Swamped by torrential rain, Newton Abbot's scheduled race meeting tomorrow has been abandoned. This leaves punters with meagre rations in the form of Lingfield's all-weather Flat track meeting.

Gay Kelleway, who is now based at Lingfield and becoming expert at producing winners on her home course, can have another success tomorrow with Daphne's Doll in the featured £10,000 Coral Fillies' Showcase Handicap.

This four-year-old goes into battle in tip-top form, having scored over the course and distance last week by no fewer than 14 lengths in maiden company.

That winning margin is somewhat misleading as her main rival, Social Round, who was upsides at the time, tragically broke a leg approaching the final furlong and this left Daphne's Doll with an unassailable lead.

Apprentice rider Paul Fredericks, who was in the saddle last week, takes the mount again tomorrow when Daphne's Doll tackles handicap company under a 6lb penalty. It would not be a surprise to see her score again.

Declan Carroll, who is based at Southwell, one of the other all-weather tracks, heads south with Sharp Scotch, who has good prospects of landing division one of the Barry Dennis Handicap.

A winner at Wolverhampton two outings ago, Sharp Scotch has since finished third at Southwell over a longer distance. Back to a mile tomorrow, the six-year-old makes plenty of appeal.

Chalcedony carries the Nap in the Nelson Handicap. Trained at Maunby near Thirsk by David Barron, Chalcedony has shown improved form on his last two starts and is strongly fancied to open his winning account tomorrow.

Speedy Classic, no stranger to this course, can still raise a fair gallop at the age of 10 and this evergreen sprinter should take plenty of catching in the Trafalgar Claming Stakes.

Nick Littmoden has his horses in fine form. He was successful at Southwell last Saturday with easy winner Migwar. His Evezio Rufo can oblige for the Wolverhampton handler tomorrow in the Lingfield Park Exhibition Half Selling Handicap. Tom McLaughlin has the mount.

Horses escape storm

Two horses had a lucky escape when a storm hit trainer Robert Alner's stable.

The pair were out exercising when their boxes were damaged by the high winds battering Dorset.

"We have had a terrible storm. It has been a nightmare," said Alner's wife Sally.

"The roofs were ripped off two boxes but fortunately the horses were out exercising at the time.

"We have had to put them with friends while we sort out the damage."

Mrs Alner also revealed that out-of-form Cool Dawn will be put in the Cheltenham Gold Cup, which he won last year, when entries close on Wednesday.

The gelding has failed to sparkle in three outings this season, sparking fears he might be retired, but Mrs Alner said: "I expect he will be put in the Gold Cup.

"He was X-rayed after his last run and they found damage on his vertebrae but he will be perfectly all right and he will be ridden tomorrow for the first time since."

Tomorrow's tips

LINGFIELD

12.45.......................Sharp Scotch

1.15.........................Evezio Rufo

1.45....................Speedy Classic

2.15........................Barr Beacon

2.45........................Mutahadeth

3.15.....................Daphne's Doll

3.45...............Chalcedony (Nap)

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.