FEW jockeys ride Windsor better than Pat Eddery, who has been snapped up by Malton-based handler John Quinn to partner Carlton (3.10) in the richest race on the card, the five furlong £11,750 Castle Restaurant Stakes.

Evergreen Eddery has turned 50, but his appetite for the sport remains undiminished and it's no surprise that his services are still very much in demand.

For Carlton's supporters Eddery's presence aboard the speedster is a massive bonus because the ground across the width of the home straight at Windsor can vary immensely depending on how much rain has fallen.

Considering it has been tipping down over the south London course local knowledge will be vital in assessing exactly where the fastest strip of ground is.

As for the form credentials of the selection, the eight-year-old gelding often comes good at this stage of the season, and has won at Windsor in days gone by.

Paul Cole's decision to switch Full House (4.15) back to the turf may well prove decisive in the closing mile-and-three-furlong Osram Handicap.

Cole's raider has been paying his way on the polytrack at Lingfield lately.

But he's equally effective on grass and the soft surface could well turn out to be right down Full House's street.

The going is also heavy at Leicester, and it normally pays to stick with proven mud-lovers. One such example is Wiggy Smith (3.00), a leading contender for the one-mile Tom Fruit Handicap.

Following a string of consistent efforts, Wiggy Smith finally got off the mark at Windsor last time out when battling on in tremendously game fashion to outgun a useful colt of Nick Littmoden's called True Companion.

Backing three-year-olds versus their elders throughout the autumn is never a bad policy, and Wiggy Smith has the perfect profile to complete a deserved double.

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