A few days removed from Valentine’s day and another weekend of goodies, it will be back to a new week and inching closer to The Festival. In a week full of horse racing entertainment, Carlisle will also be amongst the tracks serving up a good one with seven races on the card. However, the number of races could go up to eight if declarations allow, following a recent trend of splitting up a race into two. Regarding the track, the hurdles will race on the inner track, while the ground may be frozen as the snow keeps coming. Fans will be thrilled to have another day of racing to go through their notes and fine-tune their picks for Cheltenham, wishing they could have an online bet calculator for the grand national or Cheltenham to make predictions easier.
The day at Carlisle kicks off at midday, with Class 4 run for horses rated 0-120, aged four years old and above. The starting grid has 29 horses ready to take on a two-mile, three furlongs, and sixty-one-yard distance for 7,273 GBP. One to watch out for will be Nigel Twiston-Davies’ Don Juan du Gouet, 8-year old gelding from France. Coming into the race, Don Juan du Gouet is rated 104 and weighs in at ten stones. The second race will be the INTRODUCING RACING TV NOVICES’ LIMITED HANDICAP STEEPLECHASE, at 1 pm. A Class 3 GBB race, the horses will have three miles, two furlongs, and thirty-four yards to cover for 12,200 GBP this will be the biggest prizemoney of the afternoon.
Paul Nicholls and Jonjo O’Neil have interests in this one, with both men having a gelding a piece in the mix. The race will be for horses aged five years and above, and rated 0-135. A second race will kick off within the hour, as the Class 4 THE WATCH IRISH RACING ON RACING TV NOVICES’ HURDLE RACE rounds up the opening triplet of races. For two miles and one furlong, 43 horses four years and above will gun it for 5,800 GBP. Two races follow up within the hou of 2 pm, starting with the RACING POST GONORTH WEEKEND 20-22 MARCH HANDICAP STEEPLECHASE for horses rated 0-100 at Class 4, and aged five years old and above. the distance to run will be three miles, two furlongs, and thirty-four yards, for 8,035 GBP. The second run of the hour will kick off at half past the hour, this time, the hurdle version of the Racing Post Gonorth Weekend 20-22.
A Class lower than the earlier race, the distance to run will be two miles and a furlong, for 5,844 GBP. Horses must be four years old and above, and rated between 0-100. The 3 pm races commence with the RACING TV HANDICAP STEEPLECHASE, for Class 4 horses rated 0-120 and above five years of age. The take for the winner in this one will be 8,035 GBP, after covering a distance of one mile, seven furlongs, and two hundred and seven yards. The final race of the day starts half an hour later, the IRISH THOROUGHBRED MARKETING MARES’ STANDARD OPEN NATIONAL HUNT FLAT RACE.
