German-bred winners today?

Very low level jumps racing today at Taunton and Towcester, and although top trainers like Nicky Henderson and Paul Nicholls have runners, they are very far from being the stable stars. They are also likely to start at very short prices, so that we can look for alternatives. In Towcester´s opening novice hurdle at 15.30 for example, Henderson´s Laurium (David Bass) is expected to start at long odds-on; he could win of course, but German-bred Aviator (James Eustace/ Jack Quinlan), from a top Ittlingen family and who won nicely enough on his hurdles debut. could be a good each-way bet here. 90 minutes later another Ittlingen-bred runs - the totally disappointing Lyssio (Jim Best/ John Storey), who has now dropped to a most attractive mark; his last performances were too bad to be true, and possibly this much faster surface may rekindle his interest.

At Taunton also there are a couple of German-breds engaged, Hartside (P & R Winks) at 17.20 and Ordensritter (Chris Down/ James Davies). there are small fields here and the former runs in the only race with each-way betting. he deserves to win after a series of good places, but he has top weight here and each-way may be a safer bet. Ordensritter, who has won twice on the all-weather, has never won yet over jumps, but the step up in distance should help.

Towcester - betting forecast:
1. Race: Aviator - Romulus Du Donjon - Abijoe
2. Race: Blameitalonmyroots - Iconic Rose - A Shade Of Bay
3. Race: Grand Article - Cabaret Girl - Cool Bob
4. Race: Reyno - Mighty Mambo - Lost In Newyork
5. Race: Midnight Dove - Tinelyra - Jolly Boys Outing
6. Race: Minstrel Royal - Danvinnie - Fingerontheswitch