For some reason this meeting began with a bumper. Not just any bumper, but a short distance all weather one for three year olds. On the one hand, with the gloom closing in early at this time of year, surely it was a better candidate to be the 15.45 race than a handicap chase. The other view is that with an early start, those that struggled to get here for 12.30 were not going to miss much...

Going: 

Chase: Good, Good to Soft places,     Hurdle: Good to Soft

Race 1: Lingfieldpark.co.uk Junior Standard Open National Hunt Flat Race [1m 5f]

1: Spanish Cruise     2: Patriot     3: Russian Angel

Winner owned: Griffiths Gifts Ltd, trained: Andrew Turnell, ridden: Mark Grant

The third bumper won here this autumn by the Andy Turnell team, and this one did not go unsupported in the betting ring. Suspicion remains that this was not a race with a large impact on future standards of excellence, although bear in mind favourite Lake Legend looked as if he would come on for the race - despite having had a competitive race at Towcester three weeks ago. If one horse deserves a fine future career it is the excellently named Eddystone: by Fantastic Light, out of Far Reaching. Alas, it is rarely that simple, and excelling in multiple fields is a rarity. Another newcomer was Pete The Feat, out of Supreme Novice Hurdle winner Tourist Attraction. He showed little but is in a yard not noted for bustling along it's youngsters.

Race 2: Jumping Here Again On December 15th mares' Novice Hurdle [2m 0.5f]

1: Lady Pilot     2: Princess Flame     3: Valassini

Winner owned: Odds On Racing, trained: Jim Best, ridden: Robert Lucey-Butler

The two Brendan Powell runners had set themselves up to battle out the finish, when a late charge from Lady Pilot turned both of them over. The winner proved to be totally unphased by falling on her debut when running a big race. Valassini eventually gave way to Princess Flame, but this was her first encouragement since coming in second on her debut a couple of seasons ago. The first quartet home were a long way clear of the rest. Mem O'Rees took a fall at the first and being in midfield must have taken an array of bumps and bruises, as did Tony McCoy. Flat soft ground middle distance winning French import (henceforth referred to as a FSGMDWFI) Pakaradyssa did not have an auspicious start over jumps, but could always have learnt a lot - she will have needed to.

A less than exhausted Lady Pilot yards from the finishing line

Race 3: Arena Leisure Plc Beginners Chase [2m]

1: Pauillac     2: William Bonney     3: Cathedral Rock

Winner owned: David Johnson, trained: David Pipe, ridden: Tony McCoy

Six ran, none of which had ventured into chases before today, and they all had done their winning on soft and heavy. So there were grounds for a surprise or two, none of which happened as the field finished more or less in the market (and hurdle rating) order. Winner Pauillac had two handlers all the way to the end of the walkway out on to the track, which suggests that he has his hairy moments every now and then - not necessarily a bad thing if the energy can be applied wisely. As for the literal form, William Bonney saw defeat readily accepted at the last, and Cathedral Rock, last seen over further as a hurdler, had an obvious tune up run as well. A Double Ewe Bee's aptitude will be better measured at a more realistic level - she was rated over 50 pounds behind Pauillac as a hurdler.

Race 4: Lingfield Park Golf Course Novice Hurdle [2m 3.5f]

1: Hidden Weapon     2: Go Amwell     3: Azione

Winner owned: MJ Hills, trained: Jim Best, ridden: Timothy Bailey

A double for the in-form Jim Best string, completed with Hidden Weapon, running for the yard for the first time after managing no completions in his career of three runs so far - and on the back of 20 months off. Some would have backed him in trust of the yard's hot streak, but there was genuinely no way to measure his ability, or lack of it. Go Amwell looked to have just secured enough of a lead at the last, but it was a false impression, even though it was only in the last few yards that he finally gave way. The money and fitness pointed to Azione, but his low, elongated silhouette creates a bad vibe to the human eye. He made the frame but was well beaten in the end, the one upside being that he was well clear of the rest, only three of which actually finished.

Race 5: Lingfieldpark.co.uk Handicap Chase [3m]

1: Victor Daly     2: Noble Action     3: Supreme Tadgh

Winner owned: CB Compton, trained: Heather Dalton, ridden: Andrew Tinkler

A non-novice race but fought out between a couple of chase debutants. Their careers were very different to date, with Noble Action missing plenty of time through injury but posting some good results when he actually gets on to a track, but Victor Daly had started out well enough in bumpers only to lose the plot entirely as a hurdler. With Supreme Tadgh officially 13 lengths behind, but even less dangerous than that sounds, the first two probably can look to the future with a bit of optimism - so nearly the first Slade quote of the Christmas period. Irish import Julius is 20lb above his only winning rating - admittedly a demolition of a big field - and might need a flop or two before he can get competitive again. He was not given a hard time once seen off on this occasion.

Race 6: Vizards Wyeth Handicap Hurdle [2m 0.5f]

1: Prime Contender     2: Coconut Beach     3: Doctor David

Winner owned: Matthew Green & Richard Green, trained: Gary Moore, ridden: Ryan Moore

A rare highlight moment for Ryan Moore at his jinx course, with Prime Contender a very easy winner. After a successful hurdles debut, the horse has been spectacularly inconsistent, although all tries in handicaps had been dreadful flops, including when on a sharp track.  The opposition did not put up much resistance, although Coconut Beach showed a certain degree of resilience to fight back after being headed four from home. 

Race 7: Book Online For Discounted Prices Handicap Chase [2m]

1: Silver Inngot     2: Zorro De La Vega     3: Gentle John

Winner owned: J Browne, Mrs C Robertson, Mrs E Woodhouse, trained: Robert Alner, ridden: Daryl Jacob

This was something of a surprise as Silver Inngot had been off for 951 days and was not a two miler in the old days by any stretch of the imagination. He did have some good runs first time up to his name, but he was not the only one that could boast that. Lindsay also went well fresh but he had a shorter break to defy. Which he could not. An undulating track was a bit of a question mark, and he has changed trainer - is the new yard's training regimen non-compatible with the previous performance pattern? Gentle John had one good and one poor chase run to his name - this sits between the two. Given the fact that wins are currently being outnumbered by let downs in the Pipe string, Zorro De La Vega's second here has to be thought of as relatively encouraging.

Plus points  

Russian Angel (race 1): If anything improves dramatically out of the opener, she may be the one, as she was very green to start with, looking likely to stop if left to her own devices, but eventually the penny dropped and she finished quite purposefully.

Gobejolly (race 2): Showed a) definite ability in bumpers and b) signs in today's preliminaries that she may be a bit of a handful. With the passing of time, hopefully point A can gain the ascendancy over point B

William Bonney (race 3): Came in second to a hurdler rated over a stone higher, and although not comprehensively beaten at the last, Mick Fitzgerald accepted early on the run in that Pauillac was going to be too fast for him.

Cathedral Rock (race 3): Apart from being nudged along a bit to secure third coming down the hill, he had a really gentle intro to chasing. His flop at two and a half miles last season came on the back of only a week between races, and he may be up to it this year.

Galoshes (race 4): A nice big horse, with a soft ground action, he looks one for the future. The bad news is that he fell at the last and was down winded for ages, but a couple of confidence boosters will do him, and his handicap mark, a world of good.

Victor Daly (race 5): Very decent way to start a chase career taking a big step up in trip. Just like the yard as a whole, he was below his best last season, and could have plenty of spare room with the handicapper.

Noble Action (race 5): Mostly jumped soundly, and was done for when awkward at the last. He should be able to develop on this.

Doctor David (race 6): Looks  bit high in the handicap but he settled much better than he was doing last season, which gives some scope to catch and overtake the mark.

Down arrows

Plume D'Oudairies (race 2): Even allowing for the quiet debuts most of Henrietta Knight's runners have been having, this was well short of her first UK runs, and she has a trend of regression to her discredit.

Colwyn Bay (race 4): Improved on the flat (4 wins this year) since an abortive hurdle run last December. That progress was not replicated in this unexceptional race.

Supreme Tadgh (race 5): Usually wins after a break and slowly goes off the boil, but if he repeats the pattern this time, starting out with  a third place sets a bleak perspective on the immediate future.

Cortinas (race 6): His previous flop could be thought to be classic third run syndrome, but having gone straight into handicaps, he did not do any better, although he was unproven on the ground.

Kayceecee (race 7): Makes significant errors in most races, and when he does not the handicapper quickly allows for the slightly improved performance

Albarino (race 7): Was making his 17th chase appearane of 2007 and has even won one of them, but does concentrate most of his energy on avoiding success