3 poor meetings today

Both Sedgefield and Fontwell have passed early morning inspections, and racing goes ahead at both tracks. That´s the good news; the bad news is that the cards both here and on the all-weather at Lingfield are very poor indeed and are of little interest to the serious punter.

There are a couple of German-breds running at Fontwell and we like Sulpius (Bob Buckler/ Andrew Glassonbury) in the handicap chase at 16.10 CET. He won here in good style a month ago, and then fell next time out at Folkestone when still with a winning chance. Top-weight Brousse en Feux, also a course winner this autumn but well below that form since, looks the main danger. Lava Lamp (Evan Williams/ Conor Ring) runs in the handicap hurdle at 15.40; he seems to have lost form completely, and will not like the ground too much either, but has dropped to a very lenient mark. The groujnd could also be a problem for Mr.Lando (Tony Carroll/ Wayne Hutchinson) in the opening 3yo hurdle at 13.40; he did however win on the heavy in Ireland before switching to this stable. He also has a German background, being by Shirocco out of an own sister to the admirable Caracciola. Our other fancy here is Aureate (Brian Forsey/ Wayne Kavanagh) in the handicap hurdle at 16.40; he was not disgraced l ast time when fifth at Hereford and this opposition is woefully weak.

The Sedgefield card is equally uninspiring. Donald McCain and Jason Maguire can land a double with Witness in Court at 13.50 and Dannanceys Hill at 14.20. Best bet here could be Brave Spartacus (Keith and James Reveley) in the novices handicap chase at 15.20; he was an easy winner at Catterick last week and should be able to defy a 7 lbs penalty here.

There is an early start at Lingfield, with the first race at 13.00. 6 of the 8 races are class 6 and barely worth a mention. The only race of note is the 5 furlongs handicap at 16.00, in which Swiss Cross (Phil McEntee/ David Probert) has top weight following his win here 5 days ago; that was over 6 furlongs, but he is also effective over this trip, but we would not be surprised to see Woolfall Sovereign (George Margarson/ Ian Mongan), a close fifth to him last week, turn the table on 6 lbs better terms.

Fontwell - betting forecast:
1. Race: Dovils Date - Vexillum - Whipcrackaway
2. Race: Venetian Lad - Kaituna - Emperor`S Choice
3. Race: Pahente - Breaking Bits - Captain Bellamy
4. Race: Billybo - Kilvergan Boy - Destined For Fame
5. Race: Fitandproperjob - Ya Hafed - Crystal Swing
6. Race: Lapin Garou - Sulpius - Brousse En Feux
7. Race: Old Magic - Fran`S Folly - Morestead