THREE all-weather fixtures provide a welcome back-up for would-be punters given that frost could yet play havoc with the three scheduled National Hunt meetings.

The pick of the action takes place at Lingfield, where the £40,000, ten-furlong Listed Churchill Stakes is an ideal target for Zayn Zen (3.15), who bids to maintain the superb winter strike-rate of the Michael Jarvis stable.

There was a time when middle-eastern-based owners virtually boycotted the sand, but with the increase in prize-money their blue-blooded stock are now not averse to cherry-picking the best of money.

Such is life and even though Sheikh Ahmed Al Maktoum doesn't need the dosh, his coffers are likely to be further filled by Zayn Zen, who produced a breathtaking turn of foot to snatch a similar event at the course on her latest start.

Southwell stages a re-match between Reg Hollinshead's Legal Lover (12.00) and Starcross Maid over one-mile.

The former won the first bout but it was only a victory on points since the margin of victory was a mere half-length. For my money Legal Lover raced on a slower strip of ground that day, which probably stopped him flooring Starcross Maid, who might have been flattered by her proximity to the selection.

Finally to Wolverhampton and the possibility of an across-the-card double for the Hollinshead team with Gilded Cove (9.30).

Gilded Cove, boasting a quite remarkable eight track wins from 24 starts, was in no mood to take prisoners on his latest visit to the venue, cutting through the pack with enviable ease.

The five-year-old sprint sand specialist has gone up 3lbs for the success, arguably nothing like enough to stop him adding to his stunning tally at the Midlands course in the closing Cashmans Direct Handicap.

* Officials at Huntingdon are confident racing will take place as planned today, when the feature event is the £74,000 totesport Peterborough Chase.

Precautionary inspections are planned for the other jumps meetings at Windsor and Haydock due to the threat of frost but Huntingdon's clerk of the course, Fiona Needham, does not anticipate any problems.

''We had quite a hard frost last night when it got down to minus four but it got up to eight degrees today and we would have been perfectly raceable,'' she said. ''No precautionary inspection is planned and we should be fine.''

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