TONY DOBBIN took a nasty tumble last weekend and had to take two days off, but he's now back in full flow and poised to scoop the richest race of the day aboard Ei Ei (3.35) in the Allied Irish Bank Chase at Sandown.

The rise and rise of Ei Ei has been a remarkable rags to riches tale, having started life winning a lowly selling hurdle for Devon-based trainer Mick Hill at Stratford on July 11, 2001.

He was snapped up at the following auction and sent to Michael Chapman, who from his Market Rasen stables has proceeded to win a further eight races with Ei Ei, mixing hurdling and chasing with equal success.

The eight-year-old gelding jumps for fun and seemingly never stops improving, so despite being on a career high handicap mark could have the measure of some highly-touted rivals in the day's Showcase Handicap.

In the following Careys Handicap Hurdle, the old-timer Kedge Anchor Man (3.55) bids for a second course and distance win.

He's getting a bit long in the tooth at 12, but close scrutiny of his past record reveals he's actually very lightly raced, due principally to intermittent injury problems.

With not many miles on the clock Kedge Anchor Man remains a force to be reckoned with, and even though he's approaching veteran status I can still envisage him showing his much younger rivals a clean pair of hooves in the two-and-a-half-mile event.

Full marks to Wolverhampton for staging a cracking £15,000 six-furlong handicap, bringing together some of the top speedsters from the all-weather circuit this term.

Given the right ammunition David "sprint king" Chapman rarely misses the opportunity to have a dip at such inviting prize money and looks as if he's targeted Quito (2.30) at the race.

Quito, who won once over course and distance much earlier in the season, then went right off the boil and posted an embarrassing string of duck eggs against his name.

Undeterred, Chapman kept returning to the well and eventually his gelding struck form with renewed vengeance at Southwell 18 days ago. Although Southwell's man-made surface is very similar to the one at Wolverhampton, I reckon Quito is marginally better on the latter form of Fibresand and should by rights complete a much-deserved double.

Over at Fakenham conditions underfoot will be very testing, not that it will worry the confirmed mudlark Auk (2.05) in the Windybottom Selling Handicap Hurdle.

The somewhat amusing title of the race will no doubt cause considerable mirth in betting shops up and down the land, but let's hope the punters have the last laugh because it was first blood to the bookies when Auk finished a beaten favourite at Leicester last time out.

At least there was a valid excuse for Auk's poor showing on that occasion since he was found to have mucus on his lungs not long after the race. Seemingly his infection has now cleared up and Richie's Forrestal's mount is fancied to bounce back in determined fashion.

* Jonjo O'Neill indicated his intention to appeal but remained tight-lipped as he left Jockey Club headquarters with a £6,000 fine yesterday.

The Jackdaws Castle trainer was called to Portman Square over the running of his horse Top of the Left at Exeter last month.

Despite the efforts of his legal team, O'Neill was given the fine, having already been in breach of the 'non-triers' rules twice with different horses in December.

The disciplinary panel found that O'Neill had failed to give adequate instructions to ensure that the horse was ridden to obtain its best possible placing.

Top of the Left's jockey Tom Siddall was given a five-day suspension (February 21-26) for 'failing to take all reasonable and permissible measures to achieve the best possible placing' and the horse was banned from racing for 30 days (February 21-March 22).

Siddall told the panel that his instructions had been ''to settle him in, take his time, not to hit him behind the saddle, to do his best and knock him about because he had been off the track for just short of two years''.

He admitted that he had appeared to use insufficient effort from the third-last flight and on reflection should either have pulled his mount up or been more vigorous and that his concern that the horse was getting tired had led him to let it come home in his own time.

However, the panel did not accept that this was an adequate reason for not making an effort.

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