Events / Andrew Hughes / 11 January 2009 /

It's a packed week for Cheltenham prospects with Master Minded taking centre stage. Andrew Hughes fills you in.

The BBC is planning to reduce its racing coverage by 13 days from 2010. Great, you might be thinking, 48 per cent less of little Willie and the egregious James Sherwood. Sadly, this would be a sentiment as short-sighted as the aforementioned former jockey. For one thing, the Beeb are not discarding Royal Ascot or the five day festival of faux-snobbery that goes with it. Mr Sherwood is odds-on to be oozing across our screens once again this summer. But more importantly, we should regard any diminution of terrestrial coverage as a bad thing in itself.

Any sport needs to be concerned about access, that is, the number of people watching it, either on television or in person. The television audience may not pay at the turnstile, but they may bet, thus contributing to the Levy. Most importantly, those people with no racing background are exposed to a sport that is often wrongly portrayed as elitist and exclusive. Racing is, of course, well-served by its two specialist channels. But it needs every chance it can get to keep its product in the shop window and that means terrestrial television. So please take a moment to sign the attached petition not for Willie's sake, but for the future of the sport.

Sunday 11th January

It may be soggy at Leopardstown but there'll be some high class horses splashing around in the mud on Pierse Hurdle day. The showpiece contest is a massive 30-runner affair over a rapid two miles with plenty of form lines for punters to untangle. Also on the card, the Leopardstown Steeplechase is a decent two-and-a-half mile event featuring some highly rated horses and some talented younger animals will go to post for the Grade Two Paddy Fitzpatrick Memorial Chase.

Monday 12th January

Mondays are not usually associated with top class racing, but the Punchestown Juvenile Hurdle is a genuine Graded contest over two miles for horses with Triumph Hurdle pretensions.

Tuesday 13th January

Another Irish Graded contest is the pick of the racing today. This time it's Thurles in the south of the country and the Phil Sweeney Memorial Chase over two miles and two furlongs. This is a decent little race that has attracted some interesting entries, including the promising young Irish chasers Fingeronthepulse and Perce Rock.

Saturday 17th January

A hectic Saturday schedule, assuming that the icy weather has relaxed its grip over the preceding few days. Ascot holds the Clarence House Chase, featuring the return of the awesome Master Minded, current Champion Chaser and a comfortable winner of the Tingle Creek on his last outing. There are some useful horses set to oppose him, but expect the Nicholls monster to start at cramped odds. Before the main event, the next generation of two mile chasers take centre stage in the Lightning Novices Chase and there's also a strong mares hurdle event, the Warfield Mares' Hurdle, a Grade Two where only the most resolute stayers will be suited by this demanding course. And don't miss the Holloway Hurdle, a Limited Handicap over two miles and three furlongs, which should be a fiercely competitive betting heat.

Up at Haydock there is an equally classy card, with the Champion Hurdle Trial over two miles and a furlong likely to feature some serious contenders for that blue riband Festival event. There is also a Grade Two Novices' Hurdle over the same distance that is well worth watching as the credentials of some more Cheltenham hopefuls come under closer scrutiny. The Peter Marsh Chase is a solid handicap, always a popular betting medium and well worth getting stuck into, with a field of familiar old handicappers taking on the three miles. Finally, the Altcar Novices Chase over two-and-a-half miles is a decent Grade Two contest likely to feature some staying stars of the future.

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