Karingreason Lands A Gamble 9/1>9/2...Were You On?

My message to members at 8.54 this morning..."Karingreason Muss 1.40 caught the eye at Catterick when fourth on recent hurdles bow sticking to task well"

WINS at 9/2 backed down from 9`s "early doors"!

More advice tomorrow...don`t forget to call!

Another One To Follow At Doncaster On Saturday

Character Building will have his first start of the season in Doncaster's skyvegas.com Handicap Hurdle as he builds up towards a crack at the Grand National.

John Quinn's 10-year-old has not been seen since he won the Kim Muir at last year's Cheltenham Festival, as he was forced to miss last year's National through an 11th-hour setback and a minor injury also saw him miss the Hennessy in November.

The trainer said: "He'll run this weekend, he's fine. He's had nearly a year off but he's in good order now. It has only ever been niggly injuries that have kept him off the track, never anything serious, just pulled muscles and things like that."

He added: "He's got plenty of options for the rest of this season. He'll be in the race at Haydock in February (Blue Square Gold Cup) and he'll have entries at Cheltenham, Aintree the Irish National and the Whitbread (Bet 365 Gold Cup), you name it.

"The only race we've missed this year with him is the Hennessy. He got cast in his box and needed a week off but he'd have run in nothing else because bottomless ground is no good for him. After the Hennessy we were going to keep him for the spring.

"He was never going to run in the Welsh National or anything like that because he can't go on it so we are not too disappointed."

Looking Ahead...Donny` On Saturday

Calgary Bay will attempt to defy the steadier of 11st 12lb in the Sky Bet Chase at Doncaster on Saturday.

The seven-year-old showed his liking for three miles at the South Yorkshire venue when successful over the course and distance in December.

He made light of 11st 10lb that day as he came home seven lengths clear of Alderburn, who was also among 36 confirmations for the valuable handicap chase.

"He's on course for Doncaster. He's got a hell of a lot of weight, but he is a huge horse," said trainer Henrietta Knight.

"I think he can carry it, but I think there might be something else a bit nippier down the bottom with a low weight. This race has always been our aim since the previous time."

Gone To Lunch is also on target for the race ahead of a return visit to Ayr for the Scottish Grand National, in which he was second last April.

Trainer Jeremy Scott said: "We covered the Sky Bet entry with one in the Cleeve Hurdle at Cheltenham, just in case of bad weather at Doncaster.

"He seems in good order at present. The ground didn't suit him at all in the Welsh National last time. It was fairly desperate.

"I'd like it if he had less weight than 11st 7lb, but he carried top-weight when he was second in the Scottish National. The bigger worry would be the trip. The further he goes, the better chance he has. Three miles is plenty short enough."

Would-be leading fancy Hennessy was not among the acceptors after being ruled out with a season-ending tendon injury.

Newcastle Review

Howard Johnson was quickly on the phone to Paul Carberry when his stable jockey Denis O'Regan broke a collarbone at Leopardstown on Sunday and having persuaded him to go to Newcastle, provided him with a treble.

Carberry opened his scoring with a confident ride on Stormy Weather and followed up on Door Boy and Blacks Bridge.

Owner Graham Wylie said: "When Denis got injured, Howard had to move quickly to find a jockey for our runners. We wanted an experienced jockey for Door Boy and of course we could not ask Paul to come over just for one ride."

He added: "We like Brian Hughes and Ryan Mania, so hopefully they will ride for us, but we will be having runners down south too, so we will get the best jockeys available."

Stormy Weather (5-2) beat the odds-on Bocamix by two and a quarter lengths in the S. V. Rutter Builders Juvenile Novices' Hurdle and Wylie said: "We wanted to get a win into him as we would like to run him in the handicap (Fred Winter) at Cheltenham."

Carberry picked up a one-day suspension for using his whip in the incorrect place

Door Boy (4-9 NAP) jumped well, heading long-time leader Fabalu at the fourth-last and going on to win the Rely On Rutter Builders Novices' Chase by an eased-down one and a quarter lengths.

Johnson said: "I think his best trip will be two miles five furlongs and I want to run him in the Jewson at the Festival. I might run him at Doncaster a week on Saturday as it will give him a better chance of getting in."

Carberry made it three for the Johnson stable when Blacks Bridge (11-4), who is also owned by the trainer, took the S.V Rutter Developments Novices' Handicap Chase after Ockey De Neulliac (my selection...doh!) fell at the final fence.

Team Johnson were expected to strike again in the svrutter.co.uk Novices' Hurdle, but 1-2 favourite Washington Irving was beaten fair and square by Karen McLintock's Bygones Of Brid (3-1) in the hands of Graham Lee.

Peter Marsh Review...Lough Derg (My Selection) Credible Third 14/1!

Our Vic showed he is no back number with a gutsy display to take the Peter Marsh Chase at Haydock as a 20-1 shot.

David Johnson's 12-year-old, trained by David Pipe, made all the running under 3lb claimer Danny Cook, who had taken the wrong course when last partnering the horse at Cheltenham in December.

The combination shrugged off several challenges, the last of which was by Palypso De Creek, but even in receipt of 20lb the latter could not peg back the leader and was still two and three-quarter lengths away at the line.

Cook was having his first ride back since a 28-day ban for his Cheltenham mishap, and said: "This is the biggest win of my career. I owed the horse and it's great that he won. We've put Cheltenham behind us now and I've done my time.

"David said to me coming here not to worry about his stamina, he said he'd always thought he would get four miles so I should ride him as though stamina was not an issue. He stayed on really well and galloped all the way to the line."

Proud owner Johnson added: "All credit has to go to Danny Cook, who knows him so well. He took a handy 3lb off and I can't think of many jockeys who would try so hard on him.

"He is a Cheltenham Festival winner and has won so many races for us over the years. I hoped he may get placed and pick up some petrol money, but didn't expect him to win. He was 20-1 and we didn't back him.

"We have got to think of the Grand National, but we do have Comply Or Die for that race. He would be our number one and I am sure we can find Our Vic a three-mile handicap somewhere."

Mon Mome's trainer Venetia Williams said after the Grand National winner finished fourth: "I was very happy with that. He just got a bit outpaced going down to the last on the far side.

"I was hopeful he would run well, but had lost a little bit of confidence because of the bad weather. The plan is to come back here for the Blue Square Gold Cup next month and we will also probably run Miko de Beauchene in the same race."

Inspection At Gosforth Park

Officials at Newcastle have called a precatuionary inspection for 7.30am ahead of Monday's meeting.

Although the track is perfectly raceable at present, clerk of the course James Armstrong reports a slight frost to be forecast overnight.

He explained: "There are no problems at the moment, however the temperature is forecast to drop to 0C which would not be a problem, it's just when we have been forecast that before we have dropped a degree or two lower."

He added: "It is purely a precautionary inspection though."

16/1 to 11/1 Winner- Job Done!

Message 8.35 this morning..." Catt 1.50 Sendali Won on the Flat in September and mostly respectable efforts over hurdles (e/w longshot) G` Luck!"

WINNER 16/1>11/1

All Weather Boost for a Cold Thursday

A great bet on the all-weather saw a huge winner landed on Thursday...

Barry was very confident with Lujiana at Southwell
1st 8 Lujiana 5-2 F
2nd 5 Dickie Le Davoir 9-1
3rd 2 Cape of Storms 16-1

Update From My Visit To The South West

Venetia Williams was delighted to welcome back the Paul Beck-owned trio of Stan, Flintoff and Atouchbetweenacara to her yard after a brief spell in South Wales with Tim Vaughan.

The three horses all failed to fire in their respective starts for Vaughan and returned to Herefordshire a little under two weeks ago.

"I was pleased to welcome them back after their holiday in South Wales, but we haven't had the chance to determine much with them since their return," said Williams.

"I am delighted to have Flintoff back, but he is a bit of a Jekyll and Hyde character. He had one run for Tim Vaughan in the Welsh National and was tailed off early on. It will be very nice to get him back to the form he showed last season and the season before."

Stan had a nasty fall in the Grand National last year and Williams is reluctant to send him back to Aintree on the back of that, while plans remain fluid for last April's Cheltenham winner Atouchbetweenacara.

The trainer has a stack of talent lining up to take the baton from Grand National winner Mon Mome, including Ginolad, who won the VCR version of the race at Flemington in Australia.

"I don't think Ginolad will run this year, but it is a conversation I need to have with his owners. If you see the fences he has jumped in Australia, they are not exactly Becher's Brook," she explained.

Miko De Beauchene, winner of the 2007 Welsh National, has been racing for Williams this season, and the trainer commented: "He is a lovely horse and we are very fortunate to have been sent him. He ran a super race to be fourth in the Welsh National last time.

"He will go to Haydock next month for their Gold Cup. It was a race in which he beat Flintoff two years ago and it would be great if he could go back and repeat that order."

Something Wells, who beat stablemate Ping Pong Sivola in last season's Festival Plate at Cheltenham, was let down by his jumping at Huntingdon in December on his first start since and will be given the chance to redeem himself in the victorchandler.com Handicap Chase this weekend.

Whiteoak Gets Murphy At Ascot...strong fancy for Saturday!

Timmy Murphy has been snapped up to ride Whiteoak in the 1942 Was A Vintage Year Mares' Hurdle at Ascot on Saturday.

The seven-year-old was an impressive winner against her own sex at Kempton on her penultimate start, but then had her limitations exposed back against the boys in the Long Walk at Newbury.

With trainer Donald McCain also assembling a strong team for Haydock's high-profile Saturday meeting, where stable jockey Jason Maguire will be in action, Murphy will ride the talented mare for the first time.

"Whiteoak will take her chance at Ascot, all being well, and Timmy Murphy will ride," said McCain.

"The ground is probably going to be softer than ideal, but she saw out three miles well at Kempton against the mares a couple of starts ago, so hopefully she'll be fine.

"She always does well against the mares and there aren't many you'd be too worried about."

Amy Ryan...21 wins in the previous 12 months

Amy Ryan displayed nerves of steel aboard her father Kevin's Tiddliwinks in the main race at Kempton, the 2for1dogs.com - Go Greyhound Racing For £1 Handicap.

The 2008 champion lady Flat amateur rider is set to take a well-earned break after totting up 21 wins in the previous 12 months and ensured she finished on a high courtesy of the 10-11 favourite.

The improving four-year-old bolted up at the track over six furlongs the previous Saturday and again easily obliged under a 6lb penalty thanks to Ryan's waiting tactics.

She anchored the heavily-backed market leader behind a wall of horses and drove her mount up to take advantage of the running rail dropping away for the inner home turn to earn a clear-cut two-length success.

The winning rider said: "I let him settle himself and dad said not to kick on until the rail dropped away, and it worked out well.

"The slow early pace helped him as he was able to settle into a nice rhythm, and he feels like quite a nice horse to me. He showed a really good turn of foot there."

Wolverhampton Have Called A Precautionary Check

Officials at Wolverhampton have called a precautionary check for 8am ahead of Monday's meeting.The all-weather venue was forced to abandon last Friday's fixture due to ice on the track but clerk of course Fergus Cameron reports those problems to have been resolved. However, further snow is forecast and Cameron will check conditions in the morning.

"The temperature is above freezing here but that brings an increased risk of snow and we have just started to see a little bit falling," he explained.

"We would be pretty confident about racing, but it will just depend on how much snow we get. We are forecast light snow showers and obviously if the temperature remains above freezing that should not prove a problem as it wouldn't settle, it will just depend on the volume of snow."

Snow, Snow Go Away!

Tomorrow's all-weather Flat meetings at Lingfield and Kempton are subject to inspections due to the threat of snow.

Kempton is perfectly raceable at present, but a lot more snow is on the way, leaving officials in a difficult situation.

"We've called an 8am precautionary inspection because of the forecast," said clerk of the course Barney Clifford.

"We are perfectly raceable now, but heavy snow is on the way. It's a question of if we can shift the snow off the track, and then it needs to be safe in and around the course as well.

"We have managed to shift snow with four or five days' notice, but shifting it in four or five hours could be a challenge."

Kempton are offering free admission for their additional all-weather fixture on Saturday.

It had been thought that Lingfield would miss the worst of the blizzards but a change in the forecast has put officials there on red alert.

"We will take stock of the situation first thing in the morning," said clerk of the course Neil Mackenzie Ross.

"This snow originally looked like it was going to be round to the west of us. But that is now changing rapidly and it looks like from about nine o'clock this evening through to close of play tomorrow we could be hit by any amount of snow.

"It's not just the racing surface we are concerned with. It's access, making the site clear for people so it is safe to get here. There are lots of things to take into consideration."

Tiddliwinks Pays Well

Despite a poor day on the cards members bagged Tiddliwinks at 5/2 on the all-weather at Kempton. The cold spell is here so its all-weather action all week and members were off to a winning start to the week on Sunday!

News From Our Henderson Connection

Nicky Henderson took Punchestowns out of the Dipper Novices' Chase at Cheltenham but was on the mark with his other three runners as Radium, Tetlami and Sentry Duty completed a treble under Barry Geraghty. The latter allowed Katchit and Mr Thriller to trade blows at the head of affairs in the Freedom Hurdle, after which the 9-2 chance capitalised on their sparring match to score with consummate ease.

He is now in the betting picture for the Ladbrokes World Hurdle, but Henderson is a bit guarded as to the stamina capabilities of his troubled eight-year-old.

The trainer said: "Barry wants to bring him back to two miles, but let's think about it. Where we go we'll have to think, but we really ought to try it and we may run him in the Cleeve Hurdle at the end of the month."

Geraghty was just as confident in the ride he gave Tetlami to land the EBF 'High Sheriff Of Gloucestershire's' Junior Standard Open National Hunt Flat Race.

He always had the 4-1 favourite in the first four and after easing him to the front at the furlong pole, sent him bounding away for a clear-cut success.

Radium got the ball rolling with a clear-cut victory as the 7-4 favourite in the Cheltenham And Three Counties Race Club 'National Hunt' Novices' Handicap Hurdle.

EARLY NEWS FOR SATURDAY 2ND JANUARY.

OSCAR WHISKEY 3.10 SANDOWN.

This is Nicky Hendersons star novice hurdler, Should win providing Sandown goes ahead. Will update again in the morning.

Fingers crossed!

Second Inspection At Sandown

Sandown's high-class card featuring the Blue Square Tolworth Hurdle will have to pass a second inspection at 10am.

Officials at the Esher venue checked at 7.30am after temperatures fell to just below freezing until midnight, with cloud cover for the rest of the night meaning it was just above freezing.

Although the track is currently unraceable, daytime temperatures are forecast for highs of plus three to four.

Clerk of the course Andrew Cooper told Sky Sports News: "We didn't get a severe frost, not anywhere near what we might have got. It never got any lower than about minus one, and since 1am it has hovered just above freezing.

"We're now in that interesting stage when daybreak comes in, and temperatures have dropped a little since I got here at 5am. We will have another look at 10am - it certainly would have been very premature to give up at 7.30am.

"A large proportion of the track is raceable, there's just a few places mildly frozen in bits. I don't think we'd have to see a massive improvement to be on.

"It would be very nice to make a decision at 10am. No-one likes getting involved in these drawn out mornings, but this is a high-class card and I think most people in the industry do understand we have to give it a chance if there is a chance."

Cheltenham On/Off?

Officials at Cheltenham remain optimistic about their chances of racing on Friday despite calling a precautionary inspection for 10am.

The track has been protected by frost covers overnight and although currently raceable, clerk of the course Simon Claisse is concerned about possibility of the track freezing once the covers are removed.

He explained: "We are perfectly raceable at present. The temperature dropped to minus 5.5 degrees and it's still dropping now and it continues to drop here until about 8.30 to 9am. We just want to check that when we take the covers off, the track doesn't start to freeze."

He added: "We will have a look at 10am and with the temperature forecast to go up to plus one with a sunny day, the signs are good.

"We just wanted to warn people that there might be a little question mark."

Sandown Inspection

Saturday's meeting at Sandown will have to pass a 7.30am inspection if it is to go ahead.

Clerk of the course Andrew Cooper admits the course is facing an uphill battle to stage the fixture, which is due to feature the Grade One Blue Square Tolworth Hurdle.

He said: "We will have a look in the morning. We have not had as sharp a frost as feared last night and temperatures did not drop below zero until 6am, although we did have a light dusting of snow overnight."

He added: "We have covered the area in front of the stands and on the hill as they are the first to freeze but obviously 95% of the course is not covered. The one good thing is that we didn't have a frost last night."

Folkestone will also stage a precautionary inspection at 7.30am ahead of their Saturday afternoon fixture.

Although clerk of the course Andrew Waitt reports the track to be raceable at present, he said: "The forecast is a for a possible minus three overnight. It didn't freeze last night so we're fine at the moment but the forecast keeps changing so it's a suck it and see situation really."