6 meetings today

Lots of racing today with four tracks in the U.K. and two in Ireland, but obviously the opening day of the Breeders Cup meeting in Santa Anita is the main event of the day. We shall deal with that later. Newmarket´s main event is the listed race for 2yo fillies over 6 furlongs at 14.40 CET. A huge field of 17 runners here in search of black type, with City Image, one of 4 Richard Hannon entries and the mount of Tom Queally, and Jillnextdoor (Mick Channon/ Martin Harley) the top-rated. Both are useful enough, but we are not really convinced and prefer the lightly-raced Hoodna (Saeed bin Suroor/ Mikael Barzalona).

There is jumps racing this afternoon at Uttoexeter and Wetherby and Down Royal in N. Ireland. which features the Grade Two WKD hurdle at 15.05. Despite the small field, this looks a good race, but the 5yo Monksland (Noel Meade/ Paul Carberry) is easily the most likely winner. After winning his bumper here, he won two races over hurdles in good style and was fancied for ther Cheltenham Festival, where he was badly hampered by a riderless horse but still finished third to Simonsig. That was excellent form, and although he has to concede weight to some useful performers here - and has not run since Cheltenham in March, we expect him to score. The Grade Three mares novice hurdle half an hour earlier should go to Missunited (M. Winters/ Bryan Cooper) who has won 7 of her 12 starts and was recently runner-up in the Irish Cesarewitch on the flat.

The Uttoxeter card is mainly low-grade, but Wetherby stages two listed races: a handicap chase over 2 1/2 miles at 15.00 and a 3yo hurdle at 15.35. Gansey (Sue Smith/ Ryan Mania) is our choice for the former race, which looks very open, but the latter event could lie between between Hilal (G Brown/ Tony McCoy) and Indepub (Donald McCain/ Harry Brooke); Richard Fahey is best known as a flat trainer, and his Flashman (Brian Hughes) faces a very tough task on his hurdles debut, but Sametegal (Paul Nicholls/ Ruby Walsh) is a definite threat. He won at Enghien in the spring for Guillaume Macaire and now makes his Brtish debut.

The evening racing on the all-weather at Wolverhampton and Dundalk pales into insignificance cpmpared to the Breeders Cup card at Santa Anita, and our preview of this meeting will appear here this afternoon.

Newmarket - betting forecast:
1. Race: Shore Step - Forbidden Fruit - Smokethatthunders
2. Race: Amralah - Hasaad - Cousin Melchior
3. Race: City Image - Pearl Sea - Hoodna
4. Race: Require - Bridle Belle - Abundantly
5. Race: Boonga Roogeta - Mr Spiggott - Swing Alone
6. Race: Ninjago - Miliika - Love Island
7. Race: Ardlui - Lieutenant Miller - Kleitomachos