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The UK Flat season traditionally opens with the Lincoln meeting, featuring a straight mile handicap, a declared field of 22 and most of them first-up off a winter break. Good luck! Not phased by the challenge is Chris Day, @chrisday100 , and you can read his fine work below. ----------------------- William Hill Lincoln Heritage Handicap (Class 2) £100,000 Straight Mile course Likely Track Condition - Soft For those who love the Jumps, as I do, the next couple of weeks are the culmination of another great season but for those who love the Flat, as I also do, they signal a new start where we look forward to crowning new champions and trying to find the winner of some unfathomable big field handicaps where the draw can be more important than the form of the horses. The Lincoln Handicap kicks off the season on Saturday and the job of the punter in recent seasons has been made even more difficult with the plethora of All Weather form needing to be taken into account against hor

The Dubai World Cup meeting is always a fantastic card, a championship meeting across different ages, distances and surfaces. To help find a winner, Dubai-based racing writer Trent Masenhelder, @tmase04 , has worked his way through the card and whittled down the chances for us. -------------------------- Dubai World Cup meeting Odds quoted from William Hill, prizemoney in USD. RACE 1 – Kahayla Classic (for Purebred Arabians) Group 1 - $250,000 - 2,000m (All-Weather) Versac PY was second behind Al Mamun Monlau in this race last year and can go one better here. He’s had a good prep and was just nailed by Raaziq last time. Mushrae is the highest rated horse and is right in the mix, while Raaziq rates highly on his last start win. Rabbah De Carrere, Djainka Des Forges and Al Mamun Monlau should be respected, despite wide gates. Tips: 1. Versac PY, 2. Mushrae, 3. Sahib Du Clos Race 2 – Godolphin Mile Group 2 - $1,000,000 - 1,600m (All-Weather) Soft Falling Rain (7/2EF) is back

Aquatics day at Rosehill tomorrow kicks off with the N E Manion Cup, a Group 3 staying contest over 2400m. Returning to the blog to cover this traditional prelude to the Sydney Cup is regular NSW racing contributor, Colleen Goth, @colleengoth . ----------------------- N E Manion Cup Good Evening Punters I am enjoying the rain falling on the Breadalbane Plain here today but I am hoping the trough that stretches down from Rosehill in Sydney will clear for tomorrow’s racing. The big wet this week means a heavy track for Rosehill Guineas day but the card should bring us some great racing nevertheless. I would like to get punters off to a good start in the first race, the Ambassador Travel N E Manion Cup for the stayers over 2400m. There are only seven horses still in the field following the scratching of Vaquera and I find them a fairly evenly matched bunch of stayers. They have raced each other previously and are seasoned and fit. Race tactics will play an important part in the ou

The premium sprint race of Dubai World Cup night is the Golden Shaheen on the synthetic Tapeta surface. Tasked with the preview is international racing shrewdie Calum Law, @calumswanlaw . If you remember his last preview on the blog , you're probably still celebrating! ------------------------------------- Dubai Golden Shaheen Balmont Mast - Consistent sprinter under these conditions and ran a blinder in this contest last year when he was a neck runner-up behind Reynaldothewizard. His poor strike rate remains a concern though and his only win in his last 12 runs came in a modest listed event at the Curragh. A possible to pick up some prize money but has to rate an unlikely winner Bello - Ex-Australian sprinter who hasn't looked up to this level in his two runs at Meydan. The white cap of Godolphin can often be misleading but looks fully justified here Complicate - A ready winner of a listed contest at Caulfield on his last start in Australia and has looked a sprinter of p

The focus of world racing this weekend will be on Dubai with the rich World Cup meeting at Meydan. Most races will be covered on the blog, and to begin proceedings, it's over to Harriet Fuller, @HattieLFuller , for the USD$5m Dubai Sheema Classic. You can read more of her work on her blog . ----------------------- Dubai Sheema Classic The Sheema Classic may not be the highlight of Saturday’s meeting at Meydan, but it will be a contest full of class. This year we have sadly lost the last hero of this race; St Nicholas Abbey, who lost his battle against colic. However, once again there is a strong line up, including Cirrus Des Aigles . The winner of this race in 2012 may be past his sell by date, but ran a credible third in the Hong Kong Cup in December, and there may well be one last celebration. A lot of the talk recently has been surrounding the Japanese superstar Gentildonna . In 2012 she won the Japanese Fillies Triple Crown, before becoming the first three-year-old fill

A great meeting lined up at Rosehill this weekend, at least if the fields hold up. The taps have been on all week in Sydney, and while the weather might improve over the weekend, it'd take a lot to dry this up. Regular contrbutor Manny Galouzis, @mannygalouzis , analyses the field. ------------------------- George Ryder Stakes Rosehill $1,000,000 Group 1 1600 local time, 0500 GMT. 1500m, track expected to be Heavy8-Heavy10 range. Another Saturday, another day filled with high quality Group 1 racing. It really is a wonderful time to be a punter. Three Group 1s from Rosehill this weekend, but we are going to look at the $1million George Ryder Stakes; and this year's edition looks to be oozing with class. A traditional lead up to the Doncaster Handicap, this race has been won by some absolute champions over the last few years. Pierro, Weekend Hussler, Haradasun and Lonhro just to name a few. More recently, Chris Waller has had a firm grasp on this race, winning three out of

All eyes on Sydney now as their carnival gets into full swing and Rosehill has the spotlight for the next two weeks. The Ranvet Stakes has become a key lead-up to the Queen Elizabeth Stakes in the revamped calendar but it is a quality field all the same. Aussie racing expert Manny Galouzis returns to preview this encounter, follow him via @mannygalouzis . -------------------------- Ranvet Stakes Rosehill $500,000 Group 1 1640 local time, 0740 GMT. 2000m, track expected to be Dead 5-Slow 6 range. Racing returns to Rosehill Gardens this Saturday and it looks to be a fantastic day of high quality races. Not only are we treated to two Group 1s, but the supporting card looks just as enticing. I'm going to focus on the Ranvet Stakes, which appears to be oozing class in this year's edition. We showed a healthy profit last week in the Canterbury Stakes with my exotics selections running the First 4 which paid $1100. Let's see if we can keep it going. Gai Waterhouse has had

High class tennis action this week with the ATP Masters Series/WTA Premier Mandatory tournament this week in Miami. The finest tennis data analysis around can be found via Dan Weston, @tennisratings , and his website TennisRatings . It is so much more than basic tips and odds discussion! -------------------- Miami Rd1 preview It's day two of the Miami Masters/Premier Mandatory tournament and the men's event commences today after the women started yesterday. With 16 men's matches and 20 women's matches on the schedule, there's plenty for traders to get involved with and there's also some very intriguing matches. As I mentioned in yesterday's preview, the courts in Miami tend to play slow and last year this affected the ATP more than the WTA with service hold mean being just 72.9%, 5.4% below hard court average. This slow surface should suit those who favour clay and one of those is Albert Montanes . The Spanish veteran has atrocious hard court stats

The Canterbury Stakes at Randwick today is so good, it needs two separate previews! Actually, I've screwed up and double-booked the race so I've posted both of them. An interesting point to note since these were written is that Chris Waller, trainer of Zoustar, has revealed there is a $2m bonus for the original owners of Zoustar if the horse wins another Group 1. This preview is written by regular Sydney racing contributor Tom Stewart, @tstewcav26 . --------------------- 2014 Canterbury Stakes The Canterbury Stakes is a Group One event held under weight for age conditions. Run over 1300m it has proved a benchmark race for many horses heading towards the George Ryder Stakes and the Doncaster Handicap. Over the years it has provided a launching pad for star horses such as More Joyous and Pierro, thus the reason it was elevated to Group One status last year. This year’s edition is enough to make my mouth water. The array of stars lining up in this field will make for a grea

After tipping us into Taquin de Seuil yesterday at 9/1, it's only fair we bring back James Norris, @jpnorris . The first of these is the juvenile feature, the Triumph Hurdle, a tricky contest with so many unexposed hurdlers, a mix of flat and NH-bred horses, and a few recent purchases from France as well. This preview was originally published on CheltenhamZone on Feb 25, so note there might be a few extra runners mentioned, and prices have moved. Content courtesy of @CheltenhamZone . ----------------------- Triumph Hurdle Since analysing the Triumph Hurdle picture shortly after Cheltenham’s ‘Trials Day’ all of the leading contenders have now completed their preparations on the track. The picture, as a result, has developed and shifted in a number of ways but one aspect has remained constant, LE ROCHER (N/R)still sets the standard (at least in form terms) having trounced his not insignificant opposition in Cheltenham’s Finesse Hurdle. He first arrived on the Triumph Hurdle

It all comes down to this, the highlight of the Festival, the Betfred Cheltenham Gold Cup. He's written all the intro spiel down below, so I'll simply hand over to Andrew Downes, @17forlife ----------------------- Gold Cup Preview The pinnacle of the entire Cheltenham Festival and the National Hunt season. It’s the race all jockeys and trainers want to win and the winners are remembered forever. It is often a crowd favourite as the same horses come back for another crack, year after year which means the horses carry a following from the punters and crowds. This year is no different as last year’s winner, Bobs Worth , is the current market leader. One of the most popular horses in training for his never say die attitude and his record at the festival. The endearing eight year old has won at the last three Festivals winning the stayers novice hurdle and chase and the big one itself last year. He would, or should I say WILL, be a hugely popular winner with both punters a

Not only is their magnificent racing this week at Cheltenham, but the Sydney racing carnival (yes, we call them carnivals in Australia rather than festivals) cranks right up as we head towards the inaugural running of The Championships. There's English interest in this race too, not only is it the resumption of the former royal-owned galloper (My) Kingdom of Fife after 2.5 years off due to injury, but the Royal Ascot-bound super colt Zoustar starts his 2014 campaign. There are no slouches in this field, although some might have targets later on in the autumn over more ground. Charged with the preview is astute form student and regular contributor Manny Galouzis, @ mannygalouzis . ----------------------- Canterbury Stakes Randwick $500,000 Group 1 1722 local time, 0822 GMT. 1300m, track expected to be Dead 5-Slow 7 range. Here we go again, punters. All eyes shift from Melbourne to Sydney this week as the Sydney Autumn Carnival kicks off. Two Group 1 races, the Randwick Gui

Opening the day three programme is another Novice event, and lo and behold, the favourite belongs to Willie Mullins! Can he make it three days in a row? For this race, we've once again called upon the services of CheltenhamZone , @cheltenhamzone and talented writer James Norris, @jpnorris . Originally posted Feb 27 so there will some slight difference in prices, but not the important one of the tip! Read more of their comprehensive content on their site ------------------- JLT Novices Chase Many will argue this race has no place at the Cheltenham Festival, largely because of what it takes away from others. This intermediate version is a modern creation and now, after three successful years, it has been upgraded to Grade 1 status. In time one can envisage it becoming the pre-eminent source of superstar stayers of the future and the victory of Sir Des Champs gives some indication of what’s to come. In fact, that mesmeric performance in 2012 almost single-handedly justifies