TimeformBlog

Saturday's showpiece meeting takes place at Ascot and the highlight there is the Grade 1 VC Chase over two miles. That race looks at the mercy of Master Minded, who has seemingly returned to his very best this season. Judged on his best form Master Minded has something like 20 lb in hand over his closest rivals on Timeform ratings, and should take plenty of beating as he bids to reassert his supremacy in the two-mile chase division.

There is plenty of quality elsewhere on the card at Ascot, notably in the Grade 2 Holloway's Hurdle, a handicap over about two and a half miles. The Triumph Hurdle winner Soldatino makes his eagerly awaited reappearance in the race, and Timeform ratings suggest that a mark of 148 may well prove within his scope.

The other graded event on the card is the Warfield Mares' Hurdle, a three-mile Grade 3. The top domestic staying female hurdlers are all on show in the race, and it should prove a highly competitive event with the likes of Carole's Legacy and L'Accordioniste set to clash.

The next best meeting in Britain is at Haydock, where the course will need to pass an 8:00 inspection on Saturday morning. The star performer at Haydock will undoubtedly be the unbeaten Peddlers Cross who further tests his Champion Hurdle credentials in the Grade 2 Champion Hurdle Trial.

There are three other graded races on the card at Haydock, the most competitive of which is arguably Peter Marsh Chase. A handicap run over three miles, the Peter Marsh is set to feature a number of upwardly mobile staying chasers, not least Malcolm Jefferson's King Fontaine, who is bidding for a fifth consecutive win.

There is also good-quality racing at Haydock for novices over both hurdles and fences. The hurdlers go in the two-mile Rossington Main Novices' Hurdle, while there are some fascinating runners in the Altcar Novices' Chase, most notably Robinson Collonges and Wymott.

They inspect at 8:30 on Saturday morning for the day's other jumps fixture in Britain at Wincanton, while there will be racing on the all-weather at Lingfield.

There is also the potential for a good NH card in Ireland on Saturday, as Gowran Park will hopefully stage its rescheduled Thyestes Chase card. The Thyestes, a valuable three-mile handicap chase, is the highlight, but there is also a Grade 2 hurdle on the card in the shape of the Galmoy Hurdle.

Ireland is also the venue for some good racing on Sunday, the card at Leopardstown featuring two Grade 1 jumps races, namely the Irish Arkle and the Irish Champion Hurdle. The former features some top novice chasers, such as Realt Dubh and Flat Out, while the Ireland's undisputed top hurdler Hurricane Fly, who will be a warm order in his bid to make it eight wins from nine starts over hurdles in Ireland.

Sunday's meetings in Britain are scheduled for Market Rasen and Towcester over jumps, and on the polytrack at Kempton.

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