THE weather played its part again last weekend with Newbury being the only meeting to survive on Saturday along with Exeter on Sunday.

That was enough for the enthusiast though and crowd favourite Shishkin returned to form by winning the Betfair Denman Chase at Newbury, lining him up for a tilt at the Cheltenham Gold Cup. 

An excellent crowd enjoyed a fine card at Exeter, which survived a last-minute scare due to heavy overnight rain. The ground was testing and Willie Mullins and Paul Nicholls both hit the score sheet.  However, there were 2 stand out results in Absolute Steel (pictured) and Ask Me Early (pictured).

The former won at a huge 200/1, the last horse to have recorded a win at those odds was Inspiratrice at Taunton. The biggest cheer of the day went to the likeable grey Ask Me Early, who won the Veterans Chase under Jonathan Burke for trainer Harry Fry and his loyal and enthusiastic owners the Dare family.

I think it's time for a 'Horses to Follow' tidy up..

Current list..

  • Altobelli – disappointed on 2 runs since advised – remove
  • JPR One – 3 runs, 1 win at 6/1 – remove
  • Danton – 3 runs, 1 win at 6/4 – remove
  • Itseemslikeit – 1 run – keep on
  • Scamallach Liath – 1 run keep on
  • Cheltenham Ante-Post
  • Ginny’s Destiny – Turners Chase - advised at 8/1 (now 3/1)
  • Embassy Gardens – National Hunt Chase - advised at 5/1 (now 3/1)


Let’s add:
Jo Lescribaa – trained by Venetia Williams, this horse ran well on the worst of the ground last time and weakened 2 hurdles out. He is better than his finishing position and worth following.
Cuban Court – ran well at Doncaster last time when second. That was his first run for seven weeks after a wind operation. He is well handicapped, and I believe horses run better on their second run after a wind op, as it usually takes a run for them to realise their breathing has improved.
The 3 removed horses have done their job in returning a small 1.5pt profit, let’s see if the newbies and existing ones can bolster the profit.

We next race at Taunton on Tuesday 20th February with the first race scheduled for 2.10pm.

If you fancy joining us, early bird tickets (saving at least £5 per head) are available on our websitewww.taunton-racecourse.co.uk. or you can turn up on the day and pay at the gate.

For those of you looking to use our courtesy coach service, it will depart from outside platform 5 of Taunton Railway Station 90 minutes before our first race and return half an hour after the start of the last.