Notre Pere to deliver at Fairyhouse

Once again there is very good racing to look forward to this weekend. At Fairyhouse Notre Pere is a confident selection to win the feature event, the Bobbyjo chase. The softer the ground the better for this dour stayer. He has yet to hit top form this season but faces an easy enough task tomorrow barring accidents. On his best form Casey Jones would be a danger but he much prefers better ground than he will encounter tomorrow. Alaivan looks a class apart in the juvenile hurdle but will be very short in the market. The rest of the card is ultra competitive and very difficult to find winners so I will concentrate on the UK action for the rest of my fancies. If Haydock goes ahead Adams Island looks good in the 3.00pm race. This horse is a relentless galloper and should have too many guns for the opposition. I also like Predictive in the 1.50pm race at Uttoxeter. This horse is a course winner that stays well and should relish the conditions. At Naas on Sunday Tranquil Sea should win and hopefully he will not be too short in the market with Scotsirish in opposition. Take it Easee is one I like in the handicap hurdle although that is a very competitive race and is one for only small stakes.

Reflections: It was amazing to see Zaynar beaten at Kelso on Thursday, he was the only danger in my book beforehand to Solwhit in the champion hurdle. I still wonder whether Philip Fenton will be tempted to run the mighty Dunguib in the Champion Hurdle as it does not look a strong renewal this year.

It is not too long to the flat season as well and it will be fascinating to see if St Nicholas Abbey proves the real deal this season. He does look a machine but has yet to encounter fast ground so that might be a slight worry. Aidan O'Brien's tally of 10 group 1 prizes last season will easily be bettered this season in my view, as he has a host of promising sorts to look forward to plus a very strong older horse brigade this season including Rip Van Winkle,Fame and Glory and Age of Aquarius. At First Sight is a potential dark horse and this Galileo colt could be one to follow later in the season.

Gowran Park and Navan previews

At Gowran Park today I fancy Noble Prince in the grade 2 Red Mills Trial hurdle. This horse has lots of class being by Montjeu and is a strong traveller. His trainer Paul Nolan is on record saying he is best kept fresh so as he hasn't run since Leopardstown at Christmas and therefore should be ready to fire. His last run was over three miles where I don't believe he quite stayed or perhaps went for home a little too early. It is two miles today so hopefully he has the pace for it. There is strong opposition, however, in the shape of Jumbo Rio, Muirhead and Luska Lad but that should enable Noble Prince to go off at a value price. I reckon Jumbo Rio is the biggest danger as I suspect that Muirhead is slightly regressive and Luska lad not quite good enough. As for Navan on Sunday Mourad is my nap. This horse needs a fast pace and should get it with War of Attrition and Ebadiyan likely front runners. Therefore I can see Ruby arriving at the last and going clear up the hill. I expect Ruby and Willie Mullins to have a good day at Navan as they have a host of horses with serious chances. Osana should also be hard to beat at Navan. It will be interesting to see how Denman gets on with AP on board at Newbury. Finally on snooker it was crazy to hear Stephen Lee was arrested on suspicion of cheating. I thought he was arrested for eating too many pukka pies!

Welcome to my blog

Welcome to my blog.

I will be providing content on the goings on in the snooker and horse racing worlds in this space and anything else that captures my attention. Tips, news, previews and maybe even a bit of gossip will appear here as well as links to stories and events. Day 1 of my blog will be a post on Friday that will preview the weekend horse racing action. Having a horse racing bet? Then check the horse racing blog. My section will become a must see when deciding on which animal is going to pass the post first.

The Totesport Trophy hurdle is the feature event on Saturday at Newbury.

Totesport Trophy - ante post betting: 6/1 Spirit River, Harry Tricker, 7/1 Ronaldo de Mottes, 8/1 Mamlook, 9/1 Get Me Out Of Here, 14/1 Stravinsky Dance, Manyriverstocross, Takeroc, 16/1 Fairyland, 20/1 Frontier Dancer, 25/1 First Point, Siberaian Tiger, Any Given Day, Numide, Simarian, Fushe Jo, First Avenue, 33/1 Arch Rebel, Keki Beku, Blue Bajan, European Dream, Oldrik, Pascha Bere, 40/1 Mutual Friend, Ring The Boss, Songe, 50/1 Chanibar, Culcabock