The Melton Hunt Club meeting will take place at Garthorpe in Leicestershire on Sunday 2nd February, where there will be six races including two maidens , ladies and mens opens. The first race is at noon.

The old turf of Garthorpe has taken the recent rains well and the going at the start of the week is Good, with Good to Soft in places.

The Ladies Open is the second of two open races on the card and is due to start at 2.20pm and run over three miles. Local trainer Kelly Morgan will have lots of support for Bothwell Bridge (Ellie Callwood), winner of three out of five of his runs between the flags, second in the other two, and Midlands Leading Horse last season. They do have strong competition, though, from Master Templar (Gina Andrews), winner of eleven point-to-point races to date, including thee Ladies Opens; and Soldier Unknown (Izzy Hill), winner of four from five runs, most recently at Wadebridge in December. Soft ground won't both any of these. Bardenstown Lad was second to Master Templar in December at Chaddesley Corbett so they will be hoping to go one better. You can never discount the Turners at Garthorpe and they bring Janika to one of their favourite tracks.

The Mens Open precedes this at 1.45pm and also includes entries for Bardenstown Lad, Janika and Tanora. Leading the market here will be Fier Jaguen, the prolific gelding trained by Bradley Gibbs who had won nine of his 14 starts to date. He has won at Garthorpe before, unlike his local rival Go Go Geronimo, whose seven wins are far and wide but notably do not include his local track. Summerville Boy makes his point-to-point debut here while Ouro Branco starts their second, both having won under rules several times.

The first race of the day is a conditions race for horses of five-years-old and over for which 13 horses are entered. Julian Sherriff's Premier Magic, trained by Bradley Gibbs, is a very competent pointer and hunter chaser who has won here at Garthorpe, but they will face a serious challenge from I'm Spellbound, trained by Gina Andrews for the Signy and Marriage families which has won of both its last two outings, most recently on soft and heavy ground. Soldier Unknown is one to watch in this one, a promising younger pointer with a four from five record between the flags. Everything Now is another capable pointer, lightly raced in recent seasons and ridden here by novive rider Alexandra Ingram. Llandinabo Lad has a 100% record so far in points but will probably find this a step up. Morning Spirit is another debutant, a winner under rules, representing the Kelly Morgan yard. Janika is entered here as well as the opens, as is Ouro Branco.

Four and Five-year-old Maiden races are tricky at this time of year because most would prefer better ground for their youngsters and there seem to be similar races at several other meetings this weekend. We do have six forward for the Tattersalls two-and-a-half-miler here, three four-year-olds who will get a stone of weight advantage, and three five. The only one with any racecourse experience is the Bevins' Kaviar Wood who ran three times last season as a four-year-old. Gina Andrews trains two of the entries, Radical Optimism and The Head Waiter, and so does Francesca Poste - Laudable and Lystar du Mazet.

There are 8 entries for the Intermediate race, next. Designed to Win (Dale Peters) has lived up to his name having run twice and won both for David Kemp who has had great success at this course over the years. Crocodile Lounge is another trained by Bradley Gibbs, pulled up last time but won two out of two last year. Arctic Oscar represents the Gina Andrews stable with a third at Chaddesley Corbett this season after a win here last season. Alex Chadwick will ride Fame And Concrete for Nick Wright, returning after a year out. Paddy Barlow will ride Trojan du Berlais, a three-time winner last year.

The last race of the day is at 2.55pm, when 17 entries will compete for the three-mile maiden with no weight allowances for age, unlike the earlier race. Ifwegetaway, Myneighbour and Radical Optimism would all be making their racecourse debuts, while Bobs Dream, Dontblamejack, Just A joy, Priceforlove and Secret Plan all have some racing experience but are new to points in England. Highway Skyline showed promise when second at Horseheath in December in what looked like an educational run and may be one to watch here. Hollywood Harmon and You And Me Too have also both been placed previously. Bahio Boum ran at Revesby but seemed to want to go right-handed, so this course should suit.

As usual there will be entertainment for all at Garthorpe on Sunday, including a licensed bar, bookmakers, trade stands and some rides for the children.