, with that race under his belt, can turn the tables this time and provide Dettori with a popular success.

North Yorkshire apprentice Kevin Stott has every chance of winning the Coral Mobile Handicap on New Year's Night.

Trained at Newmarket by Charlie Appleby, the four-year-old carried Stott to success at Wolverhampton last time and has more to offer, despite a 5lb rise in his rating.

Shane Gray, a stablemate of Stott's at Kevin Ryan's Hambleton yard, is teamed up with the Appleby-trained Newmarch in the opening Download The Ladbrokes App Maiden Stakes.

Newmarch is an unknown quantity, having never previously raced, but he has an excellent pedigree and it would hardly be a shock to see him beat his three rivals.

Appleby could dominate the card. He also has winning chances with Four Seasons (2.30), a winner her ten days ago, and the speedy Pretend (3.40), who overcame a wide draw to win in some style at Wolverhampton last Saturday and who is napped to oblige again.

At Newcastle, Keith Reveley has treble prospects with Brave Spartacus, Waltz Darling and Harvey's Hope.

The form of Waltz Darling has been paid a handsome compliment in recent days. At Doncaster a fortnight ago, the strapping seven-year-old finished second to Call The Cops, who followed up under a penalty in no less a race than the Coral Cup at Cheltenham this week.

Waltz Darling meets nothing of the calibre of Call The Cops in the MTrec Health Care Division Handicap Hurdle.

Brave Spartacus, who lines up in the MTrec Recruitment & Training Handicap Hurdle. The nine-year-old got home by a head at Catterick last time and looks capable of defying a 4lb rise especially if able to get an untroubled lead from the outset.

Harvey's Hope has to be on the shortlist for the MTrec Engineering, Manufacturing & Distribution Handicap Hurdle over two and a half miles.

A respectable third at Doncaster last time, which was an encouraging step forward, Harvey's Hope is racing off a mark of 106, which is 12lb less than the one under which he scored at Doncaster a couple of years ago. It would be no surprise to see him regain the winning thread.

Lucinda Russell is another trainer who could pay to follow at Newcastle. The Tayside handler is fancied to score with Jack Steel (2.15), a respectable fifth at Kelso last month, Present Lodger (2-50, who is chasing a four-timer, and Urban Kode (5.45), who is nothing if not consistent.
 

Selections

Lingfield today

1.55 Newmarch, 2.30 Four Seasons, 3.05 Cloudscape, 3.40 Pretend (NAP), 4.15 Foxtrot Romeo, 4.50 New Year's Night, 5.25 Bennelong Newcastle today 2.15 Jack Steel, 2.50 Present Lodger, 3.25 Brave Spartacus, 4.00 Waltz Darling, 4.35 Pamak d'Airy, 5.10 Harvey's Hope, 5.45 Urban Kode.

Today's other meetings

Kempton, Uttoxeter and Wolverhampton.