Things are getting out of hand with going descriptions. Just how Catterick today can go, overnight, from "good, good to soft in places'' to good to firm, is a mystery. Certainly not helpful with regard to the nap, Know No Fear, who was tipped yesterday in the belief there was some give in the ground. He might still win, but I cannot put him up as a bet, particularly as chief market rival Discanti is proven on fast ground.
At least we can be sure of the surface the runners at Lingfield will encounter in the three all-weather races. Todber (4.50) made her debut on the Polytrack here last year and has had two more runs to qualify for a handicap mark. She runs off 59 today and her trainer, Marcus Tregoning, will be mad keen to win a race with Todber, who is the first foal of his King's Stand Stakes heroine, Dominica. Todber had a spin over 7f at Salisbury last month which should have tuned her up for this return to sprinting.
Prices will be prohibitive, so go for an across-the-card double at Lingfield and Uttoxeter with Plavius (2.20) and Shore Thing (2.10). If Godolphin's $9m colt Plavius can't win the opening maiden at Lingfield it will be a blacker than black mark for the boys in blue. Shore Thing has something to prove over hurdles after a poor second run last season, but Charlie Egerton always means business when he books Tony McCoy and Shore Thing stands out on his debut effort.
