What's on this week: Premier racing, Lingfield's Winter Million and a blockbuster clash between Jonbon and El Fabiolo

Monday

Maughreen, whose unraced dam is a half-sister to the imperious Grade 1 winner Faugheen, catches the eye among Monday's runners.

The five-year-old bares a striking resemblance to her famous relative and will make her debut for Willie Mullins in the mares' bumper (4.00) which closes out Punchestown's card. 

The sole other jumps card is at Hereford, where A Dublin Job is a warm favourite to continue Harry Derham's fine recent form in the 3m1½f novice handicap hurdle (3.37). 

Entries will also be made for the weekend's Clarence House Chase and the valuable Winter Million festival at Lingfield, with the Fleur De Lys Chase on Sunday expected to attract big names including Protektorat and L'Homme Presse. 

Tuesday

There are more entries to note on Tuesday as the latest batch of Cheltenham Festival hopefuls are revealed. 

While last week's focus was on March's biggest Grade 1 hurdle races, this time the novice chase fields are the focus as the possible competitors for the National Hunt Chase, Brown Advisory, Turners and Arkle will be revealed.

The latter will be the focus of Tom Segal's latest ante-post Pricewise column, which will be available to Members' Club subscribers online from 6pm.

Marine Nationale: expected to feature in Tuesday's Arkle entriesCredit: Caroline Norris

Officials at Chepstow and Plumpton are facing a challenge to stage their jumps cards, with Plumpton already calling an inspection in light of freezing temperatures expected across Britain and Ireland at the start of the week. 

Luckily, there are three all-weather fixtures on Tuesday should the jumps meetings fail to take place, with Newcastle, Dundalk and Wolverhampton all more likely to fare better in the elements. 

Weights are also published at noon for the Great Yorkshire Handicap Chase at Doncaster on January 27 and the Betfair Hurdle at Newbury two weeks later.

Wednesday

Fern Hill's third behind Nassalam in the Welsh Grand National Trial looks an impressive effort considering the winner's subsequent 34-length romp in the Welsh showpiece, and he could bid to defy a mammoth weight of 12st 2lb in Newbury's feature handicap chase (2.30). 

The meeting is one of two jumps fixtures set to take place alongside Southwell, while all-weather action can be found at Newcastle. 

Evening racing takes place at Kempton, where Billy Loughnane could seek to extend his impressive lead in the all-weather apprentice jockey race having already secured 30 winners this winter. 

Thursday

The Somerset National (3.10) is the best race to watch on Thursday and is the feature contest on Wincanton's card. 

Lows of -4C are expected leading up to the fixture but there is hope the meeting can go ahead, with Take Your Time and Hold That Taught both bidding for a hat-trick. 

Hold That Taught: could bid for a hat-trick in the Somerset National Credit: Alan Crowhurst

The card concludes with a bumper (4.20) which could feature the debut of The Expensive One, a half-brother to top-class hurdler The New One, while more jumps action is at Newcastle, Ludlow and Fairyhouse.

The sole Flat meeting of the day is at Southwell, where recent course winner Oneforthegutter is back for more in the 1m3f handicap (7.00).

Friday

Lingfield's Winter Million festival kicks off with the course's first Premier raceday, with the feature Sovereign Handicap Hurdle (3.35) offering more than £57,000 to the winner. 

The prize-money has attracted plenty of talent across the card, with leading mares Love Envoi and You Wear It Well entered in the £100,000 hurdle (3.00) and Djelo out to extend his unbeaten run this season to four in the Grade 2 Lightning Novices' Chase (2.25).    

Listed action can be found at Market Rasen with the Alan Swinbank Mares' Standard Open National Hunt Flat Race (2.40), which was won last year by subsequent Graded winner Dysart Enos. 

Fergal O'Brien could bid to repeat the feat with the Harry Redknapp-owned Northern Air, but Avakate is already a Listed winner and will make for strong opposition. 

All-weather action from Newcastle and Wolverhampton completes the day's racing in Britain and Ireland hosts a sole meeting at Dundalk. 

Saturday

The stars of the two-mile division clash for the first time this season as Jonbon and El Fabiolo meet in the Clarence House Chase (3.37) at Ascot. 

El Fabiolo got the better of Nicky Henderson's star chaser in the pair's last meeting in the Arkle but Jonbon has since clocked his two best performances on Racing Post Ratings and comes into this Grade 1 contest in excellent form. 

A Grade 2 mares' hurdle (1.50) is the pick of the undercard while there is even more Premier racing at Haydock, with the Rossington Main Novices' Hurdle (12.55) and the possibility of Royale Pagaille gunning for a third success in the £100,000 Peter Marsh Chase (2.05). 

Royale Pagaille: could bid for a third Peter March victory at HaydockCredit: John Grossick

Saturday also sees the first morning fixture of the new Premier racing calendar at Lingfield, which begins at 10.10am in order to accommodate the afternoon's two big meetings.

While the action at Haydock and Ascot may get the most attention, the all-weather card ends with a bang with the £100,000 Winter Oaks (1.25), while fixtures at Taunton, Navan and Wolverhampton complete the day's proceedings. 

Sunday

We head back to Lingfield for the final Premier meeting of the week as the valuable Fleur De Lys Chase offers a strong monetary incentive for the connections of some of Britain's leading chasers. 

Protektorat and L'Homme Presse are among the high-profile names expected to appear in the £165,000 contest and those involved will be hoping the meeting can avoid a repeat of last year, when it was called off due to freezing temperatures. 

Jump racing also takes place at Fakenham and Thurles, which includes two Grade 2 contests. 

The week's action is rounded out with the second Sunday floodlit meeting of the year, which this time is held at Chelmsford. 

This week's premier meetings:

Lingfield - Friday, January 19
Ascot - Saturday, January 20
Haydock - Saturday, January 20
Lingfield - Sunday, January 21

Read these next:

Cheltenham Festival 2024: how did the week's action affect the ante-post markets? 

Jury out on the Towton changes, Hampton proves its worth and veterans' debate rolls on - three things we learned this week 

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