The Melton Hunt Club meeting at Garthorpe is on Sunday 13th May, with the first race scheduled for 2pm, following the Pony Racing at 1pm.

We have a seven-race card which includes a novice riders race, a race for older horses of ten and upwards, a mares and fillies race, restricted and mixed open. There are 112 horses entered but it is important to emphasise that this does not mean they will all race. The entry system for Point-to-Point racing means that although horses may have paid to enter they may still decide not to run or to run elsewhere at their own expense. Some of the horses here are entered in three races.

To illustrate this there are seventeen horses entered for the first race, The Melton Hunt Club Members Conditions Race. More than half of those horses have other entries on the day at Garthorpe.

Most of the entries for this race have very similar ratings, so their recent form may be key. Six horses won on their last outing: Bingo Star (Revesby), Age Of Heroes (Horseheath), Kimora (Andoversford), Love Manhattan (Revesby), Max O (Guilsborough), Midnight King (Garthorpe) and Our Milly Acres (Tabley). Quick Oats, Snuker and Gunmoney have also got recent wins and will enjoy faster ground. A great race in prospect.

Horses in the Restricted race which follows have won a single race before. For Age Of Heroes, Benefit Of Luck and The Glover this was in their most recent outing, as maidens, so they may have a better chance. Dulwich Hill, Don't Budge Me, Order In Court, Quirky Kirky and Somme Boy have seconds in Restricted races which could make them a better bet. Blackwood Rover and Platinum Ben were both pulled up on their last outing but that was on soft ground, so the quicker ground might suit them.

We've enjoyed some great novice rider races this season and the one on the cards for this meeting looks like it might continue the trend. The form horses in this particular entry list are Kashmir Peak and L'Eldorado with multiple wins this season, but Ballycahane, Derksen, Hurricane Vic, Max O, Pantxoa, Kimora all won on their last outing too. Bayley's Dream, with three wins this season, is certainly another to watch.  They lost out to Kashmir Peak last time out but Kashmir Peak has other entries over the weekend.

The next race, at 3.45pm, is a shorter, 2m4f race for horses of ten years or older. If they both declare then this could turn out to be a contest between John Chatfeild-Roberts' She's Real and The Learning Curve Partnership's Mr Syntax. Others to consider should be Blackwood Rover, Gallox Bridge, Sam Cavallaro and Santa's Secret.

The mixed open here should see a return to the track for TheTalkingHorse, whom the ground should suit and with it, possibly, a head to head with Hazel Hill. Both horses are prolific winners here and elsewhere, the latter having won their last two outings in hunter chases at Leicester and Towcester. Challenging them might be Caryto Des Brosses, with four wins this season at a lower level, and Toby Lerone, who won recently at Edgecote.

Mares and Fillies race in the next, over three miles. Chosen Rose has won on her last two outings, propelling her from maiden to intermediate. Our Milly Acres has won at Tabley recently but was slightly off the pace at Mollington. Follow The Paint won back in March but hasn't had it all her own way in three runs since, but has been in the places. Kimora won a Ladies Open for older horses at Andoversford last month but the ground will be very different here.

Finally, we have the open maiden race, with a familiar mixture of first time runners and more experienced horses. Chosen Tribe, Order In Court, Mackie Dee, High Hopper and Pelegrine Falcon are all horses who have shown potential here but there a couple of un-raced youngsters to keep an eye on.

Tickets on the gate are £13 (under 16s are free) but can be purchased in advance at midlandspointing.com for £10. Garthorpe will be teeming with trade stands, food and drink, bookmakers and children's entertainments so there is something for all the family.