Ascot escaped relatively unscathed with just 1mm of rain overnight, but more rain is forecast throughout most of the day and the current going at the track, which is good-to-soft, seems unlikely to last the morning, never mind the afternoon.
The rain is not forecast to be as persistent up at Haydock, but the ground up in Lancashire is already soft and it will be heading in only one direction there as well. That does slightly dampen enthusiasm for Memories Galore (3.35), whose return to winning form in August came on good ground, but it was a very taking performance recorded in a fast time and a 6lb rise in the weights looks quite lenient.
Dwight D (5.20) is a very big price for the final race on the Haydock card as he makes his first start for Stuart Coltherd after leaving William Haggas and a 407-day absence. He may well need the race, but that is built in to a price of 25-1 and the bare form of his run at Goodwood last July, when he weaved his way through to finish fifth in a Class 2 event, is a match for anything in the field. He has also gone well after a break in the past, so could be worth a few pennies to outrun his price.
Niblawi (4.25) has plenty of form with cut in the ground and could be the answer to the 12-furlong handicap at Ascot. At Musselburgh, Jim Goldie may be wearing his customary smile after the concluding event of the night, the five-furlong handicap, in which Thorntoun Lady (7.35) is worth noting following her most recent run. The veteran mare figures on a handy handicap mark over a stone lower than her last winning rating and looked ready to return to form when fourth at Redcar a fortnight ago following a six-months absence.
Nuns Walk (5.40) has the look of a banker bet at Newcastle in the last race on the card, the minimum-distance maiden. Tim Easterby’s runner has shown more than enough in her three outings so far to suggest this sort of contest is within her grasp and the opposition is hardly taxing.
.jpg?w=600)
