rain in the North

a glance at the map shows how ridiculous it is that today´s 2 N.H. meetings are at Wetherby and Newcastle, in the North of England, precisely the area that was hit by unexpected heavy rain yesterday, Newcastle was particularly badly affected, and the going there is getting heavy with the result that there are 20 non-runners (and counting!), so punters are advised to be very careful here. Dr. Richard Newland has his small string in good form, and we think both his runners here should go well despite the bad ground- Boondoonma at 15.10 CET and Act of Kalanisi at 17.15, both partnered by Sam Twiston-Davies. We also like Crackerjack Lad (Lucinda Russell/ Peter Buchanan) at 15.40 and Shadow Boxer (Donald and Callum Whillans) at 17.50, both of whom were pulled up last time but seem well handicapped on earlier form.
Conditions should be more normal at Wetherby and we certainly do not soft ground for our main hope here., Nesterenko (Nico de Boinville) at 15.20; this German-bred has some useful form to his name and should be able to defy a penalty in this novice hurdle, with 4yo filly Flute Bowl I(Gary and Joshua Moore), getting a lot of weight, the main danger. Henderson has scratched 2 of his runners here, but also saddles Willpower (Peter Carberry), who is also out of a German mare, in the handicap hurdle at 16.20; this is a wide open race, but Willpower certainly comes on to the short list. Our other fancy here is Rock a Doodle Do (Sally Hall/ Maurice Lineham) at 17.30; he ran an excellent race over this CD 10 days ago and could be well weighted for his first run in a handicap.The obvious danger is Watt Broderick (Ian Williams/ Robert McCarth), but he is running for the 6th time in 6 weeks and for the third time in a week, which we think is a bit too much.

Betting forecast:
1. Race: Nesterenko - Flute Bowl - Masquerade
2. Race: Tiny Dancer - Indian Voyage - Groomed
3. Race: Bob`s World - Bescot Springs - Luctor Emergo
4. Race: Foundation Man - Work Boy - My Idea
5. Race: Rayak - Watt Broderick - Hartside
6. Race: Spotthestripe - Rosie Du Berlais - Rowan Road
7. Race: Bandit Country - Gilnockie - Grande Antarctique