N.H. racing in Wales and Ireland

Today´s Scottish N.H. meeting at Kelso has been abandoned, but there could still be jumps racing at Chepstow (where another inspection is due later) and Thurles is certain to go ahead. The ground there is bound to be very testing, and the most interesting feature is that Ruby Walsh has four mounts here for trainer Wille Mullins. This is the most powerful combination in Irish jumps racing, and no doubt there will be some success today. Tawaagg has a chance in the opening maiden hurdle at 14.55 CET, although Power of Attorney (Mouse Morris/ Niall madden) looks hard to beat here, and Palace Merano in another maiden hurdle at 16.05, where Lord Lansdown (Gordon Elliott/ Paul Carberry) is the main danger. The most likely winner for the Mullins/ Walsh team is course specialist Templers Hall in the 2 1/4 mile handicap chase at 17.05, but Cru also has a good chance in the mares beginners chase half an hour later. Should racing go ahead at Chepstow, where the ground is still frozen in places, then the two best races are the class 2 handicap chases at 16.20 and 16.55. Course specialist Presenting Copper (Philip Hobbs/ Tom O´Brien) is the likely favourite in the former event, although top-weight Something Wells (Venetia Williams/ Aidan Coleman) could be dangerous, while Hobbs and O´Brien have another live chance in the later race with Notabotheronme, who has top-weight The Sawyer (Bob Buckler/ Wayne Kennedy) as his main competitor.