Kendal Calling might not have taken place this year, but fear not, I can think of a perfect way for you to end your summer holidays with a trip to Cartmel racecourse, and who knows, you might pick up some of their famous sticky toffee pudding along the way.
Two final chances beckon this summer for trainers and jockeys to get their hands on the brilliant sticky toffee pudding on offer for winning at Cartmel, and with spectators now fully allowed back in again, you can expect a bumper crowd to be there to watch all the action unfold on Saturday and Monday.
This preview piece though focuses on Saturday's card, where small fields are the theme of the day, which might just make it a little bit easier to find some winners, notice how I said might and not definitely!
So let's all stop dreaming about the sticky toffee for now, and have a look to see if I can find you any winners...
Race one is a five runner Novices' Hurdle to kick off the seven race card, and I can't see past it being anything more than a duel between the two market leaders in Gladiatorial and Ibbenburen.
Ibbenburen ran well to win at Bangor last month, staying out the trip strongly, but Gladiatorial has useful seven pound claimer William Marshall on board, so his penalty that he has for already winning a novice race is equalled out by this claim and I think that could be the difference here.
Another plus for Gladiatorial is the course form he has, when he was just narrowly denied last time out and despite Ibbenburen showing he clearly likes going left-handed with his win at Bangor and second the time before at Stratford, Cartmel is a one of a kind track, and sometimes horses just can't take it.
So Gladiatorial is my safe bet in the first, but I wouldn't at all be surprised if Ibbenburen goes close again, meanwhile Gripper is the only other horse worth mentioning here as he did spring a shock last time out when he won on his yard debut up at Perth at 33/1, but he's largely inconsistent, and would need to step up again to challenge these two.
The second race of the day sees the Mares Hurdle take place, and we have plenty of horses in here who have track form.
Catchmeifyoucan has been enjoying herself this season, and is clearly thriving for her yard, racking up two wins and two seconds so far this campaign, including winning here over further where Liffeydale Dreamer finished second that day.
Liffeydale Dreamer is a course and distance winner and has also been running really well this season, with a good win over 3m 1f at the track before that close second to Catchmeifyoucan.
Calliope has a mark which is slowly starting to drop to something that she is more than capable of winning off, but the step up in trip again is a worry considering she has never won past 2 1/4m and that's the only thing which could keep her out of this contest, because apart from that she ticks all the boxes.
Timetoroe has been consistent without getting her head in front this season, and Peter Kavanagh takes off a useful 10lbs through his claim, but this horse has already had chances to win so far this campaign so that's the slight worry here.
She's dangerous to rule out though, after all, she did win last summer for her old handler in Archie Watson, and she does look ready to strike but her attitude needs to be right if she's going to get the job done here.
My marginal preference here is for Catchmeifyoucan, mainly because I was there last time she won, and I just think she is the best horse in the field, Liffeydale Dreamer can chase her home again while Timetoroe might have to settle for third place once more.
In race three we finally get to go over the larger obstacles, and we're on win only here because there's it's a three runner field in this Novices' Chase.
Onthefrontfoot has taken well to fences so far this season, winning twice and having two seconds to go alongside them.
He races off an unchanged mark from his second at Perth last time out, where he was beaten 3/4 of a length by a stablemate who had been off the track for a very long time, and I think this horse could still be capable of better than this and he'll go close again.
Rooster Cogburn fell at the first at Newton Abbot last week, so that run can easily be forgotten about based on the fact he bolted up at Market Rasen the time before to win by 10 lengths.
He didn't make it home the last time he ran here, and granted he could get an easy lead out in front, he will be hard to stop if his jumping holds up and will be hard to peg back, but he does need to improve massively if he wants to challenge Onthefrontfoot who is rated 128 compared to his 110.
Check My Pulse has shown some signs of promise tackling the larger obstacles, and you can't rule him out of this contest either because if he bounces back from a some what dissapointing last outing, he's more than capable of beating his two rivals home here.
I'm really struggling to pick a winner from the three here because I do think Onthefrontfoot is the best horse in the race, but the weight that Rooster Cogburn is getting from him could well be the difference, alongside the fact that he could go quite hard out in front again and might not come back to them this time and fold up like a deck chair.
I'll take a chance with Rooster Cogburn because I think he's a bit better than his mark suggests, but Onthefrontfoot is clearly the one to beat here.
If your placepot is still going after that race then I'm sorry to break it to you but it doesn't get any easier from here.
Race four is a Class five Handicap Chase, and there's a few that could win this again here so, we're lucky that there's at least three places on offer to try and get something at each-way value.
More Buck's won off a mark of 133 back in 2019 and he is very well handicapped in this field which possesses any real star quality or standout winners.
His efforts of late had been dissapointing until last time out, where an attacking ride seemed to bring out the best of him again, and if he can follow up that run he should be able to win this with no issues.
My Renaissance likes it here over these obstacles this season, racking up three third places from three runs so far, you can't rule him out at all but the distance is the only worry, as his last efforts at this far over fences haven't shown much promise and that could be the only thing stopping him from being the winner here.
Ardera Cross is struggling this term, but his mark is sliding down to an attractive mark like a few others in the field, and if bouncing back to anything like his best then he'll definitely have a say here, and could be another one which is ready to strike.
Tokaramore though is my each-way selection for the race, because this horse has been running over way further than this distance, and with a strong pace likely, it'll suit this horse as she can stay on past tired horses at the finish and could easily win it if More Buck's goes fast enough in front and tires late on.
She's also on a good mark, and this race could well end up being between her and whether she can catch More Buck's in what could be a very close finish with plenty of horses below their last winning mark, and the handicapper has definitely made this contest as wide open as possible that's for sure.
In race five we keep the run of chase races going with another handicap, and the field is competitive once more.
Breaking the Ice has gone from strength to strength over fences this season, winning here first before following up at Perth 11 days later.
A 9lb rise might not stop him from winning again and he's still very dangerous with his usual pilot Dillan Hurst still on board.
Go on Chez showed very little form over hurdles for Oliver Greenall, but a wind operation and a switch to the larger obstacles seemed to do the trick for him last time out as he won at Uttoxeter.
He's still on a very workable mark and he might follow up that success here, despite not looking the most consistent in the past.
Cesar Et Rosalie stayed on well to win last time out and is yet another in this race who is still on a good mark, while Dee Valley has been modest at best this season and needs to improve if he wants to get involved here.
Scoop the Pot definitely makes some each-way appeal to me, seeming as though he's shown that he's clearly enjoying himself more over fences than hurdles as of late.
He stays the trip well like some of the others and does have his quirks about him, but if he's in the right mood this could end up being an easy assignment for him here, after all, he did win off a mark of 131 back in 2018.
I'll take a gamble here and play for each-way purposes again with Scoop the Pot, but the top two in the market in Breaking the Ice and Go on Chez could both be hard to beat seeming as though they have plenty of room to work with on their current marks.
Back to hurdles for race six and the last race of the placepot, and we have the Cartmel Cup on offer here for whoever wins the race.
Alqamar has looked smart so far for James Moffatt and with Charlotte Jones doing the steering again, this horse looks to make it four wins from four this season.
His mark of 129 does demand more again but he could be more than capable of defying that rise in the weights.
Ingleby Hollow was unlucky on his yard debut last time for Rebecca Menzies, conceding first run to the winner.
The ex David O'Meara trained horse is still on a very competitive mark and the race might be run to suit this time and that puts him in with a big chance here.
Finisk River won twice at the course last summer and always seems to go well from the front.
However, he'll face competition from Beeno for that lead, and he doesn't have much room off his current mark so could just find one or two of these too good again.
Pateen ran well over course and distance to finish second behind Alqamar, before coming back and going one better next time out.
The worry here is that he reportedly bled last time, and would to produce a miles better performance than what he has done so far this season, but it would also be stupid to rule him out considering the form he is in.
Beeno is a 12 year-old veteran now and he's just an old boy who is still loving his racing.
He always gives it his all and with the handicapper starting to give him a chance again, it would be silly to rule out this crowd favourite course and distance winner here around the track where he has always produced his best form on.
I think this race lies between Alqamar and Ingleby Hollow and whether a mark of 129 can stop the progressive James Moffatt charge from winning again.
I'll side with Ingleby Hollow because his mark is still very fair and would've won last time out if he didn't concede first run so, Beeno will always give you a run for your money as well and I would love nothing more than to see him get his head back in front.
The final race of the day is a conditional jockeys' handicap hurdle and seems a lot easier to pick a winner out of them than some of the other races on the card.
First Quest ran well last time at Newton Abbot off the back of a long absence but he's winless since 2019 and has been largely inconsistent and despite the trainer Neil Mulholland having his horses in flying form, I don't think he'll win this.
Golden Town is a course and distance winner who's dropped in class since his last run and could go well here for the track's leading jockey-trainer combo.
He has to run off a massive weight of 12st 2 but he's more than capable of that and will go close.
Universal Folly is a lightly raced six year-old who ran well of the back of a wind operation last time out, and with 2nd time usually being the charm with those operations, he could win here, mainly due to the fact he has ran better off a higher mark and also looks ready to strike for the Nicky Richards stable.
The last horse who is in the frame here is Frightened Rabbit, who was a course and distance winner back in June this year, but his current mark demands a bit more than that recent effort if he wants to win again here and he also needs to put a poor run at Carlisle on the flat behind him to bounce back to winning ways.
My selection in the last then is Universal Folly who looks too good to ignore here, and I reckon it could be Golden Town who could chase him home.
So that's day one of the bank holiday meeting previewed then, I'll be back with a round-up of day one with all the results and will also preview day two once the declarations are out, good luck as always and enjoy the racing!
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