Just watched the 11:55 at Aintree.  It was incident packed, The Grand Visir tried to almost refuse at the first hurdle, badly hampering the favourite Eldorado Allen, both riders came off, with the race eventually won by a 40/1 outsider.  To be honest I was very surprised by the jockey who rode the odds on favourite, why he was anywhere near a horse having its first run going to a hurdle is always a bad move, when riding a short odds favourite you don’t get anywhere near something that has never ran before.

Looking ahead to the rest of today’s racing.  Some good horses running at Aintree and also at Sandown.  Altior is short odds to win at Sandown, he should get the job done, although the ground is very soft.  It will be good to see One For Arthur run again today at Aintree, he is having his first run since winning the Gran National in 2017.

I try and give followers a horse to back on a Saturday.  Blaklion 1:30 Aintree must have a good chance of winning, he has experience at the track and has run well fresh before, he is my selection today.

Some interesting races today at the turf jump meetings.  Ekayburg who I thought could win the 12:35 Leicester, came to win and found very little when asked to win the race, he is either ungenuine or has a problem when put under pressure, he also may be a non stayer. Tonight’s racing at Chelmsford has only three in the first race, it looks as though it could be a good race between Top Breeze and Deep Intrigue, the former has been heavily backed all day, he should win. The main race of the evening card is the 7:30, Salateen is at his best over 7f, he could be the one to beat.

Breden is another with strong claims in the 7:00, although his best form is at Kempton.  Able Jack is at home on the Essex track, he is a big price, and may run well of his break.

A late post today.  Plenty of rain made the ground soft today at both Haydock and Ludlow jump meetings.  A bit of caution over the next few days if having a bet, as you need to be sure that your horse will handle the conditions.  One horse that handled the soft ground today at Haydock was The Big Bite, he was impressive, not too sure what he beat, but he is worth following.

Looking ahead, tomorrow has some good racing.  I will hopefully try and find a winner !

More tomorrow.

Late post today.  Pleased to get a winner yesterday for my subscribers, with my selection at Wolverhampton 7:15.  Captain Dan was an easy winner under John Egan , he was advised at his starting price of evens in the morning, he probably did not beat much in winning, but still a winner.

I did fancy Bold Plan today 2:30 Southwell, he ran ok to be 3rd, the winner won pretty cosily, I think Bold Plan probably will be better over a bit further, and on a more galloping track.  I was quite impressed by the win of Skandiburg at Fakenham 1:40, he looks a big horse who could well improve and win again.  Well ridden by Fergus Gregory, a young jockey who continues to look good value for his claim.

Todays meeting at Plumpton will be very soft/heavy ground.  Favourite backers should get off to a good start with Acey Milan in the 12:30, and Kalashnikov looks as though a clear round will be more than enough for him to win the 1:00, 1/4 in a Novice chase is not my idea of a bet though !

Plumpton winter ground is hard work for horses, the clay based turf is like glue, tacky tiring ground.  I was fortunate to ride a good few winners at Plumpton, but always remember that when it rode very soft, it was a slog !

At Mussleburgh the ground should not be too bad.  It drains well,  and Good/good to soft ground in December is pretty fair.  I was at the July Sales when Constancio was sold for 40,000.  He was a nice type of horse, if he takes to hurdling he could well win the 12:15, although Tor was decent on the level

Nice to get a winner yesterday for my subscribers.  Finawn Bawn was advised at 6/4 , and returned at the same, he won easily at Bangor.  He was not travelling great in the early part of the race, but was not really at home on the tight track, he did well to win despite that, he was well ridden by Fergus Gregory.

Today the ground is very soft at Carlisle.  Just lining up for the 1:25, if Rons Dream is not too inconvenienced by the drop to 20f, she will be tough to beat.

More Later .

Plenty of rain around.  Doncaster ground does not seem to soft, ground at Newbury looks quite soft.  I try and give a free tip on Saturday for my followers, the horse I like today is not really an each way price.  I do think Thomas Patrick has a good chance at Newbury 3:00.  He is around 3/1, coming from a good run last time, he has a good jockey on top and will be bang in the mix.  It is a hot race, so hopefully he can get a clear run round and handle the easy ground.

Boxing: I hope Tyson Fury can defy his underdog status tonight, and beat Deontay Wilder.  I think it will be too much for Fury, he has cut a lot of weight, and had mental health issues.  Not really good when trying to win a World Heavyweight boxing match.  I think Wilder will be too strong, and stop him inside the first 6 rounds.boxing

A fair amount of rain around the UK.  Ayr looks hard work, current ground described as heavy,  I did think Kalahari Queen 2:25 could be a mare who will cope with the ground, she has a light weight, as she gets the allowance from the geldings.  At Taunton (raining) where it has good ground, it may ease to be on the slow side, one or two horses have been taken out of races, because the ground was considered too quick.  At Chelmsford tonight, So High was very green on debut at Wolverhampton recently, if he is more focused tonight, he could be difficult to beat in the 7:15 one mile two year old race.

Some good racing ahead at the weekend, hopefully not too much of the rain forecast will not appear, and ground at the race tracks will not be too soft.

Late post today.  Delighted to get a nice 7/1 winner for my subscribers today.  Dubai Acclaim won the  5:15 Newcastle , he was always in the van, and galloped on strongly to win.  The Newcastle all weather surface is quite testing on the straight track.

I saw Breathtaking Look win the 6:15 Newcastle, a filly I backed last time, when given a strange ride by her jockey, she was never put in the race at any stage !

So I would not be surprised that the stewards ask connections for an explanation.

A lot of rain around, so looking for horses with soft ground form is a must on grass.  A few horses of interest tomorrow, hopefully I can find a winner.

Pleased to give my subscribers a winner today with my selection.  I advised Seven de Baune 2:15 Ludlow, this morning at 10/11, he was heavily backed into 8/15 !

He was a very easy winner, I thought he had value in his short odds, as he only had one horse with any realistic chance of causing him any problem, the result however,  never looked in doubt.

A few races of interest tomorrow, hopefully I can find a winner, not sure how much rain is forecast to tomorrow, dry overnight would be good as the ground does look quite decent at the moment at the tracks.  With regard to today’s meeting at Kempton, it was a poor turnout in some of the races, with only two runners in the first race, and only three lined up in the Novice chase, it is probably because the ground was described as good /good to firm in places, the bigger yards are always cautious of running their better horses on ground that is on the fast side, as you do tend to get more leg injuries.