Tatty's Racing News and Tips - Monday 26th December 2011

I hope you all had a happy and peaceful Christmas and are enjoying your Boxing Day (or St Stephen's Day if that is what you call it in your location).

Here follows a few seasonal nags to keep an eye on.

Wolverhampton

• 1.15  Look At Me Now
• 1.50  Mr Red Clubs
• 2.25  One Way Or Another
• 2.55  Snow Dancer
• 3.30  Woop Woop

and the Channel 4 TV races

Kempton Park

• 1.25  Papa Caruso
• 2.00  Grands Crus
• 2.35  Overturn
• 3.10  Kauto Star

Wetherby

• 1.45  Midnight Chase

The Sun Shines on the Righteous and at Southwell.

Morning all, how ya didlin'?

A pretty cruddy day on the nags yesterday, I'm sure you will agree. KNOCKAVILLA managed 2nd, but was well back and in a 4 horse race even the each way odds don't come into play. SARAH'S ART was poor. Broke badly, kept at the back and was well out of it. At The Races have an award for jockey of the week - can't imagine Adam Kirby will be troubling the judges on this showing somehow.

So now on to today. Jumping at Sedgefield, Leicester and Navan. All- weather flat at sunny Southwell. The best quality race over the sticks is the 2 mile novice chase at Leicester, but with only 4 runners again. After getting my fingers burnt in the similar contest yesterday at Wetherby, I am going to leave it well alone. Sedgefield and Navan do not interest me so its off to the sunshine for today's guesswork.

The 2.50 at Southwell is a decent looking, class 3 contest with one or two in with a shout. Arganil drops back in class and has a liking for Southwell, but he has not been in the best of form so warrants watching for now. Luscivious is out of form and Dandy Nicholls', Sir Geoffrey will fly out of the stalls, but is up against a better class of animal here. Feelin' Foxy got knocked off into 2nd last time after 2 previous wins. I just think that a mark of 85 is more than enough for now.Divertimenti has been away from the all-weather for a good while and has never really looked the part at Southwell anyway. That leaves WAVEBAND, who has always been a bit of a cantankerous madam, but has shown signs of behaving on her first 2 runs for her new stable. I think this will be third time lucky and I take her to just get this.

I like a couple of others at Southwell.  At 1.50 STEED seemed a different horse last time when fitted with cheekpieces. He goes up 4lbs for that win, but can follow up. In the Maiden at 3.50 Eilean Mor seems somewhat exposed, but new stable and running on the Fibresand may just be the making of him. My vote goes to CHRISTMAS ARIA who ran well at Lingfield a week ago. If transferring that form to the softer form of sand, he won't be far away.

STEED Southwell 1.50 1st @ 15/8

WAVEBAND Southwell 2.50 2nd @ 6/4

CHRISTMAS ARIA Southwell 3.50 1st @ 11/10

I'm going to leave it there for this posting. Good luck with your punting and I will write more soon.

Tatty

Tatty in Mourning

Hello

Tatty is in mourning tonight, after the Albion lost 2-0 at Blackburn. It doesn't really help when one of your centre backs heads into his own net, when being barely challenged, to make it 1-0 and letting in a 2nd, so soon after the interval put an end to any hope for a point we had.

We really are in need of a striker who can get a few goals here and there, but what Premier League club (except the obvious few) are not? We lost out on John Carew, mainly because of the boards reluctance to pay his high wages. It seems the board are quite content with the Albion being a yo-yo club. That is all well and good, but soon enough the yo-ing will end, more than likely with us stuck in the lower of the two leagues.

The Horsey Bit

Well, we started the week with a 2nd place. It surprised, nay amazed me to see OLD WAY go off as 9/4 fav at Towcester. Somebody, somewhere must have had a hefty old punt on. He was going well until clobbering the last and ended a couple of lengths back from the winner.

Tomorrow sees a return to slightly iffy Monday cards at Wetherby over jumps and Kempton and Wolverhampton on the all-weather. As Kempton (AW) is a continual no-no, we look at the other two for inspiration.

The best quality race of the day is the Novice's Chase at Wetherby 2.35 Always notoriously dodgy affairs to say the least, this one gives us 4 competitors, all of which have a squeak. If Alfie Sherrin can jump the larger obstacles as well as the timber, he must be in with a decent shot of taking this and similar thoughts could be given to Sir Tantallus Hawk. Donald McCain's Glenwood Knight won well on his chasing debut at Uttoxeter and remains a threat, but my, very tentative choice goes to KNOCKAVILLA who, if you ignore his last run here at Wetherby, has had decent form over fences. I am concerned however, about tipping any horse with the disgusting word Villa in its name - UGH!

The best race at Dunstall Park is the 7 furlong handicap at 4.35 Stef Liddiard's SARAH'S ART won well at Lingfield on New Year's Eve and only goes up 1lb for it. Previously having winning form at Wolverhampton, he will certainly be there or thereabouts.

KNOCKAVILLA Wetherby 2.35

SARAH'S ART Wolverhampton 4.35

Right, I am now going back to my mourning, black armband at the ready.

Tatty the Baggie