Stayers’ Hurdle hopeful likely to run in rearranged race if heavy rain forces abandonment of Festival trials cardThe British Horseracing Authority will hope to reschedule the Cleeve Hurdle, the Cotswold Chase and possibly at least one more of the four Grade Two events scheduled at Cheltenham on Saturday if the card falls victim to the weather following an inspection on Friday afternoon.Any rescheduled races will not be staged at Cheltenham, however, and it seems increasingly likely that for the first time in a quarter of a century, the opening day of the Festival in March will be the first meeting at the track in the calendar year. Related: Talking Horses: Cheltenham call early inspection for Festival trials day Lingfield 12.15 Bint...
Saturday’s crucial card is in danger of being called off after the clerk of course calls an inspection for Friday afternoonCheltenham’s Trials card on Saturday, due to be the final action at the track before the Festival meeting in March, is in serious doubt due to waterlogging after 45mm of rain at the course since Tuesday, with an inspection of the course scheduled for 2pm on Friday.Paisley Park, the hugely popular 2019 Stayers’ Hurdle winner, and the former Gold Cup winner Native River were among the big names expected to line up on Saturday’s seven-race card, which includes four Grade Two contests and a competitive Grade Three handicap. The course also lost its New Year’s Day fixture earlier this month,...
Nicky Martin spent Monday fighting through snow so her star hurdler could get a bit of exercise before his toughest test yetThose who worry about the major stables hoovering up all the best prizes will be cheered to see Bear Ghylls is favourite for one of the TV races at Cheltenham on Saturday. The unbeaten novice hurdler, with clear star potential, is trained up on Exmoor by Nicky Martin, a permit-holder who bought him years back for just €22,000 and now believes she has a contender for the Festival itself. Related: Talking Horses: Williams plays down Royale Pagaille as Gold Cup contender Tips by Chris Cook Continue reading...
Philip Hobbs’s stable star is said to be impressing in his home work and can end fine run of the flying grey PolitologueThere have been a couple of rocky spells in the career of Defi Du Seuil (3.35) but he is fancied to get back to winning ways in Ascot’s Clarence House Chase, the highlight of eight Saturday races on ITV4. He looked really classy when beating Un De Sceaux in this race a year ago and it is hard to believe he hasn’t won since. Related: Betfair apologises after keeping punter £100,000 out of pocket for months Tips by Chris Cook Continue reading...
Racecourse officials moved to fend off criticism for continuing to race on Wednesday, with support from a local GP’s practiceThe old maxim that ‘no good deed goes unpunished’ appeared to be proved true once more on Wednesday when, a week after allowing itself to be used as a Covid-19 vaccination centre, Newbury racecourse was subjected to strongly worded criticism on social media for a one-day return to its day job. Course officials insisted that the NHS had planned around the track’s long-established fixture list and that the racing which took place here on Wednesday did not cause a delay to the vaccination process but hecklers on Twitter appeared reluctant to accept that point. Related: Talking Horses: Irish horse doping case...