HAVE you missed it? I know I have.

When Wetherby Racecourse stages its seven-race card tomorrow it will have been 37 long days since the West Yorkshire track saw any thoroughbred action.

A waterlogged track claimed both the January fixtures and chief executive James Sanderson will be hoping the skies stay clear to ensure an unwelcome hat-trick is avoided.

We may have missed the sounds of Caribbean Saturday but, should it all turn out for the best, a quality programme is in store for racing-starved punters - the highlight being the Grade 2 totesport Towton Novices' Chase.

Last year, the race was won by Heltronic at 14-1, who went on to land the £125,000 Red Square Vodka Gold Cup at Haydock in her very next outing. She follows a host of top performers to have the £25,000 two miles and three furlongs contest on their CV.

Halcon Genelardias, Ollie Magern, Royal Emperor, Keen Leader and Mr Mulligan, who went on to win the 1997 Cheltenham Gold Cup, have all triumphed in the race in previous years and gone on to better things.

Last year's runner-up, Miko De Beauchene, has already scooped the Coral Welsh National - at Chepstow in December - so there is no doubting that a win in this race is a mark of quality.

It always attracts classy performers who have an eye on the Cheltenham Festival, so expect to see the winner take a nose-dive in the prices for March's Royal & Sun Alliance Chase.

This year's early line-up looks like being no different.

Howard Johnson's Tidal Bay, unbeaten in his last three starts - including at Cheltenham in December, looks a real contender, while Donald McCain Junior's Ice Tea has also been in good form of late.

West Witton's Ferdy Murphy is currently represented by Top Cloud and Colin Tizzard's Leading Authority is also a lively prospect in what should turn out to be another top-class renewal.

Although the skies have cleared somewhat, the weather may still have a part to play tomorrow.

Earlier this week, course chiefs signalled the scheduling of an all-hurdles card should further rain continue to prevent racing on the track's Chase course.

The meeting also takes the time to commemorate a pair of Wetherby stalwarts.

Brothers Nick and Pat Wilmot-Smith - long-standing directors of the Wetherby Steeplechase Committee - are honoured in The Wilmot-Smith Memorial Cup, a Hunter Chase over three miles and one furlong.

The late Nick Wilmot-Smith served on Wetherby's racecourse committee for 59 years. He was chairman between 1968 and 1996.