Good racing today with 6 meetings in the UK and Down Royal and Cork in Ireland. At Ascot where the ground like most tracks at the moment will be on the soft side. I thought Gaassee could have a good chance of getting back in the winners enclosure 3.35. His stable are in form and he should be fine on the ground. At Thirsk where it will be soft ground, Darnation 2.35 was a good third on debut at Haydock at the start of this month, with progress expected from that run she could be worth backing at around 3/1.

At Newmarket this evening, racing gets under way at 5.52. The son of Calyx and current favourite is Habrdi who makes his debut, he looks good on paper and is from the astute George Boughey yard. He could be well drawn in 14 and has been showing some talent on the gallops. Naqeeb will be short odds to win the 7.35 race, he stayed on strongly last time at Newbury over 10f, today he has an extra 2f and should be too smart for his rivals.

I will put a post out tomorrow, with a really good card at Ascot. The big race at 3.40 is the King George V1 and Queen Elizabeth Stakes (Group 1) with a really top-class field. I am not sure what I would back if given a choice, possibly Emily Upjohn each way as she has Dettori back on top. It is an open race and looks like a really intriguing contest.