It looks a clear dry day at Aintree, so perfect conditions for racegoers, it makes the chance of Tiger Roll winning another Grand National a bit stronger, as I see it.  He obviously needs a fair amount if luck, but carrying over 11 stone over 4 miles on good to soft ground, is a bit easier for a horse, especially one like him who is not over big.  The one I am have a bit each way on is Minella Rocco at 50/1, he will like the drying ground, his form is not great of late, but he is worth an interest each way. The class horses are Anibale Fly and Tiger Roll, but they have big weights to overcome.

Looking at the rest of the days racing at Lingfield on the flat, Emenem 3.10 is the choice of Tom Marquand over the current favourite Sotomayor, he won on the latter recently, it was probably a tough choice, not much between them, Emenem has been running in better races, but his biggest question mark is 12f , he has never won beyond 10f, I did like his last run, I’m likely going to watch it !

A lot of good racing at Aintree, I like Chosen Mate each way 2.25, he has missed the hustle and bustle of Cheltenham and is improving, Angeles Breath is favourite and probably the one to beat.

I may well do an update later.

A later post today.  I saw a bit of Aintree, I missed the 4.05 the Randox Health Topham Trophy over the National fences.  Barry Geraghty has been taken to hospital after a fall from Peregrine, it has been reported that he has a possible leg fracture, awful luck for him if he has.  The remainder of the evening has racing at Wolverhampton and Wexford in Ireland. I do think Birch Grove has a good chance at Wolverhampton 7.30, she is a winner at the track, it is her first run for 150 days, so she will improve for it, but I like her young jockey.  Dylan Hogan claims the 5lb allowance, but is good value for it.  In the 8.00 there has been strong support for Rhossli Down, she has had two runs showing promise last season, Roma Bangkok is the likely main threat, he is a winner last year, and could take a step forward from his recent run, it could well be a good race.

I will try and give followers something each way in the Grand National tomorrow.  I do think Tiger Roll will like it if the ground dries, he is flat bred, having been originally with Godolphin ! He is the class horse in the race, if he gets a clear run round, he has a favourites chance to win it again.

A late post today.  The rains came at Aintree and Taunton, so I didn’t really get involved.  Chelmsford is the evening card on the all weather.  The 6.00 which is about 5 minutes away, Yimkin is my pick in this.  Later in the card Samphire Coast At 6.30 is a course winner, I thought he would be quite hard to beat.

Cautious punting over the next few days with rain around.  Hopefully not too much, we don’t want the big day on Saturday at Aintree being a real slog over 4 miles.

More tomorrow.

Todays racing is from Wincanton and Market Rasen over jumps and Southwell, Kempton and Leopardstown on the level.  Trying the Fibresand surface for the first time is lightly raced Just Wait 4.25, she is obviously delicate, but has ability, she probably has Royal Cosmic to beat, to win.  At Wincanton, rain is forecast, currently the ground is good.  It could be a day for the favourites, as long as it does not get too soft. At Kempton this evening, Pentland Lad has been threatening to win a race, he may have found his best chance to do so in the 5.10.  The 6.45 looks an interesting race, Canvassed won well on his debut last year, clearly he has had issues, but the rest of the field look as though they have not been easy to get to the race track.  It’s probably a race to watch closely, as Just Brilliant has a similar profile, he has the best form, he ran in a group 3 on his second start, so is clearly well regarded.

Looking ahead to the weekend, the Aintree meeting starts tomorrow.  This meeting is known for a lot of horses who have won at the Cheltenham festival dipping in form.  Tiger Roll is very short odds to repeat last years stellar performance when winning the Grand National, he is the class horse in the field, but I think I will back something at bigger odds each way. Not too sure yet what!

The big news which was announced yesterday afternoon was the retirement of leading flat jockey Fran Berry.  He had a fall at Wolverhampton before the New Year, despite many months of rehab and effort, he has stepped down on medical advise.  He was a very good rider, only 38, he probably had another 10 years or more riding. When you are advised to retire for the sake of your health, it is a no brainer ! I assume another fall could of caused long term problems, I read he is looking at media work in the future and working on Racing tv.

Looking at today’s racecards, El Astronaute 3.15 Mussleburgh has a solid chance of defying top weight.  He is a front runner, and has ran well at the track before.  The race meeting at Lingfield gets under way at 2.00.  Swiss Pride is a course winner over 6f, he looks pacey, so 5f should not be an issue, he probably has most to fear from Lille.  The 2.30 over 5f has seen a lot of market support for Electric Ladyland, who has to overcome a bad draw to win, Heer We Go Again could improve for his run only 3 days ago, he missed the break that day, if he does the same again here, it will be game over ! A good start is always essential, the old saying of “You can give weight”, but you can’t give start” is very true.

Update:

Not having a decent bet at Newcastle.  Four races left at the meeting, previous course winner Klopp has good course form, he runs at 8:15, He is a bit short at under 3/1, Stallone is interesting in his first run in a handicap. He may be an each way bet at around 11/2.

A good profit for subscribers in March, with a profit of just over 5 points (£505.00).  I am looking forward to the flat season getting into gear, always a bit of a feel the way month to see how stables have wintered, a large number have had runners during the winter all weather season, but a large number of yards have ran a few , and trainers prefer the turf.  At Ludlow today the ground is good, the 2.15 is very hard to work our, any one of three could win, as I see it.  Dr Sanderson would be my choice.

I will update later as may well have something in a later race.

Quite good cards today in the UK.  Doncaster on the flat has had two races already.  Venedegar 4.55 is a horse I followed after he was second on his second start, he showed promise after, without winning.  If he is fit for his seasonal debut, he has a good chance.  It’s a competitive race, and a few are fancied.

At Ascot, my fancy in the first race was withdrawn, ground at most tracks are drying,  I guess it is the time of year, ideal good ground does not suit some of the big National Hunt horses, they are best on softer conditions.  Highway One O One 3.55 Ascot likes good ground, he has a good chance of winning.

It was a big day for  Godolphin in Dubai yesterday.  Charlie Appleby and Saeed Bin Suroor bagged four winners between them, with the excellent Thunder Snow winning the big Dubai World Cup again.  He is the first horse to win two of them, quite an achievement for all connections, it may be a long time before it happens again, he may well try again next year for number three.

My only selection for my subscribers yesterday was Denmead 2.20 Wetherby, he was 10/11 in the morning, I have no issue backing short priced horses when they win like he did, he never looked in danger.

Today is the start of the turf season in the UK.  Doncaster looks very good racing, with the big handicap at 3.35 the Unibet Lincoln Handicap, with 22 lining up it is a difficult race to work out, with good ground to race on i thought Humbert had a good chance each way at around 12/1, he has changed stables, and his trainer has a really good record in this race.  At Kempton the flat meeting is on the all weather, the first race is a decent Novice event, two have won, so have a penalty, Sawasdee had one run last year and could well improve a lot from that, he was a very expensive yearling and ran very green on debut. It’s a race to watch closely as Living Legend and Sucellus are really promising horses, even with the winners penalty.

In the UAE at Meydan, fantastic prize money and really good racing.  Old Persian did well to win last time, he got in a pocket and was value for a lot further than his short head win, he runs at 4.00.

More later.

Today has two meetings over jumps and two on the all weather surface on the level.  Fields are quite small at Fontwell and Wetherby, it is the time of year when a large number of National Hunt horses go for some spring grass, and the spring/ summer jumpers re-appear.  Flowery 3.55 Wetherby jumped well and won in good style at Sedgefield last time, his first try over the bigger obstacles, he has gone up in the weights, but if he acts at the change of track, he could well win again.  At Newcastle this evening, it has competitive racing, the 7.00 is a fillies Novice Stakes, Maid For Life ran a good second on  debut last year, its tough taking on older horses at this time of year, the elder Astonished is a winner,  and has a penalty for that, it will be hard to concede a lot of weight, she has 10.5 lbs to carry! Probably a race to watch, as Robotique Dancer is a well bred unraced filly, who could be smart.  The 2.00 Lingfield could give young Cieran Fallon a good chance of riding another winner on Golden Guest, bit of value each way at around 5/1.

More later.