Babbling 'brook

2.30 Ascot – Queen Anne Stakes (Group 1) The first of thirty races at perhaps the most famous racing festival in the world is the Queen Anne Stakes and we have a truly global feel to the race with raiders from Ireland, France and Hong Kong all taking part. The last named are represented by Able Frie...

3:40 Murray Spelman Handicap Hurdle A next to impossible 25-runner handicap hurdle over 2m to kick off Day 3 for moderate handicappers rated no higher than just 123 so very good luck if you want to get involved. Needless to say I haven’t gone through each runner with fine tooth comb (I’ve not heard ...

3:40 Martinstown Opportunity Series Final Handicap Hurdle Next to impossible with plotted-up horses aplenty I’m sure about to leave their form miles behind in this race confined to conditional riders and many small yards have won this Final in the 11 years since it was first run. Therefore I suggest...

3:40 Kidare Hunt Club FR Sean Bean Memorial Chase A very low key start as always with this cross country chase for poor hunter chasers and point-to-pointers so I will keep this brief. Enda Bolger has won five of the last nine runnings so inevitably much of the focus will be on the J P McManus-owned ...

JCB Triumph Hurdle There can be no question that this is a different race now than before the introduction of the Fred Winter Juvenile Handicap Hurdle in 2005 so it is a case of concentrating on the stronger patterns since that handicap’s inception. Since the Fred Winter became part of the Festival,...

JLT Novices’ Chase This will be the second running since its upgrade to Grade 1 status and the fifth all told so we will be struggling for notable patterns for a while to come so I will keep this fairly brief. The Irish have won three of the first four runnings and it would appear only Ptit Zig can ...

Neptune Investment Management Novices’ Hurdle Ten head to post with all the leading fancies standing their ground. Twelve of the last 17 winners had won a pattern race over hurdles and half the field have managed that. The quintet that have not are Anteros who was a well beaten second in a weak Grad...

Sky Bet Supreme Novices’ Hurdle Twelve horses have been declared, four of which representing Willie Mullins in search of his fifth Supreme winner and all four of his biggest owners have a runner; Douvan for Susannah and Rich Ricci, Shaneshill for Andrea and Graham Wylie, Alvisio Ville for J P McManu...

CHELTENHAM PREVIEW EVENING at LONDON run by the LONDON RACING CLUB One of the longest running preview evenings on the circuit took place at the Holiday Inn Kensington Forum and the panel comprised the BHA Head of Handicapping Phil Smith (PS), broadcaster and journalist Lydia Hislop (LH), Cheltenham ...

CHELTENHAM PREVIEW EVENING at TOWCESTER RACECOURSE sponsored by Sky Bet, the panel comprised of jockey, Nick Scholfield (NS), who is connected to Paul Nicholls’ stable and gave an insight to his contenders, Timeform’s Chief Correspondent, Jamie Lynch (JL), RacingUK presenter and pundit Oli Bell (OB)...

CHELTENHAM PREVIEW EVENING at WARWICK RACECOURSE Jamie Moore (JM), Oliver Sherwood (OS), RacingUK pundit and county cricketer Will Smith (WS), Trevor Harris (TH) of the sponsors, Star Sports,The M.C. was Roger Hart (RH) who is connected to Jonjo O’Neill’s stable where he runs their stable tours. Sup...

like last year me and a number of friends attend preview evenings below is the ones we attended CHELTENHAM PREVIEW EVENING at BANGOR-ON-DEE RACECOURSE the panel consisted of leading local trainer Donald McCain (DM), commentator and broadcaster, Stewart Machin (SM), Jumping Prospects author, John Mor...

2:05 Betfred Play Today’s £2Million+ Scoop6 Strensall Stakes A Group 3 race run over 1m1f which formerly took place at York’s first September Meeting, the Strensall Stakes was switched to the Ebor Festival in 2009. When it was run as a Listed race it was won by the future Breeders’ Cup Mile winner, ...

1:55 Sky Bet Transfer Fund Handicap A 20-runner maximum field handicap over 1m4f to kick of proceedings and, given the length of the race, the draw should not be as much as a factor as over shorter trips so I will largely ignore it, especially as stall 18 won the 1m handicap on Day 2. What I can not...

1:55 DBS Premier Yearling Stakes Twenty juveniles who were catalogued in a series of Doncaster Bloodstock Sales auctions line up for a guaranteed pool of £325,000 over 6f to kick off Day 2 proceedings. This isn’t a sales race where what horses carry is based on their sales price so the class acts te...

1:55 Symphony Group Handicap The first of three difficult, big-field handicaps on Day 1 is a typical maximum-field York sprint handicap where they take their turn in winning. Four of the last five runnings have gone to Yorkshire-based trainers, which is no great shock as this the area’s biggest meet...

2:05 32Redsport.com Handicap A consolation race for those that did not get into the Stewards’ Cup featuring 28 runners. Punters seem to love these puzzles but give me an eight-runner Group 3 every day so I won’t go through all 28 individually. The feeling when connections chose their stalls for the ...

1:55 Coutts Glorious Stakes This Group 3 race over 1m4f for older horses was run as a handicap until 2008 so there aren’t any real trends to speak of. That said, Luca Cumani has won it twice since the upgrade and five times when it was a handicap so it is no surprise to see that he has a representat...

2:05 Fairmont Stakes (Handicap) Better known as the Extel Handicap when I was a lad, this 3yo handicap over the best part of 1m2f was often won by a future pattern performer and won three years in succession by Luca Cumani in the 1980s and he has since added a fourth victory The Cumani representativ...

1:55 Goodwood Stakes (Handicap) Extended to 2m5f in 2001, given that there are very few races of this extreme distance run on the Flat, horses with the required stamina levels are aimed at this race some time in advance. There are few, if any, better trainers of stayers than Mark Johnston who is bid...