Courtside obliges @ 6/4

Thank you to those clients who emailed this evening following the success of Courtside on his handicap debut at Chelmsford on Wednesday. I was told while working at Pontefract on Monday evening that the son of Siyouni was considered very well handicapped and so it proved. David Simcock's three year old, who was gelded during the winter, won the 0-70 three year old handicap over a mile off a rating of 69. An eyecatcher last time over the same course and distance in a novice stakes which has worked out well, he was slowly away again but the strong early pace played into Jamie Spencer's hands as he came with a sustained challenge in the home straight. A cosy winner by a length, he is the sort to stay ahead of the assessor because further improvement will be forthcoming as he steps up in distance as the season unfolds. I hope plenty of readers snapped up the 9/4 which was available early on.

As discussed, I am working on the Royal Ascot Update, which will be emailed out on Sunday evening. William Haggas kindly emailed me a list of his likely runners this morning, including his 'best chance of the week.' There is some terrific information amongst the email and not just for next week. I will include the most relevant bits in the Update. There is still plenty of time to order a copy. The Update is £10.00.

I am working at Aintree on Friday evening - it will seem strange being at the home of the Grand National on the eve of the biggest Flat meeting of the year. However, I have been told about a couple of unraced two year olds to watch out for in the next few days and will endeavour to mention them in my Diary before I depart for Liverpool.