5 meetings today

three meetings this afternoon - including Chepstow and Wetherby over jumps - and two more all-weather fixtures this evening, but it must be said that these are very poor cards for a Friday. On top of that, it has been raining again and the ground is getting soft at Chepstow, resulting in quite a few non-runners.
Alan King has suddenly hit top form - two more winners yesterday- and we expect him to be back in the winner´s circle at Chepstow today. Araldur has an obvious chance despite top weight in the handicap hurdle over 2 1/2 miles at18.00 CET; he is a smart performer, both over sticks and fences, and looks better class than this opposition. Champagne ´n´Caviar ran a shocking race last time, and Dundee was tailed off on his first hurdles start, but that was when the stable was out of form, and we would not be surprised to see them run much better in the two divisions of the novice hurdle at 15.10 and 15.40, while Fairyinthewind, ridden like all of these by Wayne Hutchinson, makes his N.H. debut at 16.50, but this dual flat winner would not need to be a brilliant performer over hurdles to win in this modest company
Smokey Oakey (Mark Tompkins/ Colin Bolger) won the Lincoln back in 2008 for owner, Oscar-winning Judy Dench, but seems to have lost form completely. However if he can show just a glimpse of his old ability, he must go close in the 2 mile handicap hurdle at 18.10 at Wetherby. Any rain there would help the chances of The Magic Bishop (Malcolm Jefferson/ Brian Hughes) in the stayers handicap chase at 17.35; he has top weight but has generally been running in better races.
The most interesting races on the all-weather are the two 3yo maidens this evening at Dundalk, which have some well-bred runners from big stables in the line-up. It would be no surprise to see Aidan and Joseph O´Brien win them both with North Dakota at 19.45 and League of Nations an hour later.

Betting forecast Dundalk:
1. Race: Akasaka - Muck `n` Brass - Dimitar
2. Race: Magnolia Ridge - North Dakota - Sinour
3. Race: General Bunching - House Limit - Pivotal Rock
4. Race: Mischief N Mayhem - League Of Nations - Caged Lightning
5. Race: Banna Boirche - Elusive Ridge - Croi An Or
6. Race: Esytopolishadimond - Atlas Peak - Indiana Charmer
7. Race: Pre Tax Profit - Phebes Wish - Beat The Bell