Great disparity in going across the country today. Down in Devon Newton Abbot report Good to Firm whilst towards the South East Sandown is Good to Soft.

Travel to the three northern meetings and we have soft ground at both Haydock and Doncaster. Whereas Beverly, just an hour from Doncaster, race on Good ground.

The past few weeks have been a guessing game for connections as to which conditions their horses will face on the day. Goes a long way to explaining the large number of horses already pulled out today.

We are going to quickly look at two races.

Sandown 4.00: What About Carlo is already a non-runner, leaving five to post in this valuable listed race. Roger Charlton sent Ayrad to Chantilly for a competitive Group 2 for his last outing. Showed up well and weakened in the latter stages on soft ground. Drops back to 2f today. Has shown he can handle the conditions. Cheek pieces fitted for the first time.

For me, there are doubts concerning trip and ground with main market rivals Spark Plug and Gm Hopkins.

I put Ayrad in at 7/4 on my private tissue.

Newton Abbot 3.45: Tricky handicap with a case to be made for a few here. On a point of value, Listen and Learn looks overpriced at the 14/1 on offer in places. Richard Johnson takes the ride on O’Neill’s only runner today. Worth watching the market.

Back tomorrow when Channel 4 concentrate on seven races from Haydock and Sandown including the Lancashire Oaks and the Eclipse.