Fontwell Preview

There will be no need of taking one's notebook to Fontwell tomorrow to write down the names of all the horses to take forward to Cheltenham next month. I'm not even going to try to find a picture of any of them to use here, either. These horses are to their sport little more than what I was to cycling, cricket or football but I did beat a Russian girl at chess the other day who I found had been playing in international tournaments so I'm not going to include chess. But, heaven knows I'm looking forward to it. 13/8 pays the same whether it's in the Cheltenham Gold Cup or the Cazoo 'Hands And Heels' Handicap Hurdle (Conditionals And Amateurs) and it is well overdue we got back to a racetrack on which to be a wiseguy, it having taken only a few weeks for our planned fixtures this season to stop being abandoned due to firm ground and be abandoned because it was too heavy.

And so I've done more homework on this meeting than would be customary where 'homework' means not much more than 'realizing why the favourites are favourite' and hoping that three of them win when put together in the same treble.

I'd have left the 1.20 out completely but for early moves in the betting for Gary Moore's Abingworth, a stable long noted for its winners being well-backed.

At 1.55 Unit Sixtyfour, despite being asked to give weight away all round, has been chalked up at a prohibitively short price and so might have to be left out. Kilbeg King at 2.30 ran in a far, far more glamorous contest last time, admittedly as a 50/1 chance, and so ought to get more of a look-in here.

More from the Moores on what could easily turn out to be a pay day for them is likely to come from Ozzie Man at 3.00 as long as he doesn't get dizzy or lose his way on three laps of the figure-of-eight chase course. And you'd think Auriferous might be ready to beat not much at 3.30.

One could easily have four guesses at the 5-runner 4.00 and still not find the winner and a 5-runner race in which one bookmaker can price up the outsider at 4/1 makes the old Portsmouth dog track's betting market seem like a land of bountiful opportunity but we're having a day out and so ought to have a mug punt and Whatsdastory at least fits in with my pop record theory (which very rarely works). I was also looking at Clear White Light, the early Lindisfarne hymn, in the Carlisle 3.45 but early doors it looks like they can't give it away.

Joe Tizzard knows the time of day and I like him a lot but his Tamaris, in the 4.30, is widely available at 10/1 which suggests it might not be this time but I'll have a look what happens on course. Force de Frap won by 13 lengths last time and has duly been given more lead to carry but remains the one to beat.

Now comes the hard bit, sticking them together and hoping that, if we have any winners listed there, they can all find themselves joined in holy parsimony. This is where it often goes wrong. One is doing little more than playing a fruit machine but it's set fair for a nice day and win, lose or draw, we can at least take part. There will be other days on which to conjure the year's profit from that cute cocktail of a little knowledge, a careful plan and the determination to make sure it happens.