3 N.H. meetings

The only racing today in Britain is over jumps, with N.H. meetings at Plumpton, Uttoxeter and Worcester. With the fine weather continuing, the going will be on the fast side at all three meetings, but there are some decent fields, although stronger on quantity than quality. The best races are at Worcester, where Marodima (Paul Nicholls/ Sam Thomas) can take the class 3 handicap hurdle at 16.50; a winner over fences 3 times this year, he races off a very low mark over hurdles. The same team can double up in the class 3 handicap chase with the lightly-raced Smart Cavalier, who has been off the track for over a year, but can still cope with Philip Hobbs´ two challengers, top-weight Boychuk (Richard Johnson) and Storm of Applause (Tom O´Brien). At Uttoxeter, Pterodactyl (Venetia Williams/ Aidan Coleman) and Spare Cash (Alan King/ Robert Thornton) can land a short-priced double in the two novice hurdles that start off the card. At Plumpton, the most interesting runner is Barney Curley´s Le Soleil (Andrew/ Stringer/Paul Moloney), who makes his hurdles debut at 15.40 CET. The superbly-bred German gelding (by Monsun out of classic winner La Blue) should beat this opposition if jumping properly. Another possible German-bred winner is Jonathan Geake´s Absolut Power (Daryl Jacob), by Acatenango, for whom the distance of 2 1/2 miles on firm going at 17.40 looks ideal.