Good cards today, Plenty of good racing both on the flat and over jumps.  Trying to find a winner or two is always the most difficult!

At Kempton on the flat racing starts at 1.25 with a two year old Novice Stakes over 5f.  Electric Ladyland will be bidding to follow up from her recent win at Lingfield, she did a good time on the clock that day, and could well be hard to beat again, she takes on two newcomers from good yards, the Godolphin owned Dark Of Night could be useful, although he is bound to be better over further judging his pedigree, Saeed Bin Suroor two year olds are known to improve for a run as well. The 3.45 is a listed race over 1 Mile, black type win or placing is always important to fillies when eventually retiring to stud.  Rawdaa heads the betting, around 4/1, this shows how open this race is.  If I was having a small each way bet it would likely be Anna Nerium, she competed at a good level last year, and should be fine over the trip, this race is more of a watching brief, as it could go the way of any one of six , and you would not be surprised.

Enola Gay 4.20 Haydock was a good winner last time, he has  claims of following up again today, with regular jockey Gavin Sheehan riding, he should be fine on the ground, which is currently good.

A good winner yesterday for my subscribers, after 5 days of no advised selections (including a non runner) I did like the  chances of Lord Lamington at Wolverhampton 8.00, he never looked in any real danger, and was a cosy winner at 2/1, so the patience paid off !

Good racing at Lingfield today on the all weather surface.  The lightning fast Kachy runs at 3.05 over 6f.  His only concern looks to be stall 8, it looks pretty straightforward if he gets a good break, he should win.  Encrypted could be the one to maybe try and get competitive, he is around 8/1, so each way with small stakes could be tempting.  The card starts at 1.30, with an open apprentice race, it often pays to back the best or rider who is doing well, a lot of these young jockeys have experience, and have ridden winners.  Gallipoli has been running well, he has course form and has a useful apprentice on top.  At 7/1 he is a bit of value each way.

Bath has its first meeting of the year, with the ground good to firm.  Global Prospector was an easy winner over 6f on debut, he runs in the opener at 1.50.  It looks to be a two horse race on form, the second in the betting The Cruising Lord has really good form from last year, his last run he was 4th in a pattern race over 5f, his current handicap is 98, so although that may be a bit inflated, in receipt of weight today from Global Prospector he has strong claims to give the odds on shot a real race.

Newcastle has all weather racing on the flat, with some competitive races.  I have a few horses I follow running, slight issue is that they are in the same races !

More later.

Looking at the races left today at Cheltenham.  The 4.55 is over 2 miles, the majority of the runners have shown their best form over further.  Pique Rock won well last time, that was over 2m 4f.  Positively ridden that day, which seemed to suit her,  she could well be ridden aggressively again today, especially dropping back in distance.  She would be my idea of the one to beat, Happy Diva is probably her main rival, although a definite preference for further than the 2 miles, is a concern.

At Newmarket, the 4.10 is over 9f, First Contact has been supported in the betting, I feel he is better over a shorter trip than this so I think if having a bet I would look beyond him.  It is a very open race, Elarqam was a very useful two year old, if he is anywhere near his old self having had wind surgery, he would be my choice at 5/1 each way.

A few entered tomorrow that look of interest, racing is very competitive over the next few days.

A late post today.  I have been doing a bit of travelling.  Looking at the results from Newmarket, Skardu won the 3.35 Craven Stakes, he was having only his second race of his life, so although he only won by a neck, a fair amount of improvement can be expected.  The dissapointing effort from Royal Marine, looks like he is not quite right yet, he was below par on his run on dirt at Meydan, so he is probably a horse to avoid currently !  It remains to be seen if he heads for the 2000 Guineas, which is looking very open, Too Darn Hot has an injury, and it is not clear if he will run, Ten Sovereigns, who is second favourite, looked to me last year that he is blessed with a lot of speed, so I’m not convinced he will be as good over 8f.  Uae Jewel was an impressive winner of the 1 Mile Wood Ditton Stakes at Newmarket, he looked useful and where he goes next, I am not sure yet, but he should be followed.  I have had a quiet week, no real bets of substance, I was interested in a horse today at Beverley, but he was withdrawn. Looking at the races this evening at Southwell, the 8.00 looks a competitive event for the track, two previous winners at the track head the betting.  Sense Of Belonging, who is trying the surface for the first time, could well be capable of upsetting the front two in the betting, useful form at two, given a break and trying a new surface might well give him a solid chance. You never fully know how they will handle Southwell, all I will say is if they handle ground on turf on the soft side, they will handle conditions better than something that wants fast ground grass conditions.

A couple of horses are entered to run over the next few days that I follow, hopefully the ground stays ok.

A  couple of decent races  today at Newmarket’s first meeting of 2019.  The 3.35 is a Group 3 event for three year old fillies over 7f.  A few of these will be hoping of winning or running very well, and then maybe running in one of the classics, either back at the track for the 1,000 Guineas in the first week of May, or either France or Ireland for the equivalent Guineas fillies races.  Todays race looks very open to me, Main Edition, Angels Hideaway and Mot Juste all have good form from last year, it all depends on how forward they are, I am not getting involved in the race, as I don’t know which way it will go.   The main three year olds colt event is at 3.00, a listed race over 9f, this is seen as more of a Derby trial.  Kick On and Western Australia are the front two in the betting, they met in a group 1 last year, that was over a mile on easier ground, The latter was a few lengths ahead in third that day, with Kick On back in 6th.  Western Australia has had a run this year, so may have the fitness edge, I think it is another race to watch closely, as Kadar is another potentially useful horse.  He won his maiden last year, and could be anything.

I looked at Exeter, and nothing really appealed as worth backing, Wolverhampton this evening looks pretty difficult as well, so not much of great interest today worth an investment, if I do back anything it will be small stakes.

Quite a decent card at Windsor today.  The ground is ok, I did think Deal A Dollar 4.00 could win under Ryan Moore, he has had one run when second, he has drifted in the betting from odds on to around 11/8.  Lots of support for Telecaster has caused the drift, but it’s not a one horse race, Ginistrelli won at Newmarket last year, he has a penalty, so will be dangerous as well, it is always difficult in the first few weeks of the flat, especially when it is the first run of the year as a three year old, some horses improve so much during the winter and cautious betting is required, unless you have heard they have been working like a machine !

It was good to see Persian King win easily yesterday, he was around 14/1 when I advised a small each way on him for the 2000 Guineas, with a firm that was NRNB.  If he goes to Newmarket he has a decent chance, I would not rule out my other tip Madhmoon either, hopefully both will line up.

Good racing at most tracks today.  Trial races at Newbury for potential classic contenders , the ground is on the soft side, it will likely be ok for Dancing Vega who runs in the 2.10, this 7f fillies Group 3 looks very open, Dancing Vega was really impressive when she won last year at Doncaster, her stable has not ran many of late, but it is the same for many of the trainers.  I think it is a trial to watch, as is the colts race at 2.40, which looks open as well, this was the planned trial for Too Darn Hot, who is current favourite for the 2000 Guineas in May, unfortunately he has met with a setback. The 1.40 at The track is a good race for the older horses over 12f.  I like two in this, Young Rascal is a really useful horse, he will have to be fit as Marmello and Defoe are very good horses as well, I just prefer Young Rascal as he acts well at the track, he has a few pounds to find with Defoe and Marmello, so small bets only. At Ayr, I like Secret Investor in the 3.00, he handles the faster ground, I just hope him and Monbeg Legend don’t set the race up for Ballywood, who tries the longer trip today and likes to come from off a good pace. It’s a day for small bets for me, the bookies could have a field day !

Today has some really good racing at Newbury on the level.  The most interesting race is the 4.10 10f conditions Stakes, some really strong market support overnight for Space Blues, at his current price of 11/10, I will leave him alone, I am not saying he will not win, but Turgenev is 4/1 with a few firms, I would rather back him each way, or without the favourite.  He has the strongest form of the field, his last run was in a Group 1, so this is a bit of a drop in class.

At Ayr over jumps, Galvin is favourite for the 1.50- he is the likely winner as I see it, a lot of these are running off below par effort, I just thought he had the best form, and ran well at Cheltenham.

More later.

A good winner yesterday for my subscribers, Iley Boy 6.45 Kempton was a big drifter in the betting from 13/8 -11/4, but it did not stop him battling on well under useful apprentice Cieran Fallon.  It looks as though Fallon has inherited his parents riding talent, hopefully he has no real weight issues, and can keep improving.

Today has Huntingdon, Wetherby and Limerick in Ireland holding jump racing and Chelmsford City and Newcastle on the level.  The ground is drying out, Huntingdon ground is good,  and racing looks competitive, I am interested in a few at the track, so will watch the first race, as I want to see how fast or slow the going looks, at Wetherby in the first race at 1.50, I thought Fransham had the best form, although he did not find much for pressure last time, Swordbill could be his biggest rival, if he jumps better than he has in his two tries over obstacles.  Conchita 1.40 Huntingdon tries hurdles today for the first time, she is a winner of a bumper, and has a good chance of getting off the mark in this race.

Chelmsford has some potentially nice horses running at the track,  Derevo 2.30 has been heavily backed in the morning, he showed a lot of promise on his only run last year, it looks a good race for him to start 2019.  He may well be a typical Sir Michael Stoute type, who will improve lots with experience.

I have read about Brendan Powell retiring from the training ranks.  He has had a few lean years winners wise over the last 5 years, it is really hard to keep going when you have under 20 horses, hopefully he will continue in some capacity within racing, as his experience as a former jockey and trainer can be helpful for young people who are considering racing as a career path.

The ground at Nottingham today looks to be on the fast side of good, the last winner Garrus, in the 2.30 just broke the 5f course record.  It looks really nice conditions for jumping at Warwick as well, the sun is shining.  Later in the card at Warwick Djin Conti has top weight, I don’t think he will mind drying ground, and may well be good enough in the 3.45.  At Lingfield on the all weather Velvet Moon has a favourites chance at 4.30, she likes to get on with things, and the drop back to 6f was right up her street last time.  With an evening all weather card on the level, a few tricky races at the Sunbury track, a couple of horses I follow are lining up, I will watch the betting and have a look at them before possibly having a bet, fitness and how they are handling the preliminaries is always key.  I saw a race last night at Gowran Park, one horse that was attracting some market support, looked very big (belly) walking round the paddock, it ran ok but was clearly in need of the run.  It’s important to try and have a look at them, cantering to post, and how they handle the preliminaries, I have “cashed out” many times, when things don’t look right.

More later.