4 meetings today

Today´s 4 meetings cover N.H. racing from Carlisle and Gowran Park in Ireland, with flat racing at Pontefract and also on the all-weather at Southwell. Once again there is nothing very exciting on the menu, but Pontefract´s opening fixture of 2013 does offer a couple of decent handicaps. However with virtually no recent turf form to go on, these are not good betting heats. The 10 furlongs handicap at 17.15 CET could go to Spanish Duke (Brian Ellison/ Dale Swift), whose stable is in good form and is down to a fair weight, having not won for 2 years. The 6 furlongs handicap for 3yo´s at 16.10 features 3 horses that have won on the all-weather this year, of whom the best is probably Flashlight (Mark Johnston/ Silvestre de Sousa), but we shall take a chance on his stable companion Double Your Money (Franny Norton), a half-brother to the smart German miler Combat Zone. Johnston sends his main jockey Joe Fanning to Southwell, but the jockey to follow here could be Ryan Moore who ha s just two rides but could score of them both - James Tate´s Naru at 17.05 and his father Gary´s Stentorian half an hour later.

Over jumps, Tony McCoy makes the ,long journey north to ride at Carlisle, were he has fair prospects on all his 3 mounts, Dolatulo for Warren Greatrex at 15.20, Vamizi for Lucinda Russell at 17.25 and William Money for Chris Grant half an hour later. The bground ast Carlisle is good to vfirm, the fastest it hads been all year. Recent form on heavy ground should therefore be treated with caution, and we make our each-way bet of the day Weetfromthechaff (Maurice Barnes/ Michael McAllister), whose current form is awful but could run much better now that the going has changed in his favour.

Like Ryan Moore at Southwell, Ruby Walsh has just two rides at Gowran Park and we expect him to win on both, Urano in the maiden hurdle at 17.40 and Security Breach in a handicap hurdle at 18.45, both for Willie Mullins.