Equinties - ice ice maybe

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Gm Equinauts 

This week’s ice-cold conditions have already started to claim it's victims on the British racing calendar. Hexham was abandoned yesterday due to frozen ground and now, Warwick unfortunately has followed suit today with Newcastle still up in the air (it’s looking likely it’ll go ahead)… annoying as I had bankers lined up to go through the Warwick card.

Let’s dive in.

Headline Roundup

Hexham, Warwick… Cheltenham?

Haxham was called off yesterday as temperatures dropped to -2C after their first 8am inspection, and following a further inspection two hours later, the course had to postpone racing. 

Whilst the Northumberland-based track was unable to go ahead, Leicester’s seven-race jumps card continued as they passed their morning inspection. 

This has thrown Cheltenham’s two-day International meeting into doubt on the weekend and the course has already called for a precautionary 7:30am inspection on Friday.

Clerk of the Course at Cheltenham, Jon Pullin, has said: “We’ve now got the covers down and we’ll need to take a look at the forecast to see where we are on Friday morning and how we’re looking.

"They will stay down tonight because we’ve got a frost of -3C and tomorrow it will reach a high of 2C, so we need to make sure we do what we can."

Longines IJC Title shared

Hollie Doyle’s husband and Silvestre De Sousa were forced to share the Longines International Jockeys’ Championship Title in Hong Kong after a ding-dong battle yesterday. 

The International Jockeys’ Championship is a competition that takes place in Hong Kong and invites international jockeys to take part - it consists of four races and jockeys pick up points for where they finish. 

Marquand won the third leg of the competition, and de Sousa won the fourth leg - because they both had a fourth-placed to their name earlier in the day, they couldn’t be split and shared the trophy. 

“To finish joint-top with Silvestre is pretty epic,” said Marquand. “He's been champion jockey back home, he works so hard and is someone you look up to in the weighing room. It's a huge honour and sometimes you have to pinch yourself that these things are happening.”

More: 

Today’s best stats

Thought we’d sling some stats in today given the lack of news… enjoy seeing them back? Let us know on Twitter and we’ll try post them every morning.

13.35 RUBAUD goes for Nicholls who is 5 from 9 in this race.

14.22 SINCE DAY ONE is 4 from 4 at Newcastle.

19.00 INTUITUVE goes for the Crisford’s who have won their last two and well in the money at Chelmsford this year. Horse won after a long break in ’19 too.

19.30 DARK DESIGN won twice at course last winter and won this race last year easily. Trainer and jock combo in the money this year too.

Newcastle bumper

The squeeze has come for BOY DE LA VIS, trained by Moffat who loves winning bumpers. The form is the best on offer but is still quite weak so would be happy to take on today.

JJ’s IMPATIENT is (I think) the most expensive in the race and owned by big owner, Bartlett, who keeps good stock. He doesn’t need to gamble so the lack of market support might not be an issue, that said, JJ’s yard isn’t really firing and they certainly haven’t been cleaning up in bumpers.

I really like the next in line, BALLIN BAY, for Pauline Robson…who? She is a small-time trainer but her only two winners in recent years have been in…you guessed it, BUMPERS. GEORDIES DREAM and DOYEN DU BAR, the latter being an expensive recruit for a small yard , both won their respective bumpers, and it wasn’t just by luck. Her horse today might just be the most expensive she’s run and has the champ, Brian Hughes, jocked up today to steer. I think this is the horse to be on today.

Bar Menzies WEE BAZ, field are at a price indicating they might not be trying.

Our view: BALLIN BAY is the pick.

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Risk on

18.30 THE XO 2/1

Nice horse, expensive breeze up. Strong single and then small single using Tates Christmas gamble in race before as lev.