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Rated Lincoln 
Kynren   252 
Humbert  249 
These two are surprisingly well clear of next horse ....haven't seen that in such a big race so will be interesting to see how they run now ....too early to back as no nrnb ...but currently 9 and 12 /1 ....interesting 

Start of the Flat season is upon us!!
Lincoln & Rosebery Handicaps this weekend
335 Doncaster
1m (Str) Unibet Lincoln (Heritage Handicap) (Class 2) (4yo+)
Previous Winners

Trends
10/10 Aged 4-6
10/10 Not been out for 150+ days
8/10 Carried 9st or more
8/10 rated 97 or more
6/10 Drawn double figures
14/22 Placed last time out (8 won)
15/22 Won at the trip

Online for £4
Brings back memories, ive never heard of Juniorater either??
 

Here's an interesting one. If Bristol De Mai doesn't run, then all the weights go up by 4lbs I believe. If that is the case then Tiger Roll would not qualify on my trends calculations. To score 90+ they can only fail one trend & TR would suddenly fail a 2nd one.

The stats I use are based around this information; since changes were made to the course in 2013
& are based on the winning horses & all placed horses that were within 10 lengths of the winner.

Aged between 8 and 11 years old: 17/17
Weight Carried between 10.03 and 11.03: 16/17
Won a chase over at least 3 miles and 1/2 furlong: 16/17
Previously won no more than 5 times over fences: 16/17
Previously won a chase worth £/€ 31 k, or placed in a chase worth at least £/€ 51 k: 16/17
Placed in a chase over at least 3 miles and 2 furlongs: 15/17
Best RPR during past 12 months within last 3 starts over fences: 15/17
Previously recorded no more than 1 fall/unseated rider non completion over fences: 14/17
Best RPR during last 12 months of at least 5 lbs higher than current Official Rating: 14/17
Last ran between 22 and 49 days prior to this race: 13/17

Although my scoring calculations are based on 2 years ago when it added up to 99, I can't bring myself to calculate a new points threshold when it still worked out last year. A simpler way would be to say that since 2013, 5 of the 6 winners (the last 5) & 8 of the 11 placed horses (those that finished within 10 lengths of winner) have either met, or failed just one of the above trends.
The exclusions are as follows:
Winner: AURORAS ENCORE (2013)
Placed: SAINT ARE (2015 & 2017) and PLEASANT COMPANY (2018)

Hope this helps understand where the figures have come from. They are still subject to change as I imagine around a quarter of the runners could yet still change.

I used to subscribe to Superform as well …….. back in the 80s you'd receive an update weekly which you put in a loose leaf fake leather folder 
And the you could buy an Annual for Flat or Jumps at the end of the season and chuck your loose leaf folder away
When I came back to racing around 2008 after a 10 year gap I was really pleased to find Superform available free online …….. I used it all the time until it closed down
The only thing I subscribed to online was the Racing Post but I cancelled my subscription some time ago and now just use the free version …… seems to have everything I need which is just the basic form. 

I am writing this from Wellington airport waiting for a delayed plane and have used the time to catch up with the weekend's action and look ahead to tonight's matches where I have 3 bets and there are 2 bets for Wednesday's games.
Halifax v Ebbsfleet
I have put up Halifax a couple of times and they failed to win only for the to then beat Solihull at a big price at the weekend. I had also put them up for this fixture when it was called off the other week and I think they are worth backing again to win it. The loss to Dover remains their only defeat in their last 8 games and they were superb on Saturday in that win over Solihull. Ebbsfleet have won 3 on the bounce, but the form isn't overly strong. They had a really comfortable time of things at Maidstone on Saturday and prior to that it was wins over badly out of form Boreham Wood and Maidenhead. Gary Hill spoke again about his small squad after Saturday's win and how it is being tested and I just wonder if a Tuesday night trip to Halifax is where they come unstuck again especially as Halifax are in such good form. I would make the home side favourites so a near 2/1 quote is worth taking.
Harrogate v Salford
This game is live on BT Sport on Wednesday night and it is a shame my BT Sport app doesn't work in Australia because I wouldn't mind being able to watch this game especially as I think the away side are worth a bet. Salford are surprisingly big at 11/5 to win this. I still don't think they will win the title, but it was impressive to see they have bounced back from their sticky patch and crucially they have stopped leaking goals which had become an issue. It is now 5 clean sheets on the bounce and they had won 4 games on the bounce prior to a 0-0 draw against a resolute Barnet on Saturday. Harrogate lost to Barnet last Tuesday and then were very lucky to get a point out of their game at Barrow on Saturday. With Salford's defence not letting anything through at the moment there is every chance 1 might be enough here and it is a rare time this season for me where Salford have been overpriced and worth backing.
Bradford Park Avenue v AFC Telford
BPA have really found their form again after a rocky patch. Off the field they don't want promotion and that was enough to take them out of the title hunt although the squad have bounced back and they look set for the play-offs again. They are 7 games unbeaten now although they did blow a 2 goal lead against Southport on Saturday, but this match is a great chance for them to bounce straight back. Telford played well in both legs of the FA Trophy, but in the end Leyton Orient's class just about saw them home. That effort will have taken a fair bit out of them though and I have mentioned before about their dreadful away form this season. On paper it has improved of late, but the wins were against weak teams and coming off the back of Saturday's disappointment they will have wished for an easier game than this.
Guiseley v Curzon Ashton
It is 13 games without a win for the home side and they might well be looking at a double relegation. They have only won 3 games at home all season and they all came a long time ago. They lost 1-0 on Saturday in what sounds like a dire game of football. It is hard to understand why Curzon are so big here because they are in decent nick coming into this. I think I put them up when this fixture was originally meant to take place and at the beginning of the month they won the reverse fixture 1-0. They have been strong away from home of late as well and although the fixture list has been fairly kind on that front they did manage to win at Chester and draw at BPA in the recent spell. They are better than the home side and at nearly 2/1 are a cracking price.
Darlington v Chester
Another game which I put up a bet for the other week when it got called off. Granted Darlington are hardly in the best of form and only beating Nuneaton 2-1 on Saturday wasn't great, but their home form is good. Granted they haven't won in 4, but they had a really tough run of fixtures so to pick up 2 points was hardly a disaster. I have mentioned about Chester's away form recently and it really is bad. They didn't play on Saturday so that will help, but there is enough in the home team's price to want to play and given this game is on Wednesday it gives Darlo more recovery time.
Halifax 1pt @ 97/50 with Marathon
Salford 1pt @ 11/5 with Bet365
BPA 1pt @ 123/100 with Marathon
Curzon Ashton 2pts @ 49/25 with Marathon
Darlington 1pt @ 31/20 with Marathon

I miss Superform, they has a great online formbook but it closed about 10 years ago! Never seen anything remotely as good unfortunately. 

I used to subscribe to Superform and i completely agree it`s demise was a very sad day,there was a friendly and very knowledgeable side to all aspects of Superform that i have yet to find with any other form service.  

Didn't Superform have a big chunky book as well, used to buy it in WH Smiths!
I used to keep the Raceform loose leaf form book and put in the folder each week. I used to look forward to getting it delivered and now its all online in an instant!!

I miss Superform, they has a great online formbook but it closed about 10 years ago! Never seen anything remotely as good unfortunately. 

With the Lincoln on next weekend, it reminded me to mention this filly trained by Sir Michael Stoute called: Clerisy
Was expected to get the Christmas money for the staff on debut at Wolverhampton in December but was only 3rd, but I liked what i saw and she will win races

This amazing run since the start of the season is going to end at some point I would imagine but Master Baker was yet another winner. As per the Taunton win she sat near the back with him and came with his challenge as they entered the straight. He jumped really well and although the 2nd got to him Master Baker never really looked like he was going to be beaten. Cheltenham Hunter Chase night and the Stratford Foxhunters are the targets for him. Southfield Vic ran a much better race than at Fontwell and I would imagine he will find an opportunity to win at some point. Forgotten Gold didn't run too badly in 3rd and again it was an improvement on the Doncaster effort. I thought Sam Red ran fairly well as well given he was off the bridle for a fair way and he might have a chance of winning a Hunter Chase if found the right race. I thought Maxwell gave Village Vic a poor ride. He went pretty quick and it wasn't much of a surprise that he had little left down the home straight. You would think he will come on for that and I wouldn't completely rule out him winning this term.
A small field for Bangor's Hunter Chase, but I am looking forward to watching the replay when I wake up as we have 4 good horses taking each other on. Optimised is currently the favourite and he has looked an improved horse this season. He was really well back for the Intermediate Final at Cheltenham last season and he travelled well into the race before looking like he didn't stay. I saw him run at Chaddesley Corbett over Christmas and he was well beaten by Risk A Fine that day, but he has won both starts since at Bangor's point track. In the first of them he beat stablemate Bears Affair which is a good effort and then he bolted up earlier in the month. Garde Ville also won on that card and Optimised clocked a time 3 seconds quicker whilst carrying 12lbs more. Looking at the last circuit sectionals as well though the race Garde Ville won just looks like it was a slowly run race so the times might be a bit mis-leading this time around. Clearly connections think a lot of him as they could have found easier Hunter Chases than this so he has to be respected.
Unioniste is Maxwell's contender in this Hunter Chase and it is interesting to read that the Racing Post spotlight writer thinks this is calmer waters compared to his Taunton race from last time, but I don't think it really is because this is a good race. He did pretty well Hunter Chasing last season until the ground was too quick at Wincanton when he was beaten in a poor race. The ground will suit here and you would imagine he will come on for the Taunton run. Clearly though they thought he might be well handicapped, but think he isn't now. If he won it wouldn't surprise me, but I am happy to take him on.
Galway Jack is a horse I have really struggled to get right since he came back to Hunter Chasing a couple of years ago. If I backed him he lost and if I took him on he won. He will make the running, but he is 14 now and you have to think he might just need the run first up in a tough race especially as I have always thought he is better over a shorter trip.
That leaves us with Garde Ville who there was stupid prices about early doors. The John Corbett Cup win is looking decent form with Master Baker who fell at the last when still just in front. I thought he ran well first up this season at Ludlow behind Arthur's Secret when 4th and then as mentioned above he won at Bangor in a point last time. A slowly run race wouldn't have suited him either as stamina is his strong point so he did well to win. I suspect he will continue to improve as the season goes on as well. Soft ground is ideal and with Galway Jack going to make the running he should have pace to run at. He is also the only horse to beat Hazel Hill since that horse came to the UK.
I make Garde Ville the main selection here as I think he is still progressive and he looks to have everything in his favour. I think he is over priced at 5/1 and I would still be happy to take the 7/2 that most bookies are going. I am going to cover Optimised as well. He is clearly highly thought of by connections who know the time of day and given he looks to have progressed again this season I want him onside.
Garde Ville 1.5pts @ 5/1 with Paddy Power and Betfair
Optimised 1pt @ 9/4 with Paddy Power and Betfair

Lovely to wake up and watch Arthur's Secret do his thing at Ludlow. It was another impressive performance and he clocked a time 5 seconds faster than a novice handicap chase over the same trip and the winner of that was carrying 13lbs less! I was never concerned that he wasn't going to win and Ballotin was very much 2nd best for me when he came down. As much as Maxwell tried to get close to the winner it just meant Arthur's went even quicker and he couldn't get to him. He was 2L down at the time he came down and it would have been double figures come the line in my view. The way he jumped the last told you that he had loads left in the tank and it really is a shame he isn't going to Aintree because it would have been some sight watching him and Road To Rome go at it.
The betting told the story at Chepstow as I said it would and all the money was for Double Ross and he did it well to win. It seems he ran at Leicester to try and get him qualified for Aintree, but ran out of time in the end so he will just stick to normal Hunter Chases. The 2nd ran well enough and might find an opportunity. The 3rd also ran a solid race and could win one when not facing such strong opposition.
Onto Newbury on Friday and we finally get to see Village Vic run in a Hunter Chase. I think it was the Hereford one that was called off a couple of months ago that he was set to run in and I was happy to take him on that day and I am again here. Clearly he has plenty of back class and he was running in good races last season, but he wasn't showing a great deal and he has only got round once in his last 5 starts and he was well beaten in the Plate at the Festival that day. He could well be capable of winning this, but you are clearly taking a lot on trust if you do back him.
Southfield Theatre and Forgotten Gold were both stuffed behind easy winners on their Hunter Chase debuts and they need to come on a lot for me to win this. It is always hard to gage how a horse has performed behind an easy winner, but I didn't see a great deal of promise in either's efforts to warrant backing them here.
That leaves us with Master Baker who is the pick for me. It was no surprise he put a poor field to the sword at Taunton and he sets a very good standard for the former rules horses to reach. How on earth 365 priced him up at 4/1 I don't know and it was a surprise that price lasted for even the 5 minutes it did. I would make him favourite myself as we know where we stand with him whereas with the other 3 it is all guesswork and they are going to have to still have a lot of ability to be good enough to beat him. Village Vic clearly isn't a 150 horse anymore and if he has gone back 20lbs then he won't be wining this for me.
Master Baker 1.5pts @ 15/8 with Paddy Power and Unibet

Jet lag is a wonderful thing! I am starting writing this at 7.20am Melbourne time and I have already been awake for a couple of hours. As I was arriving at the airport the Exeter Hunter Chase was taking place and I was rather surprised by the result. Clearly the favourite hasn't run his race and he was still feeling the effects of the Catterick race. With Maxwell chasing the amateur title he is clearly wanting to run his horses as often as possible and it will be interesting to see if he learns his lesson that horses can't always perform so quickly after a hard race. The winner was clearly impressive and although the race was pretty weak in the end he is progressing nicely.
Two races on Thursday and I will start at Chepstow where classy horse Sausalito Sunrise makes his debut for Olly Murphy as well as his Hunter Chase debut. He was last seen finishing lame in the Cross-Country Chase 2 years ago. He didn't go to the sales so we don't know how much they paid for him, but he had a wind op last September. The problem is it is pure guess work as to how much ability he retains and not only that the market usually tells a massive story about horses from this yard. If he drifts then chances are he probably won't be winning although it isn't much of a race.
Double Ross stayed on into 2nd at Leicester over a trip too short for him, but he only stayed on past beaten horses so I am not sure he achieved an awful lot that day. It was an improvement on the Warwick run though. I can see why people might be prepared to take a chance on him, but it all depends to how much ability the favourite retains.
I wouldn't totally rule out Kelvingrove who did win a Taunton handicap off 119 two starts back. He had 10 months off before making his pointing debut finishing 4th at Barbury where he probably needed the run. He is only 9 and although he would need the other two to under perform it wouldn't be a massive surprise if they did.
I think its impossible to have a bet on the race at this stage given the guesswork over the favourite so it is a no bet for me.
The Ludlow race is of more interest and it sees Arthur's Secret take on Ballotin. For all of about 2 minutes I see the former was 2/1 and no surprise that didn't last long and the even money is under pressure now. It was a huge performance here last time and it was the first time under rules that he has truly shown what he has been doing in points. He is clearly back to his best this season as I don't think he was quite at his best last term. He was also finally ridden under rules as he is in points in that she just let the horse get on with it and he does the rest. The drop down in trip certainly isn't of concern and I am a little surprised he didn't feature among the 44 entered in the Aintree Foxhunters because  I think he is good enough to go close to wining it.
Ballotin is entered at Aintree and he was solid at Leicester down to 2m last time although as mentioned above I am not sure he achieved a great deal in winning it. Obviously the Haydock run was good, but he couldn't keep up with Road To Rome and I don't think he will be able to keep up with Arthur's Secret either. 
Delegate's last run under rules was in a Grade 1 at Aintree, but he was outclassed in that and he didn't show a great deal in his point debut for new connections when he was pulled up in a 4 runner race. I suspect he is capable of better than that, but it would be a surprise if he was suddenly able to put in a performance good enough to beat the two at the head of the betting.
Hidden Cargo was beaten in a Restricted last time and should be a bigger price for me. Numbercruncher was behind Ballotin at Leicester, and I would imagine he will come on a lot for that run. He was going well in this last year when unseating 4 out, but this trip has always stretched him and given the pace Arthur's Secret is capable of going he won't be able to keep up with that. If ridden sensibly though it wouldn't surprise me if he came 3rd.
It should be a 2 horse race but firm preference is with Arthur's Secret for me and a repeat of his last run will be good enough to win this.
Arthur's Secret 3pts @ Evs with William Hill and BetVictor

FT 5:1
After the Game - must fair to say... I have to take much more Stake....

I´m on Lowestoft today. Big Relegation Battle we have here today, when they play against Halesowen who are 2nd Bottom of the League.
Lowestoft at Weekend with important Win by St. Neots and they changed Position in League Table - now Lowestoft are first Team out of Relegation Places. Now at Home against the worst Away Team of the League and with morale Boost after Win at Weekend - i think Lowestoft can made it today. Halesowen have only 1 Away Win at Begining of the Season against Last of the League Bedworth and 5 Draws.
For me Lowestoft are try to worth.
 
Lowestoft @ 2.00 3/10 Tipico

Lucky 63 = 0.1 unit
Total stake should be 6:30 units
3:05 Huntington Stormy Milan
3:25 Taunton Midnight Owle
3:50 Wetherby Border Victor
4:00 Taunton Oxwich Bay
4:10 Huntington Save The Pennies
5:05 Taunton Lamh Ar Lamh

Barnet v Harrogate
Not many games on Tuesday night but hopefully when I land in Melbourne I will be seeing that Harrogate have picked up the 3 points. Barnet have only one win in 11 games now although they have drawn their last two games, but facing Halifax and Hartlepool is going to be very different to facing a bang in-form Harrogate side going for promotion. A few weeks ago Harrogate were going through a bit of a dodgy patch, but they have come out of the other side of that and they have won all bar two of their last 8 games. They have won their last 3 away games beating teams around Barnet in the league, Dover, Chesterfield and Braintree. Barnet should stay up, but they are finding it hard to win a game of football at the moment and most of that comes from the fact they can't score goals. They have only scored 7 goals in their last 10 league games and they missed some good chances again on Saturday. Harrogate should have enough to beat them and 1 goal might well be enough. 33/20 about an away win with Marathon looks a decent price.
Harrogate 2pts @ 33/20 with Marathon

This is the last race I will be in the country for until the Aintree Foxhunter as I am flying to Australia on Monday night and don't come back until the day before Aintree starts. The form books will be making the journey with me though and the previews will still be here although they are likely to be at strange times of the day given the time difference. What is a bit frustrating is that this race and the Carlisle race have taken place before I go away because there is little to write about them. No doubt the 8 that happen when I am away will need a fair bit of study!
Road To Riches is set to head to Aintree after his win today, but it obviously told us nothing new about him. I think the Aintree Foxhunter will be harder to win than the Cheltenham version and he doesn't really strike me as a likely winner.
The problem with Maxwell increasing the amount of horses he owns means he can target more races and races like the Exeter one on Monday that he normally wouldn't have a horse for. For the 2nd day running it means we have a massively uncompetitive race. Diplomate Sivola should win this with ease and it is much weaker than the Catterick race he won a couple of weeks ago. The fact he is 1/6 tells its own story.
Summons To Court is making his debut for Jimmy Frost having been in Ireland before. He was 2nd in a maiden Hunter Chase at Limerick over Christmas, but he was 11L behind the winner who happened to run in a handicap on Sunday at the same track. He finished 3rd off a mark of 107 so based on that Summons To Court is a mid 90s horse at best.
In Arrers has won a Restricted and an Intermediate in 4 points so far this season. He is only 7 and he is clearly progressing nicely, but the times have been nothing special and the form isn't overly strong. He won on soft ground last time so at least he handles the ground.
The only other real contender is Kit Barry. He managed 3rd in a couple of Hunter Chases at Cheltenham and Worcester last season and although they were pretty weak affairs those efforts would give him a fair chance of being 2nd in this. The problem is he is he ran terribly in his only run so fair this season last month so he would need to come on for that to be best of the rest here.
As on Sunday I don't have an overly strong view on who will finish 2nd, but if pushed I think Kit Barry is the value as it stands. Again like on Sunday I won't be recommending a bet though.
The next races are at Chepstow and Ludlow on Thursday, Newbury on Friday and Bangor on Saturday. 

Another good spot Darran, very much appreciated!

To be honest this race won't really be missed if Carlisle gets called off in the morning. Road To Riches should be miles better than the rest of his rivals here. It was a solid enough Hunter Chase debut here 10 days ago in a much better race than this. If there was anything half decent to take him on I might have been tempted to have opposed him, but if he doesn't win this then they may as well retire him because he won't find an easier opportunity all season.
Settledoutofcourt is 2nd in the betting and he has been well beaten by Winged Crusader in three point runs this season, although got close last time. He has won here and on heavy ground so that should suit at least. Mr Pepperpot one his maiden last March, but has been fairly well beaten in 4 Restricted's since. He is 10 and has only had 7 starts, but if he is struggling to win a Restricted he might struggle to finish 2nd here. Tulsa Jack should be a non-runner as he doesn't have a jockey and he bled at Fakenham on Friday.
The outsider is Financial Climate which is slightly surprising as he won a Mens Open on his seasonal return which was his first run in a year. He didn't do too badly behind Road To Rome at Taunton when 4th, but his next two efforts haven't been great. I saw him at Didmarton earlier in the month and he was only 7th in a reasonable contest. What I will say though is this stiffer test of stamina should help.
If anyone sticks up distance betting then it might be worth having a go on that because Road To Riches has loads in hand over his rivals. If I had to pick a 2nd I would go with Financial Climate, but I couldn't put it up as bet.
Onto the Foxhunter review and I am so glad I changed my mind on Hazel Hill. I don't really know why I didn't fancy him in the first place because a year ago I Tweeted that instead of running at Towcester he should have been running the day after at Cheltenham. His owners thought it was a year to early so decided to wait another year which was a brave call given how little he has seen a racetrack, but it paid off. I think his run at Chaddesley put me off as I didn't think he was all that impressive that day and on reflection I was looking for things in the Warwick run that maybe wasn't there. It was the fast time he set that kept niggling away at me in the last couple of days before the race and that made me go back to thinking he could win this as I thought he could last year. It was a superb performance sitting a few places behind the strong pace and in the end he powered away on the run in after a mighty leap at the last. He is quite old at 11 to be winning this race, but he is an unusual 11yo and he must surely have a great chance of wining this next year. They are skipping Aintree, but Punchestown is an option and Stratford must surely be considered as well.
Shantou Flyer was much more prominent than I thought he would be, but Cheltenham seems to spring him to life as he travelled well and was just beaten by a better horse. He comes out with a lot of credit though and he had clearly improved a lot from the Warwick run behind the winner. He is only 9 and surely he will be back for more next year.
Top Wood ran a stormer as well considering he hadn't run since pulling up at Punchestown. That was the worry for me, but his jockey sensibly didn't try and take Road To Rome on and sat just off him. The fact he was making his seasonal debut was what put me off considering backing and arguably it was an even better than when he was just beaten in this last year. 
Road To Rome had the stamina question mark hanging over him and he didn't stay. He made the race though as he really strung the field out and it meant the best horses in the race came to the fore. The first 4 had the race between them from a long way out and it was all down to him. If he comes out of this well and he really does seem to be taking his racing well, then I think he will be hard to beat at Aintree. He helped prove though that it wasn't a strong race and class really did come to the fore.
I'm going to say something slightly controversial here, but Derek O'Connor and Jamie Codd gave their mounts terrible rides especially O'Connor. They were way too far back in the field and Stand Up And Fight must have been at least at least 30L behind Road To Rome for most of the race. They clearly both thought the pace was too quick and I suspect they also thought that they were on better horses than the British runners. They were wrong and Ucello Conti and Stand Up And Fight could only finish 5th and 6th. They both stayed on and weren't too far behind Road To Rome in the end. Ucello Conti will be too old for me next year, but Stand Up And Fight showed he does stay this trip and he is surely only going to get better. He might well win this race in the future. I am sure both Derek and Jamie would ride very different races if they could.
Fair play to Dont Do Mondays for finishing 7th as that was way better than I thought he would. Ascockastar was up there until 3 out and finished 8th in the end, but he performed with credit as did the last finisher Southfield Theatre who gave his young jockey a good ride for so long.
The rest never got involved at all and bar the 3 unseats all pulled up. Caid Du Berlais was clearly the big disappointment and although he was in midfield in the early stages he started going backwards fairly quickly. He didn't jump all that well either and he was beaten a long way out. I just wonder if the rushed preparation left him short of match practice in the end and this clearly wasn't his running.  
Quick word on Fakenham and Sir Jack Yeats had a very comfortable victory. It was interesting that his trainer said that he left him a bit under cooked in the end at Kelso when he was 3rd behind Shantou Flyer. He also made the point that he will be fresher at Aintree this year and that is a good point to make. Not sure he can win, but I can see him being good enough to hit the frame.
To end a profitable couple of days Burning Ambition won at Down Royal on Saturday. He looked like he was going to win really easily, but he emptied quickly on the run in and Sidetracked nearly got to him. The way he finished the race really worries me going forward and if he does go to Aintree I will be more than happy to take him on based on this. I thought Sidetracked was the one to take from the race and he clearly needs a longer trip as he was outpaced when Burning Ambition kicked and it looked like he was struggling, but he stayed on strongly to get 2nd. He looks a horse to keep a close eye on.

I rarely bet in Irish Hunter Chases as I don't follow it closely enough, however I do think Burning Ambition is worth a bet today at Down Royal. He went off favourite for last year's Cheltenham Foxhunter when he was the big talking horse from Ireland. He traveled really into the race until his stamina ran out over the last couple of furlongs and he ended up only finishing 8th. Not surprisingly connections decided to aim him for Aintree this season over a trip which is much more suitable. He has had 2 runs this season. First of all he beat Fennno's Storm which is a good piece of form and then last month he was beaten by Sidetracked who re-opposes here. I suspect he wasn't quite at his best that day and the drop down in trip should suit Burning Ambition more than it does Sidetracked. Winged Leader is the 2nd favourite and he has had a good season winning 3 times and then finishing 2nd the last twice. He has been 2nd to a couple of decent horses so the form is solid and the drop in trip shouldn't bother him either. He is only 5 so should have more to come, but to me Burning Ambition looked a very good horse at Cheltenham last year and if he is to have any chance at Aintree he really needs to win this.
Burning Ambition 2pts @ 13/8 with Bet365 and most others
Cheltenham review will go up later.

Sheffield United at almost 3/1 looks like value, they go above Leeds if they win and are the better team in my opinion.
I also like Villa, Forest, Norwich, Wednesday and Stoke. Already had a very small bet on the acca at 112/1 and I'll add some doubles and trebles in the morning.

Going to put the Fakenham Hunter Chase preview in here as well which is due off at 5.10. The favourite is a horse who ran in the Foxhunter last year in Sir Jack Yeats. He ran well to finish 12th as he was up there for a fair way before not surprisingly failing to stay. He made his seasonal debut at Kelso and travelled really well into the race won by Shantou Flyer, but I suspect fitness told and he faded to finish 13L behind the winner in 3rd. There is nothing of that one's class here and obviously should Shantou Flyer run a big race at Cheltenham an hour before then it will be a big boost to his chances. He's only 8 and he looks the one they all have to beat.
Silvergrove was 3rd in the Kim Muir in 2015 although he only had 3 more starts under rules with the last one coming in January 2017 when 6th at Kempton. He hasn't actually been seen at all since May that year because he moved to James Owen in March 2017 and won all 4 of his point starts under his owner. The thing is none of those races were that strong. I was at Northaw for the last of his wins and the racing there is of pretty low quality. Like I say he hasn't been seen since and he is really going to have his work cut out to beat a horse like Sir Jack Yates on his first start for 22 months especially given his form in points is nowhere near what Sir Jack Yeats did in Hunter Chases last season or this.
James King rides Sir Jack Yeats and he beat Zeroeshadesofgrey on Risk A Fine here last month. Since then he won a match at Horseheath which told us little, but his inexperienced jockey was outridden by James that day and that is a concern again here. To be honest I don't think he will be good enough anyway and he didn't jump well last month either.
Dineur is the only other one worth mentioning for me. He was 7th in the Walrus at Haydock and I am not surprised he did so badly in a test like that given it was his first start since he won the Aintree Foxhunters in 2017. If he can bounce back to anywhere near the Aintree form then in my view he is the only one who could possibly beat Sir Jack Yeats. I would imagine connections are hoping he can go to Aintree next month and he will have to show something here if that is a realistic target. Given he is 13/2 I will have a small saver on him, but Sir Jack Yeats is a pretty confident selection and 5/2 is a nice price.
Sir Jack Yeats 3pts @ 5/2 with Betfair
Dineur 0.5pts @ 13/2 with Bet365, BetVictor, Betfair and Paddy Power

Oh wow, my neighbours heard about that Woking winner