RACE PREVIEW & TIPS (THURSDAY)

14:50 Ludlow

Reigning Champion Jockey and recent MBE Richard Johnson has a quartet of rides here at Ludlow today and arguably all four have very strong claims but the one that looks the most likely to end in the winners enclosure has to be the Warren Greatrex trained Little Jack. A win in his first national hunt flat race was followed by an encouraging 3rd in a similar event after a long summer layoff. There’s no doubt the horse will strip fitter for his seasonal reappearance and as he takes to hurdling for the first time is likely to put in an improved effort against a less competitive set of rivals.

The similarly named Smackwater Jack hails from the yard of Olly Murphy who’s hit a blistering run of recent form. His horses are going great guns and the fact that top jockey Aidan Coleman (who bagged his first Grade 1 winning ride recently) has traveled to Ludlow for just this ride is very telling. The horse did well when finishing 2nd in his last run and aims to go one better here. I just hope that Richard Johnson’s mount has a bit more class and will overturn his namesake.

LITTLE JACK (WIN) – NAP