Doncaster in the north and Cheltenham in the south take centre stage on jumping's racing front tomorrow, but Wolverhampton in the Midlands is the destination for York-based jockey Robert Winston as he bids to seal his comeback this week with a winner.

He was badly injured in a fall at Ayr in August when he was three winners ahead of eventual champion Jamie Spencer in the title race.

That accident left the 26-year-old Irishman with a shattered jaw, which put him out of the championship.

Winston (pictured left) returned to race-riding earlier this week after four months on the sidelines, during which time he had to face another problem, alcohol addiction, which prompted him to check himself into a clinic in Ireland for four weeks of treatment. He says he is now fresher and sharper than ever.

Although out of luck at Lingfield and Southwell earlier this week, Winston is napped to win tomorrow on Zarabad in the Littlewoods Betdirect Handicap.

A winner on this course last season when trained by Sir Michael Stoute, Zarabad is now trained at Middleham by Karl Burke, who pitches the promising three-year-old into handicap company for the first time here. He looks to have the right credentials.

L'Antartique can get back in the winning groove in the Intercasino.co.uk Novices' Hurdle at Doncaster. Since an easy win at Haydock last month, Ferdy Murphy's gelding has suffered a shock defeat at Wetherby. Things did not appear to go right for him in that slowly-run affair and I expect him to bounce back tomorrow.

At Cheltenham, the December Novices' Chase offers Billyvoddan the chance to gain his second success over fences. Henry Daly's six-year-old, a useful hurdler last season, made a winning debut over the major obstacles at Market Rasen three weeks ago and looks to have an exciting future as a steeplechaser.

Friday's tips

Doncaster

12.00 Predator, 12.30 North Lodge, 1.00 Liberia, 1.35 Dennick, 2.05 Tritonville Lodge, 2.40 Lorient Express, 3.15 L'Antartique.

Cheltenham

12.10 Noland, 12.45 Billyvoddan, 1.20 Royal Auclair, 1.55 Lord Jack, 2.30 Rasharrow, 3.05 Covent Garden, 3.40 Moscow Leader.

Wolverhampton

Selected race: 4.00 Zarabad (Nap).

There are no other race meetings tomorrow.

Updated: 11:47 Thursday, December 08, 2005