There are a lot of races which are rather hard to call today. One race that I am relatively confident on is the 4:05 at Haydock, which sees WUFF chasing a third win in a row. A horse who has been running at a distance of 2 miles 4 furlongs, but seems as though he wants further and who acts on a heavier surface, today's challenge should provide no problems whatsoever. Oscar Rock is the favourite but has never ran on a surface as testing as this, a horse who may be a more potent threat is Sego Success, that's if he handles the ground.
Tom George and Paddy Brennan, trainer and jockey respectively of Wuff
The Rendlesham Hurdle is Haydock's 2:20, with Celestial Halo as the very short priced favourite. Trainer Paul Nicholls has said that today is not the be all and end all and that he will almost certainly come on for the run. If Celestial Halo isn't quite at his peak, the horse which may be able to capitalise on this is LIENOSUS. He'll like the ground and should stay.
My final selection at Haydock is GARDEFORT in the 4:35. A race where the field does not really look up to much, the only two horses of any note seem to be the tip and Dungeel. Dungeel did not really beat much on his chasing debut and if Gardefort is even half decent, he should have enough to win this. A French import of Venetia Williams', it seems to have all the perfect ingredients to handle the heavy ground.
Ascot also hold a quality card today, the highlight being the Group 1 Betfair Ascot Chase. Captain Chris has a chance like a favourite should and it would not be surprising if he won. However, a couple at bigger odds that could cause an upset are ROLLING ACES and CLOUDY TOO. Both seemingly like the ground and should stay the distance. However, both will have to produce their best performances to date if they are going to be troubling Captain Chris.
The 2:40 at Ascot sees another French import running. Although its not WETAK's first run on British soil (having been beaten into second by Shooters Wood at Cheltenham and before that being well beaten by My Tent or Yours in a novice hurdle) his French form suggests that he should appreciate the ground. Teaforthree wants better ground than this, Houblon Des Obeaux is carrying a big weight and Highland Lodge's no show in the Welsh National when well fancied would put me off him, considering he is favourite.
The 3:15 is a hugely wide open affair. Heath Hunter has the form but may struggle as a novice in this company. Two Rockers' poor run last time out would put me off him, Bygones Sovereign has conditions to suit but he may not be up to scratch. It may be another French import, LOUGH KENT can prove good enough to win this. Barry Geraghty in the saddle is a bonus and he could be the sort to end up being a little bit better than his opposition today. Like Minded may prove the biggest danger, with his third to Saphir Du Rheu looking like decent form.
My one for the all-weather this afternoon is RUN IT TWICE, who runs in Lingfield's 4:30. Club House is far too short a price to me having only ran 3 days ago. Tee It Up Tommo has a good chance but my selection is back down to a mark in which he won last at and at around 10/1, I think that is far too big a price.
There are a few more I could have backed today but you cannot back them all unfortunately.
Chelsea vs Manchester City will hopefully be the highlight of the footballing weekend, with Pellegrini hoping he can tame Mourinho's "Little Horse". For me, the draw looks the most likely result.
The Winter Olympics has well and truly created some great memories so far following Jenny Jones' bronze (Britain's first Olympic medal on snow unbelievably) and of course, Lizzie Yarnold's amazing gold. Yarnold's eloquence and determination show that you can achieve anything if you put your mind to it. Its really refreshing to see somebody so down to earth making the sporting headlines for once.
Hopefully Team GB can add more medals to their tally in the days to come.
Wishing everybody a good weekend
Happy Punting!
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