There are slim pickings for racefans today with the fascinating meeting at Punchestown having failed to beat the elements despite optimistic noises from the track and the jumps fixtures in Britain at Kelso and Warwick also falling by the wayside because of the frosty conditions. Punchestown have acted quickly and moved the fixture, which features the John Durkan Memorial Chase, to Tuesday.
So the all-weather rides to the rescue again with Lingfield Park hosting an eight-race card on their artificial surface which gets under way at 12 noon. The maiden at 2pm is quite an interesting heat and Yellow Printer could get off the mark here but there are one or two interesting newcomers who could spoil the party.
The best bet at the meeting is in the last race and comes courtesy of Michael Wigham, a trainer always worth keeping an eye on. Old Romney (3.30) is the selection. He is still favourably handicapped and his main rival, Majehar, has the coffin box draw in stall one which is such a disadvantage at this 10-furlong trip.
4pm Competition news
This just in — regular competition entrants will be glad to know that the prize for the best tipster at the end of this week will be pro-punter Dave Nevison's latest tome No Easy Money, the prominent gambler's blow-by-blow account of the 2008 Flat season. I don't think the Lingfield all-weather circuit is one Nevison would spend too much time on such are the frustrations at that track. Old Romney and Majehar were stuck in the ruck in a typically messy race at the track before finishing to good effect into second and third respectively in the 3.30. Both are well worth keeping in mind for races soon.
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