Hi all,

It seems there's no escaping the persistent rain lately. Conditions at Musselburgh on Friday were quite dreadful, although it was sunny and pleasantly warm in my part of Yorkshire. The weather seems to be all over the place, but for now, we don't have to worry about watering for the start of Thursday's Aintree Grand National Festival.

Regarding Saturday's action, as anticipated, we lost Kelso to the weather. ITV Racing has had to make adjustments to its offering by replacing the four Kelso races with two more races from Kempton and one each from Chelmsford and the Curragh.

Let's hope for better weather in the coming days and some exciting racing ahead at the Aintree Grand National Festival.

My Kempton analysis can be found below.

Saturday Preview

It's fortunate that we have a promising card at Kempton to look forward to; otherwise, Saturday's betting opportunities would have been limited. However, while ITV is now covering five races from Kempton, two of these races don't pique my interest, and I suspect they may not attract many casual Saturday afternoon punters either.

I find it puzzling that ITV opted not to include the competitive 6f handicap, which concludes the Kempton card, in their coverage. Instead, they've chosen a Fillies' Conditions race with an 8/15 favourite, which seems like an odd decision to me.

Kempton Card Analysis:

2:05 – Virgin Bet Daily Price Boosts Snowdrop Fillies' Stakes (Listed Race) – 1m

Adelaise, an Irish challenger, showed steady improvement in 2023 and commands respect on her seasonal return, especially with William Buick booked. Despite running on grass last summer, her previous success over 7f at this venue suggests she'll adapt well to the synthetic surface. Choisya, another progressive runner last season, finished her 2023 campaign with a victory in a Class 2 handicap over C&D in November. She seems worthy of her place in Listed company and could secure valuable black type this season.

2:40 – Virgin Bet Every Saturday Money Back Rosebery Handicap (London Middle Distance Series Qualifier) (Class 2) – 1m 3f

Old Harrovian, lightly raced for a 5-year-old, made it 2 from 2 on the all-weather when winning at Wolverhampton 12 months ago. Despite a disappointing Group 3 outing at Newbury last May, his return with a tongue tie suggests solid claims if ready to roll. Irish challenger Old Peculiar has race fitness on his side and enters the race in good form, having won three times at Dundalk and finishing second at Lingfield 36 days ago.

Valsad, coming off a win at Southwell, faces a 5lb rise in a tougher race, while Laafi, despite an ultimately disappointing 2023, could improve as a 4-year-old and offers value for an inform trainer.

Verdict: I wouldn’t put any off likely favourite Old Harrovian but Laafi could go off at a value price.

3:15 – Virgin Bet Queen's Prize Handicap (London Stayers' Series Qualifier) (Class 2) – 2m

One of my ante post selections Geremia wasn’t declared. However, my other pick Circuit Breaker takes his place in the line-up.

Of the rest. Aqwaam, improving with the step up to two miles, secured a career-best win at Lingfield last time. Duty Of Care, a dual C&D winner, ran better than his last outing suggests, but has wide draw here. Tritonic, a smart dual-purpose handicapper, returns after a short break but is below his last winning mark and should handle the surface.

Verdict: Sticking with midweek pick Circuit Breaker and adding Tritonic if available at double-figure odds.

Saturday Selection:

That's my Kempton analysis done. Hopefully there's a winner to be found in those three ITV races. Saturday's selection doesn't come from Kempton though. Instead I'm off to the Curragh.

Curragh

2:55 – Tote.ie Alleged Stakes (Group 3) – 1m 2f

White Birch won the Group 3 Ballysax Stakes on heavy ground at Leopardstown on his seasonal return last April and then finished runner-up in the Dante Stakes and third in the Derby at Epsom. The return to testing ground should suit the 4-year-old and he goes well fresh. Looks to have a good chance of another win in the grade.  I would be looking for at least 11/4.

I won’t be doing a Sunday column. However, weather permitting, there’s some good racing on Sunday. At Leopardstown, it's Classic Trials Day, offering some high-quality flat racing action. Meanwhile, jump fans can indulge in the excitement of three Go North Series Finals at Carlisle and the prestigious Randox Ulster National at Downpatrick. So, despite the absence of a column, there's plenty of thrilling sport to enjoy this Sunday both sides of the Irish Sea.

Good Luck with your Saturday bets.

John