Saturday 16th February 2019

It’s good to see racing back on and a great day of action is ahead. Annoyingly we should have been part of it. Leoncavallo was due to run in the valuable Betfair Hurdle. Our horse was ruled out though due to the new flu ruling the BHA came up with this week without any prior notice.

Leoncavallo was obviously fully up to date with his jabs, but the new rule says horses must have had the flu jab within the last six months. We aren’t the only ones to miss out but were one of the bigger name casualties.

The racing post picked up on the story and rang for an interview. They say there’s no such thing as bad press, we would have preferred it to be on the back of a big win though. The story can be read below.

https://www.racingpost.com/news/leoncavallo-s-owners-gutted-after-flu-jab-rule-crushes-betfair-hurdle-dream/366363

I doubt I’ll watch the Betfair Hurdle, 3:20 Ascot. For what it’s worth, my two picks for the race would be Al Dancer & Lisp.

Over at Lingfield in the 2:05, I’m Available made an eye-catching debut. She stayed on strongly over seven furlongs, todays extra furlong looks ideal whilst William Buick comes in for the ride. This looks a fair novice but I’m Available should hopefully run well at odds of 9-2.

Waiting Patiently would be my selection in the Ascot Chase at 3:55. I like this horse and think he holds a great chance in the Ryanair at the Festival next month. Waiting Patiently could possibly be a little short of match practice after an unlucky run in the King George. Touch wood he’s spot on and confirms he’s a horse going places.