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4 days ago | 
racingpost.com | Richard Birch |Catherine Macrae
Title chasers Dan Skelton and Willie Mullins go head to head with Asta La Pasta and Westport Cove in a £100,000 feature that provides both quality and depth. Asta La Pasta competes off a career-high 135 after making all in a four-runner Ayr affair that fell apart from halfway. He had previously finished 28 lengths behind Teddy Blue when last of four to complete the course at Kempton and is only 1lb better off with that Harry Derham-trained rival.
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1 week ago | 
racingpost.com | Graeme Rodway |Catherine Macrae
This 2m½f contest presents a different test for stayers because races over this sort of trip are often poorly contested with single-figure fields, but that has rarely been the case for this valuable event. There were 13 in last year's line-up and 14 have been declared this time, but many of these horses will have done the majority of their racing against fewer rivals.
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2 weeks ago | 
racingpost.com | Catherine Macrae |David Milnes
Rogue Lightning came agonisingly close to striking on his US debut only to be collared in the dying stages of the Shakertown Stakes at Keeneland. The Tom Clover-trained five-year-old travelled to the States to contest the $376,563 Kentucky Grade 2 contest and tracked leader Coppola into the home straight under Flavien Prat, but Godolphin's Think Big was hot on his heels and reeled in the 15-4 shot to score by half a length.
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2 weeks ago | 
racingpost.com | Robbie Wilders |Catherine Macrae
A Willie Mullins plunge horse in the Scottish Grand National was almost inevitable after events at Aintree last week confirmed his all-out assault on the British trainers’ title. What is more surprising is the fact Chosen Witness is the big one for money among 11 Closutton entries. Chosen Witness, winner of the novice handicap hurdle on this card last year, has yet to show any worthwhile chase form.
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2 weeks ago | 
racingpost.com | Andrew Dietz |Catherine Macrae |John Randall
The record books will always show Ifor Lewis, who died last month, as the trainer of 1961 Welsh Grand National winner Limonali. The truth is rather more complicated and says much about gender politics at the time. Limonali was in fact trained by Posy Lewis at a time when women were not allowed to hold a training licence. Indeed, Posy Lewis won the race twice with Limonali, her brother Clem Morel having been on the licence in 1959.
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2 months ago | 
racingpost.com | Matt Rennie |Catherine Macrae
Carlisle: handicap newcomer to note Kalium has looked every inch a smart horse for trainer Tim Vaughan, and the five-year-old sets out to complete a hat-trick in the 2m1f handicap hurdle (3.30). A winner of his sole bumper start in Ireland, Kalium was scooped up for £100,000 in May and has shown a lot of early promise for his new owners, winning two of his three starts over hurdles.
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2 months ago | 
racingpost.com | Catherine Macrae |James Stevens
Punting pointers from Wednesday's meetings . . . Dundalk: Roche on a rollJockey Leigh Roche heads into this all-weather card in flying form following two wins and a second from his three rides at the track a fortnight ago. That double took his tally to four wins from seven rides this month, and he has two more chances on this seven-race card. Roche looks unlikely to add to his tally with his ride in the 5f maiden (2.17) as Sienna Grey has beaten just one home in her last two starts.
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2 months ago | 
racingpost.com | Jack Haynes |Catherine Macrae
Saturday’s Scilly Isles Novices’ Chase fixture at Sandown will become an all-chase card unless the hurdle course is deemed raceable at an 8am inspection on Thursday. The Esher venue was hit by 18mm of rain on Sunday and further rain is forecast up to Wednesday. The chase track was described as soft, heavy in places on Monday and the hurdles track was heavy, with both courses waterlogged in places. A largely dry end to the week is expected.
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Jan 24, 2025 | 
racingpost.com | Harry Wilson |Catherine Macrae
Punting pointers from some of today's race meetings . . . Newcastle: untapped potentialBy far the most interesting runner on the seven-race card is Emperor's Son, who lines up for just his sixth start in the 5f handicap (4.35). He looked a good prospect when winning a Carlisle novice on his debut in June 2023 at the expense of Kylian (now rated 101), but he came up short in the Coventry Stakes at Royal Ascot and the Gimcrack at York before being absent for 13 months.
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Jan 24, 2025 | 
racingpost.com | Catherine Macrae |Graeme Rodway
It’s six years since the Triumph Hurdle at this course in March went to a British-trained runner in Pentland Hills, but this season his trainer Nicky Henderson has the ante-post favourite in Lulamba and the market’s next in is East India Dock for James Owen. East India Dock is a throwback to the days when up-and-coming, classy Flat stayers were regularly switched to hurdling and he has looked a natural.
