Due to the unfortunate abandonment of the Woodland Pytchley meeting on Easter Saturday the Midlands area now focusses on the South Notts meeting on Easter Monday at Thorpe Lodge, Newark.

Thorpe Lodge is best approached using the postcode NG23 5PY or What3Words police.keen.shun. There are six scheduled races including a new Maiden race for four and five year olds which will be the second race of the day. The first race commences at 1.30pm.

The feature race of the day will now be the fourth race, The Silcock & Partners Mixed Open, which has eleven entries, some of which will have multiple entries over the Easter weekend and therefore may not declare on Monday. Top rated of a good bunch is Ragnar Lodbrok, winner of its last three this season, but there will be plenty of good quality competition in this race from the likes of Badbad Leroy Brown, Bawnmore, Bothwell Bridge, Camdonian, Dundrum Wood, Lift Me Up, The Unmentionable and The Whistle Blower.

Monday's opener is a conditions race for older horses, sponsored by Frank Key, which has attracted entries from eleven horses. Most of these are veteran pointers but Ask Ben races between the flags for the first time after a career under rules which included two wins over hurdles. Knight in Dubai, trained by Jennifer Owen for the Stearns, is probably the one to beat. The eleven-year-old is only entered for this meeting and has two wins from three this season but will carry a 6lb penalty.

The majority of the fourteen entries for the four and five-year-old maiden race which follows this are running in a point-to-point for the first time and using this national series of young horse races to add some possible sales value. It will be run over the shorter distance of two and a half miles.

There are several very competitive entries among the twelve for the Triangle Kia Intermediate race, third on the card. I'm Spellbound fell last time out but has an excellent record and is well rated. Trainer Gina Ellis also has him entered for the penultimate race, the Conditions. Others to watch include Champagne Glory (Jack Andrews/Stuart Morris), Courting Flow (C. Furness/Jack Teal), Goleirihem (Izzy Marshall/Alan Hill), Grangeclere Diego (Paddy Barlow/Jon Barlow), Happy Victory (Dale Peters), In Our Dreams (Zac Baker/Francesca Poste), Jeux d'Eau (Huw Edwards/Laura Richardson), Red Delta (J. Dawson/Fiona Needham) and The New Kid (Dale Peters) - an interesting contest.

The second Conditions race of the day has twelve entries, with I'm Spellbound the top-rated. If it runs here it could come up against Latenightrumble from the same stable so it seems likely one of these will run elsewhere. Happy Victory, The New Kid and In Our Dreams are others from the Intermediate with entries here too. Caballo Diablo (Paddy Barlow/Jon Barlow), Our Brother John (Izzy Marshall/Alan Hill) and Runwiththetide (Ellie Callwood/Kelly Morgan) also all have wins this season.

The final race of the day is a maiden race with no weight allowances for age. As many as 15 horses could line up for this three-miler, including Kaviar Wood, Pin Stone, Schiapars Magern and Windseeker Lad, all of whom would be making their racecourse debut. The six-year-old Creapapy (Gina Ellis) might be the one to beat here.

Thorpe Lodge will be busy with trade stands, catering options, a bar, bookmakers and the usual range of entertainment off the track. We will keep you updated with going reports on the National and Midlands Pointing websites and look forward to seeing you there.