Sam King is back with three selections on Friday.

Just looking at Sandown's five-furlong course is enough to give most punters nightmares and to be honest, I tend to avoid punting the tricky straight course for a number of reasons. It's incredibly easy to find your well-backed mount stuck behind a wall of horses with nowhere to go, while I can't count how many times that my so called 'good thing' was home and hosed only to be chinned in the dying strides.

Despite all of the above, I'm going in for more. Having been through the opening nursery (2.15) a number of times I'm struggling to see how Novelette just doesn't complete the hat-trick, although it wouldn't totally surprise me if there was some form of hard-luck story.

A nicely-bred daughter of Sioux Nation who cost £410,000 breeze-up, in all truth, Novelette didn't exactly look money well spent when failing back up her promising debut at Nottingham second time out.

However, she seems to be getting the hang of things now, taking her record to two from two in the hood following wins at Yarmouth and at this venue. She kept on well to get off the mark in a fillies' novice event at Yarmouth in July, beating a decent prospect in comfortable stye, but it's the performance of last month's course and distance nursery debut success that really sticks out.

Course and distance form can prove invaluable at this venue, and you couldn't be anything but impressed with the manner in which this filly quickened up from off the pace to land the spoils that day. Not only was it a performance that caught the eye visually, but the form also looks to be working out nicely, with the runner-up, who is now rated 85, readily going one spot better at Windsor in a decent handicap sprint on his next start.

It's interesting that connections had her pencilled in for the Listed St Hugh's Stakes at Newbury earlier in the month (ruled out due to a dirty scope), so she's clearly a filly they believe that can rate higher and off an unchanged mark of 84, which is due to go up 2lb, she looks to have every chance of landing the hat-trick from stall two.

2pt Win – Novelette

Odds – 13/8

There's no doubt that Man Of La Mancha is becoming frustrating but it's also impossible to ignore his capabilities off this mark back at this track in the mile handicap (3.50), especially as conditions continue to ease. It's easy to put a line through his latest effort, where he did well to finish as close as he did when fourth at Brighton given, he completely blew the start, and it's the form of his two efforts here earlier in the season that really stand out.

Ralph Beckett's charge finished an excellent third behind the now 106-rated Gladius, who has since landed a competitive Goodwood handicap and finished fourth in Group 3 company, back in June, while his runner-up effort over course and distance a month later took a boost when the winner, Indalo, landed a Racing League handicap last night.

That latest performance should also be upgraded given that he was trapped on the rail at a crucial time and off a workable rating of 80, he ought to be returning to winning ways.

1pt Win – Man Of la Mancha

Odds – 10/3

Ground conditions also continue to ease at Ffos Las, which is now officially soft all over. Unsurprisingly, there are a handful of non-runners but one horse who will certainly be taking his chance on the ground is Change Of Fortune, who looks sure to appreciate the ease in the ground in the mile and a half Class 6 handicap at 4.03.

Trained by local handler Bernard Llewellyn, who is by no means a stranger to having success at this venue, Change Of Fortune arrives on the back of a fair third-place finish over an extended mile here earlier in the month.

He posted a performance that was back to his best when winning over a mile here on an easy surface earlier in the season and while Bernard Llewellyn's six-year-old needs to prove he stays this far, he did keep on well on good-to-to-soft to fill the runner-up spot over a mile and a quarter at this track last July.

Current market leader Cloudside Rock has been easy to back in the early stages of the morning and looks a touch vulnerable based on his turf form, so at the current prices, Change Of Fortune gets the nod to come out on top under the talented apprentice Elizabeth Gale, who knows this horse well having ridden him to victory in June.

1pt Win – Change Of Fortune

Odds – 3/1