A TOTAL of 204 horses have been entered for Chepstow’s six-race meeting on Friday and good-sized fields are guaranteed.

The three-mile novice chase could be a classy affair. Jammin Masters, second in a £100,000 handicap at Ascot just before Christmas, will be a popular choice if he runs. He trotted up in a hurdle on this day in 2018 by 27 lengths.

Another possible contender is Venetia Williams’ Yalltari. He won four of his last five races, most recently at Chepstow on Welsh Grand National day. The defeat was when second on the same course to Steely Addition, another entry on Friday.

Admission is as little as £10 if booked in advance, £15 on the day.

Karakoram ran a blinder to finish third for Grace Harris at Ffos Las on Monday. Having his third race over hurdles, the 100/1 shot improved his position coming into the straight and was the only one to stay near the first and second. As he’s only just turned four, this was welcome encouragement, for he had shown little ability before this. The rest of the dozen runners came in well behind. The only downside is that the two principals were rated 133 and 128 before this race and, in view of Karakoram’s past record, Harris will be hoping the handicapper doesn’t take the form literally. He was running in the colours of the Grace Harris Racing Club. Their new acquisition, Tuscany, may make his debut for them at Wolverhampton on Saturday. It’s likely to be an exploratory outing, for since winning twice for Paul Cole in autumn 2017, he has run poorly, as his £1,200 price tag indicated. But if any of his old spark can be reignited, that would be a bargain.

Coincidentally, Pandy’s Nikki Evans has started a new racing club recently. For £289 a year, you get a 1% stake in Outback Traveller, who has won six times on the flat, including at Royal Ascot in 2016. Moves are afoot to add a jumper to run for the club too. There is scope to pay by instalments, or indeed to buy multiple shares of up to 10%. Syndicates are low-cost ways to experience the fun of racing from the inside. That could be from inside the stable, the parade ring or, if you’re lucky, the winner’s enclosure and the champagne bar.

The David Evans stable’s New Year revival continued when Amor Fati won over seven furlongs at Chelmsford on Friday. The former inmate of senior Irish trainer John Oxx ran a stinker the time before with a first-time visor, and it was left off this time. He won with a bit up his sleeve, and with that in mind, the next day he was sent to Wolverhampton to take part in a race over their extended mile. In a slowly-run contest he ran on late to finish third.

Dai Burchell’s Mollyow ran a bit better than her 23-length defeat at Ffos Las on Monday suggests. She finished fourth, but her best form is over less than that race’s two and three-quarter miles, and on faster ground than the soft going that day. It would be rash to think this eleven-year-old mare, whose record is 2-40, is a winner in waiting, but it is just possible she might have another race in her given optimum conditions.