TONY CALVIN: SATURDAY’s course and racing details on ITV – 10 races from three tracks

SUNDAY opener

Newbury stage a two-day meeting, starting on Friday.

It is currently a mixture of good to soft and soft there at the moment but, given the forecast next week (update – they had 2.6mm Sunday into Monday according to the live rain gauge), the track says it is likely to start watering on Tuesday.

Are Newbury right to water?

Plenty disagree with watering (not Willie Mullins and JP McManus clearly…) but well done to Newbury for at least flagging this early (see below).

It is probably the right call given the forecast.

It will be very interesting to see how much they put on (update – they aren’t telling us).

It could hit 16-17 degrees there.

Kelso is currently soft and they have a largely dry forecast too, if a bit chiller than Newbury.

Low-key weekend

It is clearly a low-key weekend.

No early-closers currently on ITV (there is one on the card  – the bumper at 3.35pm, with currently 35 entries – so maybe that will be added to the terrestrial schedule to keeps Goffs happy) , so I imagine there will be no ante-post prices until Monday evening and Tuesday morning at the earliest.

The bumper has indeed been added it seems, and we now look to have 10 ITV races from three courses.

Some bookmakers may not even bother to price up anything given the quality of the racing (and the double entries), but let’s see.

NFI in FNL here

There is Friday Night Live racing at Wolverhampton – on Friday night, funnily enough – but we don’t get involved in that all-weather initiative.

Unless Constitution Hill is running, obvs.

The card is full of handicaps, from 0-70s and one 0-95.

Not for me, anyway.

Bangor added to Saturday schedule it seems

Bangor is soft on the chase course, and soft, good to soft in places, over hurdles.

Double entries

They are now listed below.

Good luck to odds-compilers attempting to price up some of those races.

Given the likely interest – that it is to say rather limited – I suspect they may have the midweek off.

If odds-compilers still exist, that is….

Nothing doing for me until Friday afternoon/Saturday morning

Very few bookmakers have priced up all 10 ITV races, and some major firms haven’t bothered with any at all as at 9am on Wednesday.

The double entries make Kelso a complete mess at the moment, and the percentages on offer elsewhere probably mean far better price and place value will be had after the final fields are known (plus there is an element of stubbornness involved; if Newbury won’t tell us how much they are watering, why should we bet on their races ante-post?).

I feel sorry for those who have to tip ante-post; luckily, I don’t.

And I certainly won’t be betting myself.

I’m off for a few days away, in what looks a nice gaff just outside of Bolsover ( I immediately thought of the Beast himself, Dennis Skinner, when I wrote that).

So if you have any pub or restaurant suggestions in the area, let me know on X.

Until Friday/Saturday then (probably the latter); good luck.

SATURDAY’s COURSE DETAILS

NEWBURY (two-day meeting starting on Friday) – watering started on Tuesday but no amounts given

GOING – Hurdle: Good to soft; Chase: Good to soft

GOING STICK – Hurdles: 4.1;  Chase: 4.5 (Wednesday 6.30am)

Hurdles: centre/ outer. Chase: full width.

Wednesday morning course update: Dry with sunny spells yesterday. Forecast: remaining dry. Warm today 17C max. Sunny spells from Thursday (16C), gentle breeze with highs of (13C) on Friday.

WEATHER (yr.no latest, 7.45am Wednesday):  Dry, sunny all week (up to 16-17 degrees)

WATERING: “to try maintain Good to Soft”

KELSO

GOING: Good to soft

GOING STICK:  5.8 , Tuesday 1.45pm (was 4.9 on Sunday)

Wednesday morning course update: Partly Cloudy.Weds 18th: 15c overcast with sunny spells. Lighter winds Thurs 19th: 13c overcast with sunny spells Fri 20th: 14c overcast with sunny spells Sat 21st: RACEDAY 13c overcast with sunny spells

WEATHER (yr.no latest, 7.45am Wednesday); Dry and bright if not particularly warm (may be some light showers on Wednesday)

BANGOR

GOING – Chase: Good to soft, soft in places; Hurdles: Good to soft

GOING STICK:  N/A (still not given as at 8.21am on Wednesday)

Rails: All chase bends in 2yrds since last meeting. All hurdle bends in the same position as last meeting, except the bend into the home straight which is out 2yrds.

Wednesday morning course update: 26mm rain in the week leading up to entries. Dry last 48hrs. Wednesday: Dry, sunny, and warm with light winds. Max temp 20 °C Thursday: Misty start but warm and sunny thro’ the day. Max temp 18°C Friday & Saturday: Staying dry, sunny and mild for the remainder of the week.

WEATHER (yr.no latest, 7.45am Wednesday):  Dry and bright, 15-16 degrees

DOUBLE ENTRIES (be careful if you are betting ante-post on Wednesday – as a lot of those below have possible options on Friday – fields known for those races at 10am today)

1pm Kelso: Jalisco Star, Pinot Rouge, Starlyte

1.15pm Newbury: Best Trump, Ercall Fox, It’s Top, Kocktail Bleu, Lisbane Park

1.30pm Kelso: Authorized Mission, Benefit Ben (due to run at Sedgefield on Thursday), Better Be Definite, Cher Tara, Coconut Splash, Fourofakind, Haarar, Killycarn, Kool Raoul, O’Faolains Glory, Parish Quiz, Rauzan, Rememberthename, Rock Dj, Ryebridge, Scairp Dubh, Starlyte, The G Wizard, The Navigator

1.50pm Newbury:  It’s Top, Lisbane Park, Razors Edge, Red Oak

2.10pm Kelso: Anariza, Changemyluck, Diamonds Galore, Eastern Shores, Hunters Spring, Just An Artist, Lyrical Choice, Tuppence, Watamu

2.25pm Newbury: Galop De Chasse, Kap Ouest, Koukeo, Scarface

2.40pm Kelso (14 of the 18 have double entries): Always A Reason, Blakey Boy, Bridge Court, Defence Witness, Disguisedlimit, Fierce Warrior, Joecooker, Marty McFly, My Noble Lord, Orkney Blue, Sleeping Satellite , Spadestep, Stick With Me Sam, Wolfburg

3pm Newbury: Diamonds Galore,  Watamu

3.20pm Bangor: Atlantic Lad, Came From Nowhere, Crebilly, Gentleman Bill, Nowmelads, Titanium Ring

3.35pm Newbury: Mistral Du Chenet