No jumps racing again

Once again, all jumps racing today has been abandoned on account of the frozen ground. Tomorrow´s Irish meeting at Clonmel has also been abandoned, but there is a slight hope that there might be N.H. racing in England.

Today´s Kempton meeting, originally scheduled for the evening, had been brought forward to the afternoon; this is a good idea, but unfortunately the quality of racing is very poor, and the card opens with 2 class 7 races. The card at Chelmsford is much better, even though the fields are small and normal each-way betting is only possible in one race. That is the main event, a conditions race over 5 furlongs for 3yo´s with exactly 8 runners at 16.40 CET, a qualifying race for Good Friday´s big meeting. Squats (William Haggas/ Joe Fanning) and Wentworth Falls (Charlie Appleby/ William Buick) are the two top-rated here and also the likely favourites. However we prefer Merdon Castle (David Elsworth/ Liam Keniry), bred to be very speedy, who was runner-up at Kempton over 6 furlongs last time but should be better suited by this minimum trip.

Chelmsford - betting forecast:
1. Race: Rockfast - Duke Street - Qatar Falcon
2. Race: India`s Song - Pirate Cove - Great Expectations
3. Race: Plaisir - Glorious Dancer - Mojawiz
4. Race: Wentworth Falls - Squats - Merdon Castle
5. Race: Aldo - Born To Reign - Black Iceman
6. Race: Oratorio`s Joy - Asia Minor - Precision Five