Market Rasen (N.H.) and Great Leighs (a.w.)

Market Rasen this afternoon stages the best N.H. racing of the season so far, while this evening´s card at Great Leighs is also the best since the track opened in the spring. Where there is big money over jumps, Paul Nicholls and Ruby Walsh are never far away, and they can take the two top races at Market Rasen with Sendani in the handicap hurdle at 15.05 CET and Roby de Cimbre in the handicap chase at 16.15. However they are both very open races with large fields. As far as the future is concerned, the 3yo hurdle race at 15.40 could be the most significant event, as Alan King has targeted this race with his best juvenile hurdlers (Katchit and co) in previous years,and now sends Black Jacari (Robert Thornton) into the fray. King and Choc can follow up with Ouzbeck, unbaten in 3 chases so far, in the novice chase at 16.55. Great Leighs has been rewarded for their enterprise in staging 4 valuable conditions races as Breeders Cup trials this evening, even though Aidan O´Brien ha s decided against sending Duke of Marmalade and co. All 4 races are well contested and most of the top jockeys, Dettori, Moore, Spencer etc, will be travelling on from Ascot to take part. From the German point of view, the 1 miles 5 furlongs race at 21.50 looks the most interesting event, as it features Henry Cecil´s Tempelstern (Tom Queally), last seen in the Grosser Preis von Baden. This looks more his level, and as the admirable Hattan is likely to find the distance too far, Sir Michael Stoute´s Red Gala (Ryan Moore) looks the main danger