N.H. racing at Kempton and Plumpton

Two jumps meetings this afternoon, with by far the best racing on offer at Kempton. The opening novice hurdle at 14.00 CET is a really hot race. Nicky Henderson saddles two runners, with stable jockey Barry Geraghty riding the highly-rated but so far disappointing) According. King Olav (Tany Carroll/ Tom Scudamore) has already shown ability over the sticks, while Mark Tompkins´ Smokey Oakey (Colin Bolger), who won the Lincoln 2 years ago for Oscar winner Judy Dench, marks his debut over hurdles. Of great interest also is Alan King´s German-bred Iolith, who was listed class on the flat when trained by André Fabre for Baron Ullmann.

Another German-bred with chances is Backbord (Lucy Wadham/ Dougie Costello) in the 2 miles 5 furlongs handicap hurdle at 15.50. Nicky Henderson supplies the main danger in Working Title (Geraghty), a very easy winner last time. Henderson can also score with the course specialist (3 from 3 here) Riverside Theatre (Geraghty) in the graduation chase at 16.10 and Crystal Rock (David Bass), who has top-weight in the conditional jockeys handicap hurdle at 17.20.

While Kempton´s card is strong for a Monday, Plumpton´s is frankly awful. Frosted Grape (David Pipe/ Johnny Farrelly) fell last time, but has already won 4 times this season and should outclass feeble opposition in the mares novice hurdle at 14.20. Red Current (Michael Scudamore/ Sam Jones) is still a maiden over jumps, but ran respectably last time over this CD, and must have an each-way chance in the 2 mile handicap hurdle at 14.55, while 13yo Spider Boy (Zoe Davison/ Gemma Gracey-Davison) runs his best races here and should be placed in the conditional jockeys handicap hurdle at 17.10.

Paul Hanagan vs Richard Hughes- next round

The battle for the jockeys´ championship in the U.K. is now getting really exciting, with Hanagan leading Hughes by 184-181 - his solid lead of a fortnight ago having been whittled away to just 3. Both have 7 rides (from 8 races) at Wolverhampton this afternoon, and we feel that Hanagan has a definite advantage. He has good prospects in the first 3 races- on Crystallus and Insolenceofoffice, both trained by Anne Duffield, in the two divisions of the 2yo maiden at 14.10 CET and 14.40, and Stanley Rigby, having his first run for Richard Fahey, in the 1 3/4 mile handicap at 15.15. He can also take the 8 1/2 furlongs handicap at 17.20 on Jeremy Glover´ s Slikback Jack. Hughes can win the 3yo handicap at 16.50 on the much-improved Inpursuitofhappiness (Charlie McBride), who has won twice in the last few days, and also Knockdolian (Roger Charlton) in the 1 1/2 mile handicap at 18.00.

The card is on the whole pretty feeble, and the only race in which there could be some decent runners is the 2yo maiden over 7 furlongs at 16.20. Hughes has a chance here on Brian Meehan´s Elusivity, but the one in which we are most interested is Godolphin´s newcomer Moonlight Dash (Ted Durcan), a son of Monsun. Lord of Persia (Ralph Beckett/ Jim Crowley), just beaten this CD last time, is the obvious danger.

Saint-Cloud today

the big race in France today is the Group One Criterium International for 2yo´s over a mile at 14.35 at Saint-Cloud. This has attracted a very strong field, including 3 British runners - Rerouted (Barry and Michael Hills), Pisco Sour (Hughie Morrison/ Jimmy Fortune) and Abjer (Clive Brittain/ Richard Hills), all with good form, but we expect the prize to go to Ireland via Aidan O´Brien´s Roderic O´Connor (Johnny Murtagh). The son of Galileo was an excellent runner-up to the top-class Frankel in the Dewhurst Stakes last time, and this is clearly the best form on offer. The best of the French could be Godolphin´ s unbeaten French Navy (André Fabre/ Maxime Guyon), but Ziyarid (Alain de Royer-Dupre´/ Christophe Lemaire) and Salto (Freddie Head/ Olivier Peslier) are also respected, while Maiguri must prove that his second place in the Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere was no fluke.

The main supporting feature is the Group The Prix Perth over a mile at 15.40, where there could well be a German winner, as Alianthus (Jens Hirschberger/ Adrie de Vries) comes into the race in top form, having won similar events at Cologne and Düsseldorf. The front-runner is well suited by soft ground and will make them all go today. Unfortunately the Cologne event was a Group Two, so that he has a 2 1/2 kilos penalty, but we still expect him to run a big race. Ex-German Kali (Miriam Bollack-Badel/ Stephane Pasquier) also has a penalty, having won the German 1,000 Guineas, but she has not run since her excellent second place at Chantilly in early June. More dangerous could be Rajsaman (Head/ Davy Bonilla), Skins Game (Jean-Claude Rouget/ Ioritz Mendizibal) and the two Godolphin runners Colonial (Mikael Barzalona) and Royal Revival (Guyon), both trained by Fabre. Usbeke, the other German-trained runner, looks out of his depth here while Forthemllionkiss is a non-runner.

Betting forecast:
1. Race: Ballet Move - Shareta - Ensemble
2. Race: Modern History - Wonder Charm - Pareo
3. Race: Roderic O`Connor - French Navy - Havane Smoker
4. Race: Marendinio - Aristote - Zimri
5. Race: Colonial - Rajsaman - Alianthus
6. Race: Armanty - Timelord - Italian Wizard
7. Race: Delta Black Sheep - Kalti Rose - Chamouille
8. Race: Question d`Or - Tout En Bleu - Thalamon