15 races at Wolverhampton today!

you can have too much of a good thing, and we definitely think that 15 races today at Wolverhampton is way too much for anybody. This has come about as Wolverhampton has taken on the scheduled fixture at Southwell (still closed because of flooding) as well as holding its own regular Friday evening meeting. In theory the first 7 races, from the start at 13.00 CET to 16.00, are Southwell races, then after a break of an hour there are 8 Wolverhampton races in the evening. In practice nobody will notice the difference, especially as they are almost all low-level handicaps. The French already put on 13-race meetings at Deauville - for the same reason - poor races to keep the betting turnover ticking over, plenty of action in the PMU shops and betting shops, but nobody on the racecourse except for those directly involved. We cannot imagine that there will be many people on the track at Wolverhampton today, and certainly not for the first few races.

The most interesting race of the first session is the 1 1/2 mile handicap at 14.30. De Rigueur (marco Boti/ Seb Sanxders) is the likely favourite here. Previously trained by Christian von der Recke, he won 4 races for the Weilerswist stable, three of them in Ghlin, and showed his best form when runner-up in the Austrian Derby in 2011. He has also shown good form here, winning over this CD in mid-December, when Sir Boss (Michael Mullineaux/ Tom Eaves) was 3 lerngths back; Sir Boss, a real CD specialist, has since won twice and is now 4 lbs worse off so in theory should again finish behind De Rigueur. A bigger danger could be Alazan (Philip Hobbs/ Willie Twiston-Davies), a useful N.H.performer who was also runner-up over this CD last week, when German-bred All the Winds (Sam Lycett/ Leanne Mayor), who appears to have lost form completely, was well behind.

Botti and Sanders can also take the main event of the evening session, a 7 furlongs handicap at 19,00, with Solar Deity. Owned by Sr. Manfrediini (in whose colours Excelebration won the German 2,000 Guineas two years ago) the 4yo looks as if he needs a break between races, as his last two races, both of which he won, were in October (this CD) and November. The filly Cockney Dancer (Charlie Hills/ Robert Winston), a winner twice over this CD, has a similar profile and gets 9 lbs, but we think that Solar Deity has plenty of improvement to come and will later on be seen in a much better grade. Oldtimer Advanced (Kevin and Amy Ryan) looks next best; known as s sprinter, he also gets this trip and is now very well handicapped compared to his old form.

Tipps für die Rennen:
1. Rennen: On The Hoof - Caledonia Prince - Final Drive
2. Rennen: Hittin`the Skids - Basle - Lindoro
3. Rennen: Charlcot - Gunner Will - Ches Jicaro
4. Rennen: De Rigueur - Alazan - Sir Boss
5. Rennen: Royal Sea - Annelko - Layla`S Boy
6. Rennen: Miss Bunter - Sandy Lane - Methaaly
7. Rennen: Flying Tempo - Una Bella Cosa - Darkest Night
8. Rennen: Drawnfromthepast - Le Toreador - Majuro
9. Rennen: Tram Express - Reaction - Mediterranean Sea
10. Rennen: Cut Across - Dorback - Irish Heartbeat
11. Rennen: Testa Rossa - Iggy - Peak Storm
12. Rennen: Solar Deity - Cockney Dancer - Chapter And Verse
13. Rennen: Outlaw Torn - Big Sylv - Aragorn Rouge
14. Rennen: Venetias Dream - Golan Heights - Merchants Return
15. Rennen: Story Writer - Rano Pano - Merrjanah