Something for the weekend...

At Newmarket tomorrow thirty four go to post for the Cambridgeshire; bookmakers bet 10/1 the field with Skybet paying each way six places. Picking the winner is well beyond my limited capabilties. In the last decade two favourites have obliged (Pipedreamer in 2007 and Blue Monday in 2005) but in 2004 Spanish Don was returned at 100/1. I won't have a bet but, if a gun were held to my head, I'd start by looking at horses carrying less than nine stones.

Course and distance winner Ghanaati returns to racing against her own sex in the Sun Chariot Stakes at three o'clock, having finished a well-beaten third behind Rip Van Winkle in the Sussex at Goodwood. She's been given time to get over that effort, has a favourite's chance and is the selection.

All eyes will be on Longchamp on Sunday when Sea The Stars attempts to win the Qatar Prix de L'Arc de Triomphe at 3.15 BST. Last year Rishi Persad told BBC viewers he would walk home if Zarkava won the race - Zarkava won but Rishi never kept his promise; I wonder if he'll be similarly rash this year. Eighteen go to post; at the time of writing Sea The Stars is 8/11 in places but generally a 4/6 shot. The Arc is often a rough race and the draw can be crucial - the favourite has been given stall six which I would imagine will please John Oxx. The handler went on record a couple of days ago saying he didn't want a low draw (Zarkava won from stall one last year, the first horse to do so since 1964). Similarly you don't want a really wide draw - Andre Fabre said previously he was running for second place with Cavalryman but the horse has been done no favours whatsoever with berth 19. Before the draw, Cavalryman, with Dettori riding, was decent enough value at 10/1 - he's now generally a 12/1 shot. Vision D'Etat is worth a second look and probably overpriced at 14/1 with Coral but as a four-year-old he's set to carry nine stone five; three-year-olds have won 12 of the last 15 runnings. Stacelita remains unbeaten even though she was beaten fair and square by Dar Re Mi the last time, being awarded the Prix Vermeille in the stewards' room on a technicality, much to the disgust of Dar Re Mi's owner Lord Lloyd Webber and his wife who was most indignant in the aftermath. I'm going to stick with an each-way interest in Cavalryman - the poor draw is a major concern - but, along with many I suspect, I hope to see Sea The Stars win the day.

For those who prefer a bit of fun on a Sunday, the tenth running of the annual Mascot Grand National takes place at Huntingdon racecourse over a distance of one furlong two hundred and twenty yards. Mascots caught wearing spikes are likely to be disqualified...