Horse racing tips TODAY: Horses you MUST back at Fakenham, Lingfield, Newcastle, Sandown | Racing | Sport - (2021)

LION HEARTED (5.15, nap) showed very little when trained in Ireland, but as soon as he was transferred to the Michael Appleby yard, the unexposed gelding was winning races with some astute placing. He romped home at Chelmsford, beating Amor Fati by six lengths and then cruised to victory a week later at Newcastle by three and a quarter lengths from Totally Magic. The plan was, with the five-year-old due to go up 13lb, to come out again again the following evening at the Newcastle track but a sudden snowstorm put paid to that minutes before he was due to run. Despite the dramatic rise in the weights, the course and distance winner can score a hat-trick. Nutopia will enjoy the return to seven furlongs and can follow the selection home.

ELYSEES PALACE (4.15, nb) has only run on the all-weather but is yet to race on Lingfield's Polytrack surface. He has done most of his winning at Newcastle, where he completed a hat-trick last month. Since then, with a 6lb rise in the weights, he was beaten when odds-on over an extended mile and a half by one and a half lengths in third behind Glan Y Gors. He is unexposed over the trip, however, and is taken to make it four wins from his last five starts.

DARIUS DES BOIS (4.05, treble) has yet to finish out of the first two on his last four runs since wind surgery, most recently finishing second on both his runs over fences. The last of those was over two and a half miles last month at the same Esher track and Nicky Henderson's six-year-old should relish the return to three miles. Achille is a French import trained by Venetia Williams who stayed on well to win at Exeter on New Year's Day. He has risen 5lb for that win but is improving and can finish in the frame.

Fakenham

1.40 GENEROUS JACK

2.10 DELIRE D'ESTRUVAL

2.45 PISTOL WHIPPED

3.20 SIDEWAYS

3.50 UNO MAS

4.25 RISK A FINE

4.55 NICKELSONTHEDIME

Lingfield

2.00 ATOMIC JACK

2.35 PHEIDIPPIDES

3.10 ASSIMILATION

3.40 HIGHLAND ACCLAIM

4.15 ELYSEES PALACE (N.B)

4.50 TOP ROCK TALULA

Newcastle

4.45 ROYAL COSMIC

5.15 LION HEARTED (NAP)

5.45 ORCHID STAR

6.15 HELOVAPLAN

6.45 DAWN DELIGHT

7.15 GINGER JAM

7.45 TATHMEEN

Sandown

12.50 BRIAC

1.20 NOT ANOTHER MUDDLE

1.50 KALASHNIKOV

2.25 DANSE IDOL

3.00 CARLOS DU FRUITIER

3.30 ELUSIVE BELLE

4.05 DARIUS DES BOIS (TREBLE)

4.35 COPPERHEAD