Southwell (a.w.), Leicester, Warwick and Tipperary (N.H.)

It is unusual for Frankie Dettori to ride at Southwell´ s all-weather track, but that is the case today and he can win the first two races on Abtasaamah at 15.20 CET and Sahara Kingdom half an hour later, both trained for Godolphin by Saeed bin Suroor. Neither is likely to be much of a betting proposition however and both will start at very short prices. A better betting race is the 6 furlongs conditions race at 17.50.

Captain Dunne (Tim Easterby/ Robert Winston) should win this; he is top-rated and his latest form to Tangerine Trees has been boosted since., However Masta Plasta (David and Adrian Nicholls), although theoretically held on form, might give him a tough time, as he is listed class at his best. Oldtimer Pawan (Anne Stokell) has finished well behind these two, but runs his best races over this CD and might possibly run into a place at a big price.

The ground is expected to be very heavy at Leicester and punters should be cautious. The hottest favourite here is Picture Editor (Hency Cecil/ Tom Queally), who has only 2 opponents in the 2yo conditions race over 10 furlongs at 16.10, while trainer John Dunlop could land a double with Harlestone Times (Ted Durcan) in the 3yo handicap over 1 1/2 miles at 16.40 and Hajjaan (Richard Hills) in the 7 furlongs event for 3yo maidens at 17.10, but none of this trio has ever run on ground as heavy as it will be this afternoon.

The Catterick card is pretty poor.The most interesting event here could be the 1 1/2 miles handicap at 18.30. The rapidly improving Tobernea (Mark Johnston/ Greg Fairley) has won his last 3 races, including yesterday at Warwick, If he turns out again under a penalty, he should go close, but we prefer Danceintothelight (Micky Hammond/ Kelly Harrison), an easy winner here over 2 furlongs further last time, as well as Maneki Neko (Edwin Tuer/ Phillip Makin), who always goes well here.

There is jumps racing in Ireland at Tipperary with maximum fields in most races. The season is slowly getting into swing and there are some potentially promising sorts entered in the beginners chase at 17.55. This is not really a race to bet on, but our 3 against the field are Smoking Aces (Tom Taaffe/ MP Walsh), Warne (Edward O´Grady/ Andrew McNamara) and Lucky William (Tom and BJ Cooper).

"Arc" weekend at Longchamp

this column is now off to Paris for the weekend, but first here are our thoughts on the big meeting at Longchamp, with several interesting German-traind runners. In our view the best chance of a German winner is in Saturday´s Prix Dollar at 16.50, in which the classy Zazou (Mario Hofer/ Olivier Peslier) and the much-improved Budai (Waldemar Hickst/ Dominique Boeuf) are engaged. With very soft ground expected, both German runners could finish in the money, but Zazou, racing over his best trip, is the selection. Also on Saturday we like High Heeled (John Gosden/ Peslier) in the Prix Royallieu at 16.15 and Baden-Baden winner Emerald Commander (Saeed bin Suroor/ Mikael Barzalona) in th Prix Daniel Wildenstein at 17.25.
Sunday of couzrs is the big da and fatures no g´fewer thn 7 Gropip One racs for thoroighbbrds and one more for Arab-breds. The "Arc" itself will be run at 16.05 and a fild of almost 20 is expected. There are two German runners Wiener Walzer (Jens Hirschberger/ Tom Queally) and Liang Kai (Uwe Ostmann/ Stephane Pasquier), but the going will be too soft for the former while the latter - with all due respect- looks outclassed. This is a very open "Arc" and - dare one say it?- of much lower class than usual, with question marks over many of the leading candidates. Youmzain (Mick Channon/ Richard Hughes) has been runner-up 3 times running, and the horses that beat him, Dylan Thomas, Zarkava and Sea the Stars are certainly much superior to anything in this field. He could make the frame again, while we also expect Cavalryman (Saeed bin Suroor/ Frankie Dettori) to run much better than he did at Baden-Baden. The Aga Khan´s pair, Planteur and English Derby winner Workforce look the be st of the 3yo´s. The best German chance on Sunday is in the Prix du Cadran at 13.05 over 4000 metres, with Brusco (Andreas Wöhler/ Peslier) and Shawnee Saga (Werner Baltromei/ Boeuf) engaged. Peter Schiergen´s two runners, Danedream in the Prix Marcel Boussac at 14.10 and Elle Shadow in the Prix de l´Opera at 17.35, will both b prtnerd ny ndrsch Starke, while Smooth Operator (Hofer/ Guyon) might be an interesting each-way bet on the soft going in the Prix de la Foret at 15.20.

Newmarket Friday and Saturday

Newmarket stages two of its best cards of the year today and tomorrow, with 2yo´s in the spotlight today. The Cheveley Park Stakes for 2yo fillies (Group One) at 15.30 CET and the Middle Park Stakes (Group Two) at 16.05 are the highlights and both look very competitive. Obviously it would be nice if the sponsors won their own race and we give Hooray (Sir Mark Prescott/ Seb Sanders) a good chance in the fillies´ race, but Khor Sheed (Luca Cumani/ Kieren Fallon) and Ragsah (Saeed bin Suroor/ Frankie Dettori) look threatening. The Middle Park is just as tricky, we give slight preference to Strong Suit (Richard Hannon/ Richard Hughes), slightly unlucky when third at odds-on at the Curragh last time, and before that an impressive Royal Ascot winner. Dream Ahead (David Simcock/ William Buick), who won the Morny at Deauville, Temple Meads (Ed McMahon/ Richard Mullen) and Approve (William Haggas/ Johnny Murtagh) are the dangers.

After racing, Fallon flies off to Ireland to ride Gitano Hernando for Marco Botti in a Group Three on the all-weather at Dundalk. Should he pass this test, the 4yo will be again aimed at the Breeders Cup; Beethoven (Aidan and Joseph O´Brien) looks the only danger this evening.

Saturday at Newmarket starts off with two immensely valuable sales races for 2yo´s, both with huge fields. The fillies´ event at 14.55 can go to I Love Me (Andrew Balding/ Jimmy Fortune) who won a similar race first time out and now faces 20 opponents, the best of whom could be Together (Aidan O´Brien/ Johnny Murtagh). There are 27 in the colts´ race at 15.25, where Formosina (Jeremy Noseda/ Ryan Moore) is top-rated, while Fury (Haggas/ Fallon), most impressive on his debut, rates a big danger. The biggest field of all, and the big betting race, is the Cambridgeshire, a 9 furlongs handicap at 16.40 with 35 runners. Lightly-raced Nationalism (John Gosden/ Buick) has been all the rage for this and is likely to start at around 7-2; he could well win, but is no value at this price. Gosden´s other runners Taqleed (Richard Hills) and High Twelve (Franny Norton) should not be ignored, while for those looking for an alternative we suggest Steele Tango (Roger Teal/ John Fahy). Classi est race of the day is the Group One Sun Chariot Stakes for fillies over a mile at 16.00. Sahpresa (Rodolphe Collet/ Christophe Soumillon) won this last year and could well complete the double.