Talking Horses

Live updates, by Chris Cook 2.35pm Vintage Thommo Channel 4's ever-cheery Derek Thompson seems the right man to be covering an all-weather card at a miserably cold Lingfield. Introducing the betting on the next race, he says: "Plum Pudding, does that sound tasty to you? He's 6-4. Aeroplane, could he be flying home? He's 7-4. Beauchamp Viceroy . . . is 3-1." 2.15pm Elna Bright nicks Lingfield's big race Brett Johnson's runner was an 8-1 winner after getting a nice run up the rail, holding off Atlantic Story (6-1), who made such a strong run down the outside that he briefly traded at 1-17 on Betfair. Of course, in this new decimal age, I should express those odds as 1.06. 1.55pm Next Saturday will also be about the all-weather Kempton, racing on the all-weather today, will inspect their turf track on Monday morning ahead of their scheduled jumps fixture next Saturday. I don't think the rules allow them to abandon the meeting that early but it seems they are thinking about changing the fixture to an all-weather Flat meeting. "We just want to assess the situation on the jumps course and we will have a look on Monday," Barney Clifford, the clerk of the course, has said today. "I will get a five-day forecast then, so we will see where we are and put the plans in place to switch to an all-weather meeting if needs be. The prospects [for the jump-racing fixture] are looking pretty bleak at the moment." 1.15pm Terrible news for goofs - Cathy Gannon out for weeks Cathy Gannon has had shoulder surgery to repair an injury she sustained in a fall last summer. She hopes to return to race-riding in late February, according to a report on the Racing Post's website . Goofs is one of several regular posters on this forum who believe Gannon is a talented and under-rated jockey, so I know you will all wish her a speedy recovery. 1pm Gheed wins Kempton's opener in four-way photo That's a 28-1 shocker to start the day for Kempton punters. Hey, at least it was free to get in! Jan Mayen was just beaten and the judge is still looking at the print to decide who's finished third. 12.40pm Clear Sailing wins the opener at Lingfield That's a 13-8 winning nap for Top Form, whose tips appear in our paper each day. 12.30pm The punter who thought he'd won £7.1m . . . . . . but has in fact been paid just £31. Read all about it in this story from the Southern Daily Echo . The gent in question was sure there would be a white Christmas across Britain, so he placed two £5 accumulators on Christmas snow at various different towns in the north. One acca named 13 towns and, if settled in full, would have netted £4.9m. The other named 11 towns and would have netted £2.2m. Sadly for Mr Bryant (aged 52), his bet should never have been accepted, as the bookmaker in question does not accept accumulators on novelty markets. His bets will be settled as two singles, as if he had divided each fiver across the towns named, giving him a £31 payout. Presumably, the bookmaker in question also has a maximum payout on novelty bets which would have been a lot lower than £7m, even if the bet had been valid. 11.50am Kempton and Lingfield both ON Britain's punters have two meetings of all-weather racing to focus on this afternoon, as both Kempton and Lingfield have survived early-morning inspections. There are already a few non-runners. A full list is here . Will's tip in the day's main race, Ceremonial Jade , is currently on offer at 7-1 for Lingfield's seven-furlong handicap at 2.10pm. Today's TV races, by Will Hayler Marco Botti's name should be at the top of any list of trainers to follow in 2010 and the Italian can make an early strike in front of the television cameras at Lingfield this afternoon. Botti claimed the first Group One winner of many when Gitano Hernando won the Goodwood Handicap at Santa Anita last year, but he is just as happy in less-exalted company and has hit the target with four of his last five runners. Ceremonial Jade (2.10) does not have many secrets from the handicapper at this stage of his career, but he is a very useful Polytrack performer on his day, who is well-drawn on the inside here and who was having just his second run after a six-month break when a close third to Dohasa in a Listed race (giving weight to higher-rated rivals) at Kempton last time. Kempton 2.25 Fly By Nelly has looked to be crying out for this move up to a mile and was hampered coming off the turn at Lingfield last time. Lingfield 2.40 Aeroplane likes to come from off the pace but he does not necessarily need an end-to-end gallop and he has stand-out form claims. Kempton 2.55 Tiddliwinks has scored with something in hand on his last two starts and may not have finished improving yet. Amy Ryan's 5lb claim helps to offset the 6lb penalty for his last win. Lingfield 3.10 Lord Fidelio looks interesting on his switch to handicapping company and could be the safest bet in a race where his main rivals like to come from off the pace. Kempton 3.25 Tom Queally replaces a fairly inexperienced apprentice aboard Know No Fear and if he can keep his errant partner's mind on the job, the pair are handicapped to win a bad race like this. Lingfield 3.40 Kings of Leo went off too quickly last time and under a more conservative ride, he may be able to reverse form at a decent price. Kempton 3.55 Exceed Power does not always seem to find much, but he looks to have a good chance at the weights and there have been hints of improvement in some of his more recent starts. Will Hayler's best bet Captain Cee Bee Arkle Chase 6-1 It seems unlikely any new leading contenders for the Arkle Chase will emerge between now and the Cheltenham Festival in March. Somersby should already be in your book, but the one to back now is Captain Cee Bee at 6-1 with William Hill. He had jumped beautifully before falling at the last at Leopardstown on Boxing Day where he had Sizing Europe beaten. Horse sense Richard Hughes returns from his Christmas break to take a couple of rides at Lingfield today and the top jockey's comeback could be worth following. Plum Pudding (2.40) enjoyed a real purple patch of form on turf last summer but is also fully proven on the Polytrack around here and he probably has not been seen to best effect in Listed contests moved up to 10 furlongs recently. In this smaller field, Hughes is expected to bounce him out of the stalls and dictate the pace, before kicking on around the bend. Main rival Aeroplane is a quirky sort and he could find that the selection proves too tough in the final stages. Brave Enough was an eye-catcher last time out and market support for him would be interesting, but preference is again for the combination of Hughes and trainer Richard Hannon with Banks And Braes (1.05). Owned by the Queen and bred to be a smart performer, he did not seem to be progressing on turf when last seen, but showed enough in his four starts to make him a leading player for a run-of-the-mill all-weather maiden such as this and it is significant that Hughes returns to try and ride a royal winner. Zerzura cost favourite-backers dear when fading into fifth on her debut at Lingfield last month but the Henry Cecil-trained runner looked certain to benefit from that outing and is one to concentrate upon when she returns to that track on Wednesday. On the same day, Southwell is now due to stage an all-bumper card on their all-weather Fibresand track and Nicky Henderson intends to take the opportunity to get some racing experience into some of his younger performers and send up three or four runners. Among those expected to appear among the entries today are Wallace Monument , bred and owned by Willie Carson, and the well-regarded Dort Tranquille . Do not expect Henderson's to be the only major stable making a rare journey up to the track. Seen and heard Amy Starkey , the go-getting managing director at Kempton Park, has denied reports that Clive Smith, the owner of four-times King George VI Chase winner Kauto Star , was asked to pay for a proposed statue of the superstar horse. Well, sort of. Starkey told Seen And Heard: "In obtaining quotes for a statue of Kauto Star, it became apparent that a considerable saving could be made if two were ordered and we inquired as to whether Clive would like one for himself and whether we could the split the cost of ordering two. No final decision has been taken over what will be done to mark Kauto Star's incredible achievements at this track. I imagine that a statue may be on the cards, but personally I'm not sure whether I see the statue being at Kempton. We'll continue talking to Clive and make a decision as to what is the best way to celebrate Kauto Star when the time is right." A statue of Desert Orchid , the only horse to previously win the King George four times, overlooks the winner's enclosure and parade ring at the track, having been unveiled in 2000. Good luck to Grand National-winning jockey Bob Champion, who hopes to raise £250,000 for charity by visiting Britain's 60 racecourses in 60 days starting in mid-April. Those making donations of at least £50 are promised the opportunity of walking a course in Champion's company and visiting parts of the track not usually open to the public. Others wanting to spend time with Champion ought to make a beeline for the sea. According to the website of First Choice Speakers, a corporate entertainment company, Champion was a guest speaker on P&O cruises in February, May, June, August and September last year.