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• Sport

PARADISE WALK looks ripe for a hat-trick in the Sodexo Live! Fillies' Handicap (5.12) at Ascot on Friday afternoon.The Ralph Beckett-trained daughter of Starman qualified for a British Horseracing Authority handicap mark of 78 on the back of second placings at Chelmsford City and Southwell and Wolverhampton.Fitted with blinkers, Paradise Walk didn’t shine on her debut in the sphere when ninth to Cinque Verde on the first day of Newmarket’s Guineas Festival at the beginning of May.But Paradise Walk took a big step forward to gain a first career success from three rivals in a six-furlong handicap at Windsor next time, beating Space Party by three-quarters of a length.And my selection followed up back at five when accounting for Secret Mistral at Nottingham last time out.The assessor’s latest recalculation means that Hector Crouch’s partner must compete from a rating of 80 after a 4lb rise.But there is more to come and a third straight win is on the cards.

At Sandown, IMPERIAL CULT and Jack Callan are expected to prove a potent combination in the Close Brothers Asset Finance Apprentice Handicap (5.15).After all-weather successes at Lingfield and Kempton Park, George Baker’s seven-year-old stumbled leaving the stalls in search of the hat-trick at Epsom but still rattled home to be beaten less than a length in fourth behind Super Hit.Granted better luck at the start, Imperial Cult can resume normal service.

FRIDAY'S SELECTIONSASCOT2.20 ASH TREE2.55 SILVER DOMINION3.30 FIREBLADE4.05 THEORY OF TIDES4.40 HAVANA BLUE5.12 PARADISE WALK (NAP)UTTOXETER1.40 LIKEWHATYOUSEE2.10 ASHDOWN FOREST2.40 THICKTHORN TOM3.15 IZZY’S GREY3.50 ROCK HURLEY4.25 JAMMY JAY5.00 ICE JET5.35 SPARKLING WATERTHIRSK2.00 LITTLE LADY KAREN2.30 BLESSED VOYAGER3.05 LADY DUBLIN3.40 TUPERO4.18 TAYGAR4.53 DUBAI VENTURE5.27 SO GRATEFULYORK5.32 ALPHA CAPTURE6.05 VAGUELY ROYAL6.40 CORAL COVE7.15 GRANT WOOD7.50 DIAMOND RAIN8.25 GO VINCE GOSANDOWN PARK5.15 IMPERIAL CULT (NB)5.47 BINT PALACE PIER6.20 APPIER6.55 HOT AND COLD7.30 CRISTO8.05 NORFOLK BLUECHEPSTOW5.18 ABSOLUTE DIAMOND5.52 FOREST BERRY6.26 PREFER THE SISTER7.01 EUTROPIA7.36 PRINCE ALI8.11 SO SMART8.46 CITY ESCAPEDOUBLE: PARADISE WALK and IMPERIAL CULT