8 meetings today!

Another busy Thursday with flat racing this afternoon as Brighton, Haydock and Yarmouth, this evening at Bath, Folkestone and Sandown as well as two mixed meetings in Irelad this evening. At Brighton there is once again a valuable class 4 handicap on the card, this time over 1 1/2 miles at 17.00 CET with 16 declared runners. Wee Charlie Castle (Greg Chung/ William Carson) is very consistent and has won two of his last 9 starts, both with today´s jockey (grandson of the great Willie) and has been runner-up six times. Spring Dream (Alan King/ Richard Hughes) has a similar record, having won twice and been runner-up 5 times on his last 7 starts. Both should be in the firing-line again, but slight preference is for John Dunlop´s improving 3yo Mon Plaisir (Tom Queally). Ratrher surprisingly, Folketone, hardly the most glamorous racecourse in the U.K., is graced today by the presence of Frankie Dettori and Ryan Moore and both could ride a winner- Frankie with the speedily-bred Hajoum (Saeed bin Suroor), a beaten favourite on heavy ground on his debut at York but with better going likely here, seems to have only Aakef (Michael Jarvis/ Richard Hills) to beat in the 2yo maiden at 15.20, and Moore wth Sir Michael Stoute s top-weight Certain Promise in the handicap for 3yo fillies at 16.50. The most competitive racing is at Haydock, where the handicaps for 3yo´s look very tricky. They race over a mile at 16.40, where Last Three Minutes (Ed Dunlop/ Jimmy Fortune), winner of his only start in 2008, Topazes (Muchael Bell/ Jamie Spencer), winner of 5 of his last 7 races including CD, and the consistent Stevie Thunder (Alan Swinbank/ Neil Callan), who has been in the money on all 9 career starts and holds several of these on his latest fourth place in a hot Newmarket handicap, look the three likeliest candidates. The race at 17.10 over 1 3/4 miles is also wide open. Top-weight Inventor (Brian Meehan/ Alan Munro) won in good style here over 12 furlongs a month ago, with Daraahem (Barry Hills/ Martin Dwyer) and Alllied Powers (Bell/ Spencer) behind, but will not find it easy to confirm the form at today´s weights, while lightly-raced Meshtri (Michael Jarvis/ Philip Robinson) looks a danger to them all.