Good Morning All.
Today we have scheduled afternoon meetings from Cheltenham, Doncaster and Uttoxeter over the jumps.
We also have an All Weather flat meeting from Lingfield.
There are inspections due at all the jumps meetings.
Fingers crossed we get some action.
We have 1 mainline bet today.
The race we are interested in as far as the mainline is concerned today, is the 4.20 Cheltenham.
This is a Class 2 handicap hurdle, run over 2 Miles 1 Furlong.
The horse we will be backing here is number 12 QUARTANO.
Quartano is trained by Warren Greatrex and will be ridden today by Paddy Brennan.
Quartano is a lightly raced horse that seems to be improving with each race.
The horse kicked off this season by winning twice in novice company over 2 Miles 5 Furlongs.
He then followed that by running in the grade 1 Challow hurdle at Newbury.
Although well beaten that day, Quartano didn't run at all badly, going well for a long way, in a race that was just a step too far for him at this stage.
On official ratings, the horse would have been getting lumps of weight in a handicap.
With the Challow hurdle being a non handicap Grade 1 Novice event, Quartano was racing from level weights.
On the face of it, he didn't run at all badly there to finish 6th.
He drops back into handicap company today.
On the promise he has shown so far in his career, Quartano makes his handicap debut on a reasonable looking mark.
He will certainly find this more to his liking than the Newbury contest.
There are several in the field that can get on with things, so the race looks like being a true test, with a strong pace likely.
That should suit Quartano, as he clearly stays well, having won twice over 1/2 Mile further.
Warren Greatrex describes the horse as having plenty of speed and plenty of class.
Judging by his 2 wins over 2 Miles 5 Furlongs in testing ground, he isn't short of stamina either.
He has won here at Cheltenham previously also, which is clearly another plus.
A strongly run race over this trip, on a stiff track, under testing conditions, looks like being right up this horses street.
Quartano seems versatile with regards to running style.
Ideally, he would like to settle in behind the early pace, before staying on strongly late on.
However, if the race turned out to be a slowly run affair, then he would be equally at home making his own running, with stamina assured.
With plenty of likely pace options in the race, it doesn't look as though he will need to make his own running.
Paddy Brennan rides Cheltenham well and has a good record when riding for this stable.
He has won 3 from 8 for the Greatrex yard.
The horse is a lightly raced improver with plenty of class.
He enters the world of handicapping on a very reasonable looking mark, so with conditions looking ideal, a bold show looks likely.
As always with Cheltenham handicaps, this is a competitive looking race.
However, with plenty in his favour, Quartano represents solid each way value at the prices available.
We can get 15/2 best odds guaranteed at Paddy Power, Stan James and Tote Sport this morning.
We will take that and back Quartano each way.
That is our only mainline bet today.
For those involved, it is now unlikely that our inside information service bet intended for today will go ahead.
The ground is now a major concern for this horse, so much so, that he may not even now run.
That is disappointing, however, such things can happen in racing as we know.
With regards to the inside information service bets, as it stands now, we are confident of having 3 bets on the service next week, 1 of which is expected to be a huge price.
For those involved, it looks 99% certain that we will be getting involved with a Late Line service bet today.
We are currently waiting for a call returning, after which, the information will be sent out via text message to all involved.
After 2 nice priced winners from 2 bets advised this week, we will be looking to make it 3 from 3 for the week on the Late Line should we get the go ahead.
Back to the mainline.
We have 1 mainline bet today.
Todays advice...
QUARTANO - 4.20 CHELTENHAM - EACH WAY BET
15/2 B.O.G. @ PADDY POWER / STAN JAMES / TOTE SPORT