Ryan Moore set for first rides of 2023 on Saturday

Ryan Moore returns to British action for the first time this year at Lingfield’s Winter Million fixture on Saturday, with four rides for trainer George Boughey.

The leading jockey has enjoyed a well-earned break since riding in Hong Kong last month and Boughey has given him an excellent chance to hit the ground running by providing him with a strong book of rides.

Moore makes his comeback in the opening BetUK’s Acca Club £5 Free Bet Handicap aboard Ehteyat, who carries a 5lb penalty for a comfortable victory at Southwell last Sunday.

The four-year-old is drawn widest of all in stall 10, but Boughey is nevertheless anticipating another bold showing.

He said: “The track probably isn’t to his liking as he’s a big, strong staying type and he’s drawn widest of all, so there’s a few things for Ryan to try to negate.

“But he seems to have come out of Southwell in good shape and the way he hits the line suggests he should stay the two miles pretty well.”

Boughey and Moore team up in the following talkSPORT Powered By Fans Handicap with Pocket The Packet, who has won five times from eight starts since October and gone up 40lb in the ratings as a result.

He is 13lb higher than when triumphing at Lingfield just over a week ago and Boughey admits the handicapper is bound to catch up with him sooner or later.

“I didn’t expect him to do what he did the other day. The race looked to fall apart a bit and he’s got a big hike for winning that,” Boughey added.

“He’s never been a horse that has really expressed himself as an 85-rated horse, but he’s three from three in handicaps at the track and we’ll give it another go.

“He’s a very ordinary work horse – he wouldn’t go past a 50 horse. He’s been a pleasant surprise.”

The Newmarket handler appears more confident about the chances of his final two runners on the card – Paris Lights and All The King’s Men.

Former Jessica Harrington inmate Paris Lights made a successful start for Boughey over the course and distance last month and enters the handicap arena off a mark of 80 in the Huge Daily Boosts Only At BetUK Handicap.

All The King’s Men, meanwhile, is a dual winner in France and makes his debut for the yard in the Spreadex Sports Get £40 In Bonuses Handicap.

Boughey said: “Paris Lights is good and we slightly hoped he’d do what he did on stable debut.

“He was gelded when he came to us and looked good the other day. He looks quite progressive, he’s drawn in the middle and I hope he should run a big race.

“He went up 5lb for his last run and he goes there off a nice mark, I think.

“All The King’s Men was gelded on his arrival at the yard and his work has been good. He’s a half-brother to a Group One performer (Goken), so I think he’s a horse that should give a bold account of himself.

“He’s a horse that will hopefully stay a bit further in time, but this is a nice starting point and his work on the all-weather surfaces at home has been good, so we’re going there in pretty good shape.”

Al Algaila out for hat-trick in Winter Oaks

Al Agaila bids to complete her hat-trick in the talkSPORT Winter Oaks at Lingfield on Saturday.

Following three placed efforts last summer, Simon and Ed Crisford’s filly bolted up when opening her account at Kempton last month before following up in similarly impressive style in the Winter Oaks Trial over this course and distance just before Christmas.

An 11lb hike makes life significantly tougher, but a bold bid can nevertheless be expected in the £100,000 all-weather feature of Lingfield’s Winter Million Festival.

“She went up 11lb for her win last time out, when she won very impressively. She’s an improving filly, but 11lb is a big hike,” said Ed Crisford.

“She has a good draw (stall two). It’s a big step up, but if she can carry the 11lb extra then I’m sure she’s capable of better things.

“She’s potentially an exciting filly.”

The Harry Eustace-trained Makinmedoit was beaten two and a half lengths into second place by Al Agaila little over four weeks ago and does have a significant pull at the weights.

“Makinmedoit has been a star really and just keeps on improving,” said Eustace.

“We’re 10lb better at the weights with the Crisford horse, which probably won’t be enough, but we came from a long way back that day and there’s less runners this time round, which is extraordinary given the prize-money.

“If we could just sit a bit closer, you never know.”

Eustace has a second string to his bow in At A Pinch, who has not run on the Flat since 2021 but is fit from a recent spell over obstacles.

Eustace added: “With At A Pinch, the money was just too good not to roll the dice with her. She was bought to be a hurdler, but she’s got Flat form and there’s no reason why she can’t run a race.

“I was actually looking at the prize-money for Cheltenham the other day and if she was the very best hurdler we had going there, she’d be running for £125,000 added prize-money and she can run for £100,000 added in an eight-runner fillies’ handicap, so we’ll just see how we go.

“It’s extraordinary there’s less runners this time round than for the trial race a month ago. Everyone moans about prize-money, they put it on and no one goes for it, but there we are.”

Another trainer firing a twin assault is Charlie Fellowes, with top-weight Purple Ribbon joined by stablemate Tequilamockingbird.

Purple Ribbon steps back into a fillies’ handicap after finishing second to the highly-rated Belloccio in the Listed Wild Flower Stakes at Kempton in November, while Tequilamockingbird was only a short head behind Makinmedoit when third in the Winter Oaks Trial.

“Purple Ribbon is a very lightly-raced filly, but she’s very consistent. Barring an unfortunate run around Lingfield, she’s not finished out of the first two,” said Fellowes.

“She ran a blinder last time out in a pretty competitive Listed race. She’s got the class in the race, but she has to give weight away to everyone, which will be tough.

“But she’s a pretty good filly and I’ve got no concerns about the drop back to 10 furlong as she’s got plenty of speed, so I’m looking forward to seeing her run.

“Tequilamockingbird is a model of consistency and has a very good record around Lingfield – 10 furlongs around there is literally perfect for her.

“She was a bit unlucky last time out when they went absolutely no gallop and off a stronger pace, she goes in there with a nice each-way squeak.”

Fellowes was keen to give praise to Lingfield’s owners Arena Racing Company for putting on such huge prize-money at a time when owners are struggling to resist huge offers from abroad.

He added: “You’ve got to give all credit to ARC. It’s prize-money like this that will encourage people to keep horses in training and Tequilamockingbird is a perfect example of that, as she was due to be sold at the mares sale last year and I managed to persuade the owners to remove her from the sale and keep her in training over the winter for a crack at this.

“That is what everyone wants – to see horses kept in training in Britain. We have a fantastic industry and it’s frustrating for a lot of people that the cream of our horses tend to get sold abroad.

“The more of this (prize-money) we can get, the more we can keep horses in training and rebuff these ridiculous offers we’re getting from abroad.

“It’s all down to prize-money and the more money we can offer, the more we can attract our owners to keep horses here and the stronger our industry will be.”