Darran

Virtual racing is just a random number draw disguised as a horse race. It is no different from the lottery.

Last 9 years profits
2021 11.8pts
2020 1pt
2019 74.09pts
2018 34pts
2017 29pts
2016 73pts
2015 120pts
2014 43pts
2013 30pts

Wow I am amazed that anyone would put in so much work and not attempt to make a profit from it, but fair play you really have done plenty of work on everything.

There was me thinking I write a lot for my hunter chase previews! I know you are saying that you aren't tipping anything but do you actually back the horses you like?

There was me thinking I write a lot for my hunter chase previews! I know you are saying that you aren't tipping anything but do you actually back the horses you like?

Disappointing end to the season with Looking Well never really threatening to win the race as Reikers Island basically made all to score easily. This is weak form and the handicapper should drop him from 124, but I am sure he wont. It was well purchased by the owner/rider anyway as it gave him a first win under rules and he seemed to really enjoy himself. O'Grady's Boy ran really well to finish 2nd, but no doubt the handicapper will hammer him for beating a 124 rated horse by 15L and getting within 13L of another one. If they are going to go summer jumping with him then it was a daft thing to do to run him in this as I reckon he will go up to around 110. For example on Thursday Blackjacktennesse runs off 95 at Ffos Las having gone up 27lbs for finishing 2nd to Right Of Reply at Chepstow. That form has been shown to be weak and as much as I think the handicapper could have risen him a little to put him up to within a lbs of his highest ever mark is crazy. We are talking about a horse who has never won a race as well. Maybe he will win tomorrow and the trainer switch is a plus, but it is proof that the handicapper struggles to handicap horse from hunter chases and that often he goes too highly.
So we get to the end of the season where my final totals were 161pts staked 172.8pts returned for 11.8pt profit. Obviously any profit is great, but I am disappointed it wasn't more and in some ways it should have been. I have only included 1pt @ 7/2 on Wick Green for example as I suggested cashing out the original e/w bet when the race went down to 4 runners, but those who stuck with the original bet would have ended up with 4pts @ 11/2! That clearly would have made a big difference to the profits. As I mentioned above both hunter chase nights were horrid from a betting point of view especially the blank at Stratford. With 14 races across those two meetings if I have a bad one at both then it is always going to hurt. We did lose some races to the weather, but there were only 68 hunter chases run this year plus the 3 point-to-point bumpers. Given we had a divided race, plus two tracks added hunter chases that is a worryingly low figure. Fontwell axed their hunter chase night, Taunton went from 3 to 0 for some reason, Perth axed 1 and there were others missing as well. Hopefully we don't get another drop next season. I guess we should be thankful we had a full season unlike last year and pro jockey's was a bit of a novelty for the first couple of months which hopefully wont be needed to repeated. 
Hopefully you have found the previews enjoyable and helpful. As I always say the recommended bets are only part of it and I know people come up with their own way of attacking races based on what I say. That is one of the reasons I write the previews and cover most horses throughout the season.
I'd imagine we will see horses go handicapping over the summer and although I didn't have a great deal of luck on that front last year, usually that is a big source of profit so hopefully we see a few well handicapped horses racing over the summer.

Last 9 years profits
2021 11.8pts
2020 1pt
2019 74.09pts
2018 34pts
2017 29pts
2016 73pts
2015 120pts
2014 43pts
2013 30pts

Disappointing end to the season with Looking Well never really threatening to win the race as Reikers Island basically made all to score easily. This is weak form and the handicapper should drop him from 124, but I am sure he wont. It was well purchased by the owner/rider anyway as it gave him a first win under rules and he seemed to really enjoy himself. O'Grady's Boy ran really well to finish 2nd, but no doubt the handicapper will hammer him for beating a 124 rated horse by 15L and getting within 13L of another one. If they are going to go summer jumping with him then it was a daft thing to do to run him in this as I reckon he will go up to around 110. For example on Thursday Blackjacktennesse runs off 95 at Ffos Las having gone up 27lbs for finishing 2nd to Right Of Reply at Chepstow. That form has been shown to be weak and as much as I think the handicapper could have risen him a little to put him up to within a lbs of his highest ever mark is crazy. We are talking about a horse who has never won a race as well. Maybe he will win tomorrow and the trainer switch is a plus, but it is proof that the handicapper struggles to handicap horse from hunter chases and that often he goes too highly.
So we get to the end of the season where my final totals were 161pts staked 172.8pts returned for 11.8pt profit. Obviously any profit is great, but I am disappointed it wasn't more and in some ways it should have been. I have only included 1pt @ 7/2 on Wick Green for example as I suggested cashing out the original e/w bet when the race went down to 4 runners, but those who stuck with the original bet would have ended up with 4pts @ 11/2! That clearly would have made a big difference to the profits. As I mentioned above both hunter chase nights were horrid from a betting point of view especially the blank at Stratford. With 14 races across those two meetings if I have a bad one at both then it is always going to hurt. We did lose some races to the weather, but there were only 68 hunter chases run this year plus the 3 point-to-point bumpers. Given we had a divided race, plus two tracks added hunter chases that is a worryingly low figure. Fontwell axed their hunter chase night, Taunton went from 3 to 0 for some reason, Perth axed 1 and there were others missing as well. Hopefully we don't get another drop next season. I guess we should be thankful we had a full season unlike last year and pro jockey's was a bit of a novelty for the first couple of months which hopefully wont be needed to repeated. 
Hopefully you have found the previews enjoyable and helpful. As I always say the recommended bets are only part of it and I know people come up with their own way of attacking races based on what I say. That is one of the reasons I write the previews and cover most horses throughout the season.
I'd imagine we will see horses go handicapping over the summer and although I didn't have a great deal of luck on that front last year, usually that is a big source of profit so hopefully we see a few well handicapped horses racing over the summer.

Last 9 years profits
2021 11.8pts
2020 1pt
2019 74.09pts
2018 34pts
2017 29pts
2016 73pts
2015 120pts
2014 43pts
2013 30pts

Last 9 years profits
2021 11.8pts
2020 1pt
2019 74.09pts
2018 34pts
2017 29pts
2016 73pts
2015 120pts
2014 43pts
2013 30pts

Last 9 years profits
2021 11.8pts
2020 1pt
2019 74.09pts
2018 34pts
2017 29pts
2016 73pts
2015 120pts
2014 43pts
2013 30pts

We finally get to the end of the season and it will be another profitable one as well. I will round that up after today's race, but Monday's race added to the profit as Dressedforsuccess landed our bet and actually ended up winning the race. I did wonder if Gina might be able to not get into a pace battle with Rafferty, but I don't think she had a choice as he is just too free going. He made a bad error at the first and it looked similar to the one he made at Cheltenham, but after that he and Rafferty went some gallop. It is to both their credits that they manged to finish 2nd and 3rd, but it is no surprise that something managed to outstay them both. Jumping the last I did wonder if Dressedforsuccess was going to get 2nd, but then of course you have the 4f run-in and turning for home Rafferty had cried enough. In the end Benefaktor didn't have enough to see the winner off either. I think he was the best horse in the race and take Rafferty out of the race and I suspect he would have won. Even so Dressedforsuccess was very game and kept finding for pressure. I'd try Rafferty in a 2m handicap over the summer at somewhere like Stratford and bid to make all as I do think he can win off 84. Royal Chant found things happening too quickly for him and could never get involved whilst Gold Time proved why I thought she made the market in the betting without market. As for Babytaggle he was probably going backwards at the time he came down, but get him in a handicap off 74 and I would give him a chance. The time was quick as well which just shows the pace they set.
The final race of the season is not a strong one at all. Indeed the 7 horses who are double figures are almost impossible to make a case for. The only one I can is Anteros who likes quick ground and ran OK in a point last time and you would imagine he will come on for that. The 3rd though did nothing for the form at Chaddesley Corbett on Monday and he was firmly on the downgrade when last seen under rules. The jockey is very inexperienced as well having just had 5 races in points and 2 races under rules.
Minella Daddy ran OK up to a point at Ffos Las, but his Wincanton effort was poor. He's hard to want to back on the back of that and his usual tongue-tie has been removed. He is also ridden by an inexperienced jockey who has only had 6 point rides and 1 ride under rules.
Reikers Island has become a hard horse to want to put much trust in and he has just become disappointing. He was awful in the first hunter chase of the season and then went to Dr Newland and finished a 14L 5th off 120 in a Southwell handicap hurdle. The fact he went to the sales after that suggests they didn't think he would build on that and he was sold for £10.5k a couple of weeks ago. He jumped right at Southwell which would be a concern round here although this race is not strong and he is a possible winner.
Ultimately though Looking Well does look the one they have to beat. He has won over this trip on good to firm ground so we know those two boxes are ticked. In the context of this race he ran well enough when 3rd to Alcala at Musselburgh and Paint The Way was in 2nd so they have won 3 hunter chases between them since that race. After that he was 13th at Aintree, but that was as well as could have been expected over a trip too short for him. This is a race which is there for the taking and I was impressed with his jockey on Paint The Way on Sunday at Kelso so the 7lbs he takes off is going to help as well. Hunter chase wise the 3rd at Musselburgh is easily the best form in the race and if he runs up to that then he will be hard to beat.
Looking Well 3pts @ 13/8 with most bookies
Both hunter chase nights have been poor this season from a punting perspective and they both really hit the profit column. As much as I still would have made a loss on Friday even if Capitaine had kept the race it clearly would have covered a lot of it. Quite how you can weigh in 2lbs light I don't know and no one had an explanation for it either. It certainly meant I was a lot more than 2lbs light after the race. He would have won anyway as the strength of his jockey over the new winners jockey meant he would have had the upper-hand even with those 2 missing lbs. It was a really good performance as well. To be fair Creative Inerta backed up his Cheltenham 3rd with another good run. Midnight Cowboy got outpaced as I thought he would and Ecu De La Noverie clearly wasn't fit as he went from travelling well enough to emptying very quickly.
I'm surprised they didn't try and make it more of a test on Virak in the Lady's Final given Deans Road's suspect stamina, but the small field set things up perfectly for the winner. He had got injured at Wincanton earlier in the season so it is also no surprise that he has got better with every run since.
They also didn't make the John Corbett Cup a strongly run race either which was a surprise given Premier Magic was certain to stay whilst we were unknown about Fumet D'odairies stamina. He was coming back at him at the line as well. As it turned out though neither had a response to the Irish winner Vaucelet. For one so inexperienced I thought it was a very good performance and I think he was certainly the best horse in the race. It will be fascinating to see how he progresses next season, but he might just turn out to be a Foxhunter horse. Captain McGinley backed up my thinking that the Cheltenham race fell to pieces and he was a shocking price in the end. Wick Green ran his 2nd poor race.
If Law Of Gold is a better horse than Bob And Co then I may as well give up now, but as we have seen in this race before the best horse doesn't always win and the one aimed for it can often come out on top especially if they have proven themselves at the venue. Law Of Gold had all that in his favour and he saw it out better than the 2nd. Given he is only 8 I would imagine they will skip Cheltenham next year and just focus his season around a repeat bid and if it comes up good ground again he might just well do it. I don't think Maxwell did too much wrong on Bob And Co and I suspect he has probably just had enough for the season on the back of the Punchestown effort. I also wonder if the track didn't really suit him either. Even though he is 11 next year I am sure he will be one of the leading candidates for Cheltenham glory. Monbeg Chit Chat backed up his Cheltenham win with a good effort for 3rd. Connections might just regret not going to Kelso on Sunday with him though as he would have won that and collected more prize money in doing so. Adrien Du Point just didn't stay and Captain Cattistock was outclassed.
As much as I don't think Maxwell could do much more on his first two rides his ride on Monsieur Gibraltar was just plain stupid as was Natalie Parker's on Alcala. Quite why they went so hard I don't know, but the fact they were in front entering the straight and were then beaten 20 and 25 lengths shows you how tired they got. The fact Bletchley Castle could make the running also told you all you need to know. So with the pace being crazy it set it up for the ones who stay well and thus you end up with Keltus winning and Zamparelli finishing 2nd. It was so frustrating that Zamparelli couldn't quite get there in time. He was outpaced for most of the way, but leaving the back straight you could tell he was staying on well and that he was still a contender. The fact Keltus was able to not get quite as far behind has made the difference in the end. Hard to know if Clondaw Westie would have won, but he gave his jockey no chance at the last. His trainer said after the race that he did that because he was tired so maybe he would have found it hard to see off the winner. Even so he ran another good race on the back of his Aintree and Cheltenham efforts.
The Restricted Final looks every bit as weak after the race as it did before the race. The Bonny Boy was able to reverse form with the 2 that had beaten him the last twice and that sums the race up. Pillowman jumped very badly which cost him any chance he had sadly. Any of this will need a weak hunter chase to win one in my view.
I should probably stop betting in the bumper on this card. In 2018 and 2019 my main fancy slipped up on the bend leading into the back straight and this year Hope Des Blins saddle slipped and she was basically pulled up. Darren Andrews stole this race on Fountains Chief for me. He made all at a slow pace and was able to dictate things as he wanted. Gina on the other-hand held up Latenightfumble at the back and he just didn't have the speed to get near the winner. It was a big step up on his Exeter run by the winner and I just wonder if he will be able to back this up given the way he stole the race. The race though summed up how the night went.

We finally get to the end of the season and it will be another profitable one as well. I will round that up after today's race, but Monday's race added to the profit as Dressedforsuccess landed our bet and actually ended up winning the race. I did wonder if Gina might be able to not get into a pace battle with Rafferty, but I don't think she had a choice as he is just too free going. He made a bad error at the first and it looked similar to the one he made at Cheltenham, but after that he and Rafferty went some gallop. It is to both their credits that they manged to finish 2nd and 3rd, but it is no surprise that something managed to outstay them both. Jumping the last I did wonder if Dressedforsuccess was going to get 2nd, but then of course you have the 4f run-in and turning for home Rafferty had cried enough. In the end Benefaktor didn't have enough to see the winner off either. I think he was the best horse in the race and take Rafferty out of the race and I suspect he would have won. Even so Dressedforsuccess was very game and kept finding for pressure. I'd try Rafferty in a 2m handicap over the summer at somewhere like Stratford and bid to make all as I do think he can win off 84. Royal Chant found things happening too quickly for him and could never get involved whilst Gold Time proved why I thought she made the market in the betting without market. As for Babytaggle he was probably going backwards at the time he came down, but get him in a handicap off 74 and I would give him a chance. The time was quick as well which just shows the pace they set.
The final race of the season is not a strong one at all. Indeed the 7 horses who are double figures are almost impossible to make a case for. The only one I can is Anteros who likes quick ground and ran OK in a point last time and you would imagine he will come on for that. The 3rd though did nothing for the form at Chaddesley Corbett on Monday and he was firmly on the downgrade when last seen under rules. The jockey is very inexperienced as well having just had 5 races in points and 2 races under rules.
Minella Daddy ran OK up to a point at Ffos Las, but his Wincanton effort was poor. He's hard to want to back on the back of that and his usual tongue-tie has been removed. He is also ridden by an inexperienced jockey who has only had 6 point rides and 1 ride under rules.
Reikers Island has become a hard horse to want to put much trust in and he has just become disappointing. He was awful in the first hunter chase of the season and then went to Dr Newland and finished a 14L 5th off 120 in a Southwell handicap hurdle. The fact he went to the sales after that suggests they didn't think he would build on that and he was sold for £10.5k a couple of weeks ago. He jumped right at Southwell which would be a concern round here although this race is not strong and he is a possible winner.
Ultimately though Looking Well does look the one they have to beat. He has won over this trip on good to firm ground so we know those two boxes are ticked. In the context of this race he ran well enough when 3rd to Alcala at Musselburgh and Paint The Way was in 2nd so they have won 3 hunter chases between them since that race. After that he was 13th at Aintree, but that was as well as could have been expected over a trip too short for him. This is a race which is there for the taking and I was impressed with his jockey on Paint The Way on Sunday at Kelso so the 7lbs he takes off is going to help as well. Hunter chase wise the 3rd at Musselburgh is easily the best form in the race and if he runs up to that then he will be hard to beat.
Looking Well 3pts @ 13/8 with most bookies
Both hunter chase nights have been poor this season from a punting perspective and they both really hit the profit column. As much as I still would have made a loss on Friday even if Capitaine had kept the race it clearly would have covered a lot of it. Quite how you can weigh in 2lbs light I don't know and no one had an explanation for it either. It certainly meant I was a lot more than 2lbs light after the race. He would have won anyway as the strength of his jockey over the new winners jockey meant he would have had the upper-hand even with those 2 missing lbs. It was a really good performance as well. To be fair Creative Inerta backed up his Cheltenham 3rd with another good run. Midnight Cowboy got outpaced as I thought he would and Ecu De La Noverie clearly wasn't fit as he went from travelling well enough to emptying very quickly.
I'm surprised they didn't try and make it more of a test on Virak in the Lady's Final given Deans Road's suspect stamina, but the small field set things up perfectly for the winner. He had got injured at Wincanton earlier in the season so it is also no surprise that he has got better with every run since.
They also didn't make the John Corbett Cup a strongly run race either which was a surprise given Premier Magic was certain to stay whilst we were unknown about Fumet D'odairies stamina. He was coming back at him at the line as well. As it turned out though neither had a response to the Irish winner Vaucelet. For one so inexperienced I thought it was a very good performance and I think he was certainly the best horse in the race. It will be fascinating to see how he progresses next season, but he might just turn out to be a Foxhunter horse. Captain McGinley backed up my thinking that the Cheltenham race fell to pieces and he was a shocking price in the end. Wick Green ran his 2nd poor race.
If Law Of Gold is a better horse than Bob And Co then I may as well give up now, but as we have seen in this race before the best horse doesn't always win and the one aimed for it can often come out on top especially if they have proven themselves at the venue. Law Of Gold had all that in his favour and he saw it out better than the 2nd. Given he is only 8 I would imagine they will skip Cheltenham next year and just focus his season around a repeat bid and if it comes up good ground again he might just well do it. I don't think Maxwell did too much wrong on Bob And Co and I suspect he has probably just had enough for the season on the back of the Punchestown effort. I also wonder if the track didn't really suit him either. Even though he is 11 next year I am sure he will be one of the leading candidates for Cheltenham glory. Monbeg Chit Chat backed up his Cheltenham win with a good effort for 3rd. Connections might just regret not going to Kelso on Sunday with him though as he would have won that and collected more prize money in doing so. Adrien Du Point just didn't stay and Captain Cattistock was outclassed.
As much as I don't think Maxwell could do much more on his first two rides his ride on Monsieur Gibraltar was just plain stupid as was Natalie Parker's on Alcala. Quite why they went so hard I don't know, but the fact they were in front entering the straight and were then beaten 20 and 25 lengths shows you how tired they got. The fact Bletchley Castle could make the running also told you all you need to know. So with the pace being crazy it set it up for the ones who stay well and thus you end up with Keltus winning and Zamparelli finishing 2nd. It was so frustrating that Zamparelli couldn't quite get there in time. He was outpaced for most of the way, but leaving the back straight you could tell he was staying on well and that he was still a contender. The fact Keltus was able to not get quite as far behind has made the difference in the end. Hard to know if Clondaw Westie would have won, but he gave his jockey no chance at the last. His trainer said after the race that he did that because he was tired so maybe he would have found it hard to see off the winner. Even so he ran another good race on the back of his Aintree and Cheltenham efforts.
The Restricted Final looks every bit as weak after the race as it did before the race. The Bonny Boy was able to reverse form with the 2 that had beaten him the last twice and that sums the race up. Pillowman jumped very badly which cost him any chance he had sadly. Any of this will need a weak hunter chase to win one in my view.
I should probably stop betting in the bumper on this card. In 2018 and 2019 my main fancy slipped up on the bend leading into the back straight and this year Hope Des Blins saddle slipped and she was basically pulled up. Darren Andrews stole this race on Fountains Chief for me. He made all at a slow pace and was able to dictate things as he wanted. Gina on the other-hand held up Latenightfumble at the back and he just didn't have the speed to get near the winner. It was a big step up on his Exeter run by the winner and I just wonder if he will be able to back this up given the way he stole the race. The race though summed up how the night went.

We finally get to the end of the season and it will be another profitable one as well. I will round that up after today's race, but Monday's race added to the profit as Dressedforsuccess landed our bet and actually ended up winning the race. I did wonder if Gina might be able to not get into a pace battle with Rafferty, but I don't think she had a choice as he is just too free going. He made a bad error at the first and it looked similar to the one he made at Cheltenham, but after that he and Rafferty went some gallop. It is to both their credits that they manged to finish 2nd and 3rd, but it is no surprise that something managed to outstay them both. Jumping the last I did wonder if Dressedforsuccess was going to get 2nd, but then of course you have the 4f run-in and turning for home Rafferty had cried enough. In the end Benefaktor didn't have enough to see the winner off either. I think he was the best horse in the race and take Rafferty out of the race and I suspect he would have won. Even so Dressedforsuccess was very game and kept finding for pressure. I'd try Rafferty in a 2m handicap over the summer at somewhere like Stratford and bid to make all as I do think he can win off 84. Royal Chant found things happening too quickly for him and could never get involved whilst Gold Time proved why I thought she made the market in the betting without market. As for Babytaggle he was probably going backwards at the time he came down, but get him in a handicap off 74 and I would give him a chance. The time was quick as well which just shows the pace they set.
The final race of the season is not a strong one at all. Indeed the 7 horses who are double figures are almost impossible to make a case for. The only one I can is Anteros who likes quick ground and ran OK in a point last time and you would imagine he will come on for that. The 3rd though did nothing for the form at Chaddesley Corbett on Monday and he was firmly on the downgrade when last seen under rules. The jockey is very inexperienced as well having just had 5 races in points and 2 races under rules.
Minella Daddy ran OK up to a point at Ffos Las, but his Wincanton effort was poor. He's hard to want to back on the back of that and his usual tongue-tie has been removed. He is also ridden by an inexperienced jockey who has only had 6 point rides and 1 ride under rules.
Reikers Island has become a hard horse to want to put much trust in and he has just become disappointing. He was awful in the first hunter chase of the season and then went to Dr Newland and finished a 14L 5th off 120 in a Southwell handicap hurdle. The fact he went to the sales after that suggests they didn't think he would build on that and he was sold for £10.5k a couple of weeks ago. He jumped right at Southwell which would be a concern round here although this race is not strong and he is a possible winner.
Ultimately though Looking Well does look the one they have to beat. He has won over this trip on good to firm ground so we know those two boxes are ticked. In the context of this race he ran well enough when 3rd to Alcala at Musselburgh and Paint The Way was in 2nd so they have won 3 hunter chases between them since that race. After that he was 13th at Aintree, but that was as well as could have been expected over a trip too short for him. This is a race which is there for the taking and I was impressed with his jockey on Paint The Way on Sunday at Kelso so the 7lbs he takes off is going to help as well. Hunter chase wise the 3rd at Musselburgh is easily the best form in the race and if he runs up to that then he will be hard to beat.
Looking Well 3pts @ 13/8 with most bookies
Both hunter chase nights have been poor this season from a punting perspective and they both really hit the profit column. As much as I still would have made a loss on Friday even if Capitaine had kept the race it clearly would have covered a lot of it. Quite how you can weigh in 2lbs light I don't know and no one had an explanation for it either. It certainly meant I was a lot more than 2lbs light after the race. He would have won anyway as the strength of his jockey over the new winners jockey meant he would have had the upper-hand even with those 2 missing lbs. It was a really good performance as well. To be fair Creative Inerta backed up his Cheltenham 3rd with another good run. Midnight Cowboy got outpaced as I thought he would and Ecu De La Noverie clearly wasn't fit as he went from travelling well enough to emptying very quickly.
I'm surprised they didn't try and make it more of a test on Virak in the Lady's Final given Deans Road's suspect stamina, but the small field set things up perfectly for the winner. He had got injured at Wincanton earlier in the season so it is also no surprise that he has got better with every run since.
They also didn't make the John Corbett Cup a strongly run race either which was a surprise given Premier Magic was certain to stay whilst we were unknown about Fumet D'odairies stamina. He was coming back at him at the line as well. As it turned out though neither had a response to the Irish winner Vaucelet. For one so inexperienced I thought it was a very good performance and I think he was certainly the best horse in the race. It will be fascinating to see how he progresses next season, but he might just turn out to be a Foxhunter horse. Captain McGinley backed up my thinking that the Cheltenham race fell to pieces and he was a shocking price in the end. Wick Green ran his 2nd poor race.
If Law Of Gold is a better horse than Bob And Co then I may as well give up now, but as we have seen in this race before the best horse doesn't always win and the one aimed for it can often come out on top especially if they have proven themselves at the venue. Law Of Gold had all that in his favour and he saw it out better than the 2nd. Given he is only 8 I would imagine they will skip Cheltenham next year and just focus his season around a repeat bid and if it comes up good ground again he might just well do it. I don't think Maxwell did too much wrong on Bob And Co and I suspect he has probably just had enough for the season on the back of the Punchestown effort. I also wonder if the track didn't really suit him either. Even though he is 11 next year I am sure he will be one of the leading candidates for Cheltenham glory. Monbeg Chit Chat backed up his Cheltenham win with a good effort for 3rd. Connections might just regret not going to Kelso on Sunday with him though as he would have won that and collected more prize money in doing so. Adrien Du Point just didn't stay and Captain Cattistock was outclassed.
As much as I don't think Maxwell could do much more on his first two rides his ride on Monsieur Gibraltar was just plain stupid as was Natalie Parker's on Alcala. Quite why they went so hard I don't know, but the fact they were in front entering the straight and were then beaten 20 and 25 lengths shows you how tired they got. The fact Bletchley Castle could make the running also told you all you need to know. So with the pace being crazy it set it up for the ones who stay well and thus you end up with Keltus winning and Zamparelli finishing 2nd. It was so frustrating that Zamparelli couldn't quite get there in time. He was outpaced for most of the way, but leaving the back straight you could tell he was staying on well and that he was still a contender. The fact Keltus was able to not get quite as far behind has made the difference in the end. Hard to know if Clondaw Westie would have won, but he gave his jockey no chance at the last. His trainer said after the race that he did that because he was tired so maybe he would have found it hard to see off the winner. Even so he ran another good race on the back of his Aintree and Cheltenham efforts.
The Restricted Final looks every bit as weak after the race as it did before the race. The Bonny Boy was able to reverse form with the 2 that had beaten him the last twice and that sums the race up. Pillowman jumped very badly which cost him any chance he had sadly. Any of this will need a weak hunter chase to win one in my view.
I should probably stop betting in the bumper on this card. In 2018 and 2019 my main fancy slipped up on the bend leading into the back straight and this year Hope Des Blins saddle slipped and she was basically pulled up. Darren Andrews stole this race on Fountains Chief for me. He made all at a slow pace and was able to dictate things as he wanted. Gina on the other-hand held up Latenightfumble at the back and he just didn't have the speed to get near the winner. It was a big step up on his Exeter run by the winner and I just wonder if he will be able to back this up given the way he stole the race. The race though summed up how the night went.

We finally get to the end of the season and it will be another profitable one as well. I will round that up after today's race, but Monday's race added to the profit as Dressedforsuccess landed our bet and actually ended up winning the race. I did wonder if Gina might be able to not get into a pace battle with Rafferty, but I don't think she had a choice as he is just too free going. He made a bad error at the first and it looked similar to the one he made at Cheltenham, but after that he and Rafferty went some gallop. It is to both their credits that they manged to finish 2nd and 3rd, but it is no surprise that something managed to outstay them both. Jumping the last I did wonder if Dressedforsuccess was going to get 2nd, but then of course you have the 4f run-in and turning for home Rafferty had cried enough. In the end Benefaktor didn't have enough to see the winner off either. I think he was the best horse in the race and take Rafferty out of the race and I suspect he would have won. Even so Dressedforsuccess was very game and kept finding for pressure. I'd try Rafferty in a 2m handicap over the summer at somewhere like Stratford and bid to make all as I do think he can win off 84. Royal Chant found things happening too quickly for him and could never get involved whilst Gold Time proved why I thought she made the market in the betting without market. As for Babytaggle he was probably going backwards at the time he came down, but get him in a handicap off 74 and I would give him a chance. The time was quick as well which just shows the pace they set.
The final race of the season is not a strong one at all. Indeed the 7 horses who are double figures are almost impossible to make a case for. The only one I can is Anteros who likes quick ground and ran OK in a point last time and you would imagine he will come on for that. The 3rd though did nothing for the form at Chaddesley Corbett on Monday and he was firmly on the downgrade when last seen under rules. The jockey is very inexperienced as well having just had 5 races in points and 2 races under rules.
Minella Daddy ran OK up to a point at Ffos Las, but his Wincanton effort was poor. He's hard to want to back on the back of that and his usual tongue-tie has been removed. He is also ridden by an inexperienced jockey who has only had 6 point rides and 1 ride under rules.
Reikers Island has become a hard horse to want to put much trust in and he has just become disappointing. He was awful in the first hunter chase of the season and then went to Dr Newland and finished a 14L 5th off 120 in a Southwell handicap hurdle. The fact he went to the sales after that suggests they didn't think he would build on that and he was sold for £10.5k a couple of weeks ago. He jumped right at Southwell which would be a concern round here although this race is not strong and he is a possible winner.
Ultimately though Looking Well does look the one they have to beat. He has won over this trip on good to firm ground so we know those two boxes are ticked. In the context of this race he ran well enough when 3rd to Alcala at Musselburgh and Paint The Way was in 2nd so they have won 3 hunter chases between them since that race. After that he was 13th at Aintree, but that was as well as could have been expected over a trip too short for him. This is a race which is there for the taking and I was impressed with his jockey on Paint The Way on Sunday at Kelso so the 7lbs he takes off is going to help as well. Hunter chase wise the 3rd at Musselburgh is easily the best form in the race and if he runs up to that then he will be hard to beat.
Looking Well 3pts @ 13/8 with most bookies
Both hunter chase nights have been poor this season from a punting perspective and they both really hit the profit column. As much as I still would have made a loss on Friday even if Capitaine had kept the race it clearly would have covered a lot of it. Quite how you can weigh in 2lbs light I don't know and no one had an explanation for it either. It certainly meant I was a lot more than 2lbs light after the race. He would have won anyway as the strength of his jockey over the new winners jockey meant he would have had the upper-hand even with those 2 missing lbs. It was a really good performance as well. To be fair Creative Inerta backed up his Cheltenham 3rd with another good run. Midnight Cowboy got outpaced as I thought he would and Ecu De La Noverie clearly wasn't fit as he went from travelling well enough to emptying very quickly.
I'm surprised they didn't try and make it more of a test on Virak in the Lady's Final given Deans Road's suspect stamina, but the small field set things up perfectly for the winner. He had got injured at Wincanton earlier in the season so it is also no surprise that he has got better with every run since.
They also didn't make the John Corbett Cup a strongly run race either which was a surprise given Premier Magic was certain to stay whilst we were unknown about Fumet D'odairies stamina. He was coming back at him at the line as well. As it turned out though neither had a response to the Irish winner Vaucelet. For one so inexperienced I thought it was a very good performance and I think he was certainly the best horse in the race. It will be fascinating to see how he progresses next season, but he might just turn out to be a Foxhunter horse. Captain McGinley backed up my thinking that the Cheltenham race fell to pieces and he was a shocking price in the end. Wick Green ran his 2nd poor race.
If Law Of Gold is a better horse than Bob And Co then I may as well give up now, but as we have seen in this race before the best horse doesn't always win and the one aimed for it can often come out on top especially if they have proven themselves at the venue. Law Of Gold had all that in his favour and he saw it out better than the 2nd. Given he is only 8 I would imagine they will skip Cheltenham next year and just focus his season around a repeat bid and if it comes up good ground again he might just well do it. I don't think Maxwell did too much wrong on Bob And Co and I suspect he has probably just had enough for the season on the back of the Punchestown effort. I also wonder if the track didn't really suit him either. Even though he is 11 next year I am sure he will be one of the leading candidates for Cheltenham glory. Monbeg Chit Chat backed up his Cheltenham win with a good effort for 3rd. Connections might just regret not going to Kelso on Sunday with him though as he would have won that and collected more prize money in doing so. Adrien Du Point just didn't stay and Captain Cattistock was outclassed.
As much as I don't think Maxwell could do much more on his first two rides his ride on Monsieur Gibraltar was just plain stupid as was Natalie Parker's on Alcala. Quite why they went so hard I don't know, but the fact they were in front entering the straight and were then beaten 20 and 25 lengths shows you how tired they got. The fact Bletchley Castle could make the running also told you all you need to know. So with the pace being crazy it set it up for the ones who stay well and thus you end up with Keltus winning and Zamparelli finishing 2nd. It was so frustrating that Zamparelli couldn't quite get there in time. He was outpaced for most of the way, but leaving the back straight you could tell he was staying on well and that he was still a contender. The fact Keltus was able to not get quite as far behind has made the difference in the end. Hard to know if Clondaw Westie would have won, but he gave his jockey no chance at the last. His trainer said after the race that he did that because he was tired so maybe he would have found it hard to see off the winner. Even so he ran another good race on the back of his Aintree and Cheltenham efforts.
The Restricted Final looks every bit as weak after the race as it did before the race. The Bonny Boy was able to reverse form with the 2 that had beaten him the last twice and that sums the race up. Pillowman jumped very badly which cost him any chance he had sadly. Any of this will need a weak hunter chase to win one in my view.
I should probably stop betting in the bumper on this card. In 2018 and 2019 my main fancy slipped up on the bend leading into the back straight and this year Hope Des Blins saddle slipped and she was basically pulled up. Darren Andrews stole this race on Fountains Chief for me. He made all at a slow pace and was able to dictate things as he wanted. Gina on the other-hand held up Latenightfumble at the back and he just didn't have the speed to get near the winner. It was a big step up on his Exeter run by the winner and I just wonder if he will be able to back this up given the way he stole the race. The race though summed up how the night went.

We finally get to the end of the season and it will be another profitable one as well. I will round that up after today's race, but Monday's race added to the profit as Dressedforsuccess landed our bet and actually ended up winning the race. I did wonder if Gina might be able to not get into a pace battle with Rafferty, but I don't think she had a choice as he is just too free going. He made a bad error at the first and it looked similar to the one he made at Cheltenham, but after that he and Rafferty went some gallop. It is to both their credits that they manged to finish 2nd and 3rd, but it is no surprise that something managed to outstay them both. Jumping the last I did wonder if Dressedforsuccess was going to get 2nd, but then of course you have the 4f run-in and turning for home Rafferty had cried enough. In the end Benefaktor didn't have enough to see the winner off either. I think he was the best horse in the race and take Rafferty out of the race and I suspect he would have won. Even so Dressedforsuccess was very game and kept finding for pressure. I'd try Rafferty in a 2m handicap over the summer at somewhere like Stratford and bid to make all as I do think he can win off 84. Royal Chant found things happening too quickly for him and could never get involved whilst Gold Time proved why I thought she made the market in the betting without market. As for Babytaggle he was probably going backwards at the time he came down, but get him in a handicap off 74 and I would give him a chance. The time was quick as well which just shows the pace they set.
The final race of the season is not a strong one at all. Indeed the 7 horses who are double figures are almost impossible to make a case for. The only one I can is Anteros who likes quick ground and ran OK in a point last time and you would imagine he will come on for that. The 3rd though did nothing for the form at Chaddesley Corbett on Monday and he was firmly on the downgrade when last seen under rules. The jockey is very inexperienced as well having just had 5 races in points and 2 races under rules.
Minella Daddy ran OK up to a point at Ffos Las, but his Wincanton effort was poor. He's hard to want to back on the back of that and his usual tongue-tie has been removed. He is also ridden by an inexperienced jockey who has only had 6 point rides and 1 ride under rules.
Reikers Island has become a hard horse to want to put much trust in and he has just become disappointing. He was awful in the first hunter chase of the season and then went to Dr Newland and finished a 14L 5th off 120 in a Southwell handicap hurdle. The fact he went to the sales after that suggests they didn't think he would build on that and he was sold for £10.5k a couple of weeks ago. He jumped right at Southwell which would be a concern round here although this race is not strong and he is a possible winner.
Ultimately though Looking Well does look the one they have to beat. He has won over this trip on good to firm ground so we know those two boxes are ticked. In the context of this race he ran well enough when 3rd to Alcala at Musselburgh and Paint The Way was in 2nd so they have won 3 hunter chases between them since that race. After that he was 13th at Aintree, but that was as well as could have been expected over a trip too short for him. This is a race which is there for the taking and I was impressed with his jockey on Paint The Way on Sunday at Kelso so the 7lbs he takes off is going to help as well. Hunter chase wise the 3rd at Musselburgh is easily the best form in the race and if he runs up to that then he will be hard to beat.
Looking Well 3pts @ 13/8 with most bookies
Both hunter chase nights have been poor this season from a punting perspective and they both really hit the profit column. As much as I still would have made a loss on Friday even if Capitaine had kept the race it clearly would have covered a lot of it. Quite how you can weigh in 2lbs light I don't know and no one had an explanation for it either. It certainly meant I was a lot more than 2lbs light after the race. He would have won anyway as the strength of his jockey over the new winners jockey meant he would have had the upper-hand even with those 2 missing lbs. It was a really good performance as well. To be fair Creative Inerta backed up his Cheltenham 3rd with another good run. Midnight Cowboy got outpaced as I thought he would and Ecu De La Noverie clearly wasn't fit as he went from travelling well enough to emptying very quickly.
I'm surprised they didn't try and make it more of a test on Virak in the Lady's Final given Deans Road's suspect stamina, but the small field set things up perfectly for the winner. He had got injured at Wincanton earlier in the season so it is also no surprise that he has got better with every run since.
They also didn't make the John Corbett Cup a strongly run race either which was a surprise given Premier Magic was certain to stay whilst we were unknown about Fumet D'odairies stamina. He was coming back at him at the line as well. As it turned out though neither had a response to the Irish winner Vaucelet. For one so inexperienced I thought it was a very good performance and I think he was certainly the best horse in the race. It will be fascinating to see how he progresses next season, but he might just turn out to be a Foxhunter horse. Captain McGinley backed up my thinking that the Cheltenham race fell to pieces and he was a shocking price in the end. Wick Green ran his 2nd poor race.
If Law Of Gold is a better horse than Bob And Co then I may as well give up now, but as we have seen in this race before the best horse doesn't always win and the one aimed for it can often come out on top especially if they have proven themselves at the venue. Law Of Gold had all that in his favour and he saw it out better than the 2nd. Given he is only 8 I would imagine they will skip Cheltenham next year and just focus his season around a repeat bid and if it comes up good ground again he might just well do it. I don't think Maxwell did too much wrong on Bob And Co and I suspect he has probably just had enough for the season on the back of the Punchestown effort. I also wonder if the track didn't really suit him either. Even though he is 11 next year I am sure he will be one of the leading candidates for Cheltenham glory. Monbeg Chit Chat backed up his Cheltenham win with a good effort for 3rd. Connections might just regret not going to Kelso on Sunday with him though as he would have won that and collected more prize money in doing so. Adrien Du Point just didn't stay and Captain Cattistock was outclassed.
As much as I don't think Maxwell could do much more on his first two rides his ride on Monsieur Gibraltar was just plain stupid as was Natalie Parker's on Alcala. Quite why they went so hard I don't know, but the fact they were in front entering the straight and were then beaten 20 and 25 lengths shows you how tired they got. The fact Bletchley Castle could make the running also told you all you need to know. So with the pace being crazy it set it up for the ones who stay well and thus you end up with Keltus winning and Zamparelli finishing 2nd. It was so frustrating that Zamparelli couldn't quite get there in time. He was outpaced for most of the way, but leaving the back straight you could tell he was staying on well and that he was still a contender. The fact Keltus was able to not get quite as far behind has made the difference in the end. Hard to know if Clondaw Westie would have won, but he gave his jockey no chance at the last. His trainer said after the race that he did that because he was tired so maybe he would have found it hard to see off the winner. Even so he ran another good race on the back of his Aintree and Cheltenham efforts.
The Restricted Final looks every bit as weak after the race as it did before the race. The Bonny Boy was able to reverse form with the 2 that had beaten him the last twice and that sums the race up. Pillowman jumped very badly which cost him any chance he had sadly. Any of this will need a weak hunter chase to win one in my view.
I should probably stop betting in the bumper on this card. In 2018 and 2019 my main fancy slipped up on the bend leading into the back straight and this year Hope Des Blins saddle slipped and she was basically pulled up. Darren Andrews stole this race on Fountains Chief for me. He made all at a slow pace and was able to dictate things as he wanted. Gina on the other-hand held up Latenightfumble at the back and he just didn't have the speed to get near the winner. It was a big step up on his Exeter run by the winner and I just wonder if he will be able to back this up given the way he stole the race. The race though summed up how the night went.

We finally get to the end of the season and it will be another profitable one as well. I will round that up after today's race, but Monday's race added to the profit as Dressedforsuccess landed our bet and actually ended up winning the race. I did wonder if Gina might be able to not get into a pace battle with Rafferty, but I don't think she had a choice as he is just too free going. He made a bad error at the first and it looked similar to the one he made at Cheltenham, but after that he and Rafferty went some gallop. It is to both their credits that they manged to finish 2nd and 3rd, but it is no surprise that something managed to outstay them both. Jumping the last I did wonder if Dressedforsuccess was going to get 2nd, but then of course you have the 4f run-in and turning for home Rafferty had cried enough. In the end Benefaktor didn't have enough to see the winner off either. I think he was the best horse in the race and take Rafferty out of the race and I suspect he would have won. Even so Dressedforsuccess was very game and kept finding for pressure. I'd try Rafferty in a 2m handicap over the summer at somewhere like Stratford and bid to make all as I do think he can win off 84. Royal Chant found things happening too quickly for him and could never get involved whilst Gold Time proved why I thought she made the market in the betting without market. As for Babytaggle he was probably going backwards at the time he came down, but get him in a handicap off 74 and I would give him a chance. The time was quick as well which just shows the pace they set.
The final race of the season is not a strong one at all. Indeed the 7 horses who are double figures are almost impossible to make a case for. The only one I can is Anteros who likes quick ground and ran OK in a point last time and you would imagine he will come on for that. The 3rd though did nothing for the form at Chaddesley Corbett on Monday and he was firmly on the downgrade when last seen under rules. The jockey is very inexperienced as well having just had 5 races in points and 2 races under rules.
Minella Daddy ran OK up to a point at Ffos Las, but his Wincanton effort was poor. He's hard to want to back on the back of that and his usual tongue-tie has been removed. He is also ridden by an inexperienced jockey who has only had 6 point rides and 1 ride under rules.
Reikers Island has become a hard horse to want to put much trust in and he has just become disappointing. He was awful in the first hunter chase of the season and then went to Dr Newland and finished a 14L 5th off 120 in a Southwell handicap hurdle. The fact he went to the sales after that suggests they didn't think he would build on that and he was sold for £10.5k a couple of weeks ago. He jumped right at Southwell which would be a concern round here although this race is not strong and he is a possible winner.
Ultimately though Looking Well does look the one they have to beat. He has won over this trip on good to firm ground so we know those two boxes are ticked. In the context of this race he ran well enough when 3rd to Alcala at Musselburgh and Paint The Way was in 2nd so they have won 3 hunter chases between them since that race. After that he was 13th at Aintree, but that was as well as could have been expected over a trip too short for him. This is a race which is there for the taking and I was impressed with his jockey on Paint The Way on Sunday at Kelso so the 7lbs he takes off is going to help as well. Hunter chase wise the 3rd at Musselburgh is easily the best form in the race and if he runs up to that then he will be hard to beat.
Looking Well 3pts @ 13/8 with most bookies
Both hunter chase nights have been poor this season from a punting perspective and they both really hit the profit column. As much as I still would have made a loss on Friday even if Capitaine had kept the race it clearly would have covered a lot of it. Quite how you can weigh in 2lbs light I don't know and no one had an explanation for it either. It certainly meant I was a lot more than 2lbs light after the race. He would have won anyway as the strength of his jockey over the new winners jockey meant he would have had the upper-hand even with those 2 missing lbs. It was a really good performance as well. To be fair Creative Inerta backed up his Cheltenham 3rd with another good run. Midnight Cowboy got outpaced as I thought he would and Ecu De La Noverie clearly wasn't fit as he went from travelling well enough to emptying very quickly.
I'm surprised they didn't try and make it more of a test on Virak in the Lady's Final given Deans Road's suspect stamina, but the small field set things up perfectly for the winner. He had got injured at Wincanton earlier in the season so it is also no surprise that he has got better with every run since.
They also didn't make the John Corbett Cup a strongly run race either which was a surprise given Premier Magic was certain to stay whilst we were unknown about Fumet D'odairies stamina. He was coming back at him at the line as well. As it turned out though neither had a response to the Irish winner Vaucelet. For one so inexperienced I thought it was a very good performance and I think he was certainly the best horse in the race. It will be fascinating to see how he progresses next season, but he might just turn out to be a Foxhunter horse. Captain McGinley backed up my thinking that the Cheltenham race fell to pieces and he was a shocking price in the end. Wick Green ran his 2nd poor race.
If Law Of Gold is a better horse than Bob And Co then I may as well give up now, but as we have seen in this race before the best horse doesn't always win and the one aimed for it can often come out on top especially if they have proven themselves at the venue. Law Of Gold had all that in his favour and he saw it out better than the 2nd. Given he is only 8 I would imagine they will skip Cheltenham next year and just focus his season around a repeat bid and if it comes up good ground again he might just well do it. I don't think Maxwell did too much wrong on Bob And Co and I suspect he has probably just had enough for the season on the back of the Punchestown effort. I also wonder if the track didn't really suit him either. Even though he is 11 next year I am sure he will be one of the leading candidates for Cheltenham glory. Monbeg Chit Chat backed up his Cheltenham win with a good effort for 3rd. Connections might just regret not going to Kelso on Sunday with him though as he would have won that and collected more prize money in doing so. Adrien Du Point just didn't stay and Captain Cattistock was outclassed.
As much as I don't think Maxwell could do much more on his first two rides his ride on Monsieur Gibraltar was just plain stupid as was Natalie Parker's on Alcala. Quite why they went so hard I don't know, but the fact they were in front entering the straight and were then beaten 20 and 25 lengths shows you how tired they got. The fact Bletchley Castle could make the running also told you all you need to know. So with the pace being crazy it set it up for the ones who stay well and thus you end up with Keltus winning and Zamparelli finishing 2nd. It was so frustrating that Zamparelli couldn't quite get there in time. He was outpaced for most of the way, but leaving the back straight you could tell he was staying on well and that he was still a contender. The fact Keltus was able to not get quite as far behind has made the difference in the end. Hard to know if Clondaw Westie would have won, but he gave his jockey no chance at the last. His trainer said after the race that he did that because he was tired so maybe he would have found it hard to see off the winner. Even so he ran another good race on the back of his Aintree and Cheltenham efforts.
The Restricted Final looks every bit as weak after the race as it did before the race. The Bonny Boy was able to reverse form with the 2 that had beaten him the last twice and that sums the race up. Pillowman jumped very badly which cost him any chance he had sadly. Any of this will need a weak hunter chase to win one in my view.
I should probably stop betting in the bumper on this card. In 2018 and 2019 my main fancy slipped up on the bend leading into the back straight and this year Hope Des Blins saddle slipped and she was basically pulled up. Darren Andrews stole this race on Fountains Chief for me. He made all at a slow pace and was able to dictate things as he wanted. Gina on the other-hand held up Latenightfumble at the back and he just didn't have the speed to get near the winner. It was a big step up on his Exeter run by the winner and I just wonder if he will be able to back this up given the way he stole the race. The race though summed up how the night went.

We finally get to the end of the season and it will be another profitable one as well. I will round that up after today's race, but Monday's race added to the profit as Dressedforsuccess landed our bet and actually ended up winning the race. I did wonder if Gina might be able to not get into a pace battle with Rafferty, but I don't think she had a choice as he is just too free going. He made a bad error at the first and it looked similar to the one he made at Cheltenham, but after that he and Rafferty went some gallop. It is to both their credits that they manged to finish 2nd and 3rd, but it is no surprise that something managed to outstay them both. Jumping the last I did wonder if Dressedforsuccess was going to get 2nd, but then of course you have the 4f run-in and turning for home Rafferty had cried enough. In the end Benefaktor didn't have enough to see the winner off either. I think he was the best horse in the race and take Rafferty out of the race and I suspect he would have won. Even so Dressedforsuccess was very game and kept finding for pressure. I'd try Rafferty in a 2m handicap over the summer at somewhere like Stratford and bid to make all as I do think he can win off 84. Royal Chant found things happening too quickly for him and could never get involved whilst Gold Time proved why I thought she made the market in the betting without market. As for Babytaggle he was probably going backwards at the time he came down, but get him in a handicap off 74 and I would give him a chance. The time was quick as well which just shows the pace they set.
The final race of the season is not a strong one at all. Indeed the 7 horses who are double figures are almost impossible to make a case for. The only one I can is Anteros who likes quick ground and ran OK in a point last time and you would imagine he will come on for that. The 3rd though did nothing for the form at Chaddesley Corbett on Monday and he was firmly on the downgrade when last seen under rules. The jockey is very inexperienced as well having just had 5 races in points and 2 races under rules.
Minella Daddy ran OK up to a point at Ffos Las, but his Wincanton effort was poor. He's hard to want to back on the back of that and his usual tongue-tie has been removed. He is also ridden by an inexperienced jockey who has only had 6 point rides and 1 ride under rules.
Reikers Island has become a hard horse to want to put much trust in and he has just become disappointing. He was awful in the first hunter chase of the season and then went to Dr Newland and finished a 14L 5th off 120 in a Southwell handicap hurdle. The fact he went to the sales after that suggests they didn't think he would build on that and he was sold for £10.5k a couple of weeks ago. He jumped right at Southwell which would be a concern round here although this race is not strong and he is a possible winner.
Ultimately though Looking Well does look the one they have to beat. He has won over this trip on good to firm ground so we know those two boxes are ticked. In the context of this race he ran well enough when 3rd to Alcala at Musselburgh and Paint The Way was in 2nd so they have won 3 hunter chases between them since that race. After that he was 13th at Aintree, but that was as well as could have been expected over a trip too short for him. This is a race which is there for the taking and I was impressed with his jockey on Paint The Way on Sunday at Kelso so the 7lbs he takes off is going to help as well. Hunter chase wise the 3rd at Musselburgh is easily the best form in the race and if he runs up to that then he will be hard to beat.
Looking Well 3pts @ 13/8 with most bookies
Both hunter chase nights have been poor this season from a punting perspective and they both really hit the profit column. As much as I still would have made a loss on Friday even if Capitaine had kept the race it clearly would have covered a lot of it. Quite how you can weigh in 2lbs light I don't know and no one had an explanation for it either. It certainly meant I was a lot more than 2lbs light after the race. He would have won anyway as the strength of his jockey over the new winners jockey meant he would have had the upper-hand even with those 2 missing lbs. It was a really good performance as well. To be fair Creative Inerta backed up his Cheltenham 3rd with another good run. Midnight Cowboy got outpaced as I thought he would and Ecu De La Noverie clearly wasn't fit as he went from travelling well enough to emptying very quickly.
I'm surprised they didn't try and make it more of a test on Virak in the Lady's Final given Deans Road's suspect stamina, but the small field set things up perfectly for the winner. He had got injured at Wincanton earlier in the season so it is also no surprise that he has got better with every run since.
They also didn't make the John Corbett Cup a strongly run race either which was a surprise given Premier Magic was certain to stay whilst we were unknown about Fumet D'odairies stamina. He was coming back at him at the line as well. As it turned out though neither had a response to the Irish winner Vaucelet. For one so inexperienced I thought it was a very good performance and I think he was certainly the best horse in the race. It will be fascinating to see how he progresses next season, but he might just turn out to be a Foxhunter horse. Captain McGinley backed up my thinking that the Cheltenham race fell to pieces and he was a shocking price in the end. Wick Green ran his 2nd poor race.
If Law Of Gold is a better horse than Bob And Co then I may as well give up now, but as we have seen in this race before the best horse doesn't always win and the one aimed for it can often come out on top especially if they have proven themselves at the venue. Law Of Gold had all that in his favour and he saw it out better than the 2nd. Given he is only 8 I would imagine they will skip Cheltenham next year and just focus his season around a repeat bid and if it comes up good ground again he might just well do it. I don't think Maxwell did too much wrong on Bob And Co and I suspect he has probably just had enough for the season on the back of the Punchestown effort. I also wonder if the track didn't really suit him either. Even though he is 11 next year I am sure he will be one of the leading candidates for Cheltenham glory. Monbeg Chit Chat backed up his Cheltenham win with a good effort for 3rd. Connections might just regret not going to Kelso on Sunday with him though as he would have won that and collected more prize money in doing so. Adrien Du Point just didn't stay and Captain Cattistock was outclassed.
As much as I don't think Maxwell could do much more on his first two rides his ride on Monsieur Gibraltar was just plain stupid as was Natalie Parker's on Alcala. Quite why they went so hard I don't know, but the fact they were in front entering the straight and were then beaten 20 and 25 lengths shows you how tired they got. The fact Bletchley Castle could make the running also told you all you need to know. So with the pace being crazy it set it up for the ones who stay well and thus you end up with Keltus winning and Zamparelli finishing 2nd. It was so frustrating that Zamparelli couldn't quite get there in time. He was outpaced for most of the way, but leaving the back straight you could tell he was staying on well and that he was still a contender. The fact Keltus was able to not get quite as far behind has made the difference in the end. Hard to know if Clondaw Westie would have won, but he gave his jockey no chance at the last. His trainer said after the race that he did that because he was tired so maybe he would have found it hard to see off the winner. Even so he ran another good race on the back of his Aintree and Cheltenham efforts.
The Restricted Final looks every bit as weak after the race as it did before the race. The Bonny Boy was able to reverse form with the 2 that had beaten him the last twice and that sums the race up. Pillowman jumped very badly which cost him any chance he had sadly. Any of this will need a weak hunter chase to win one in my view.
I should probably stop betting in the bumper on this card. In 2018 and 2019 my main fancy slipped up on the bend leading into the back straight and this year Hope Des Blins saddle slipped and she was basically pulled up. Darren Andrews stole this race on Fountains Chief for me. He made all at a slow pace and was able to dictate things as he wanted. Gina on the other-hand held up Latenightfumble at the back and he just didn't have the speed to get near the winner. It was a big step up on his Exeter run by the winner and I just wonder if he will be able to back this up given the way he stole the race. The race though summed up how the night went.

N1? Well done
 

My brief thoughts and bets for tomorrow morning's jumps races at Hamilton.   Race 1 (2.40am) Annunciate should win this. He jumps really well and I think he just bumped into last time. No bet though as he's odds on.   Race 2 (3.20am) He's All White faster winning time slower last 600m than Holburt. The Beehive was just behind in 3rd and could improve for that over this shorter trip. Zoffany Rocket didn't jump well enough when 5th in that race. The Poormanzabeel 2 placed runs in NZ last year over a couple of furlongs shorter. Only one flat run a month ago since last Sep with 6 trials. I think Holburt is worth taking on again and He's All White should be favourite for me. Also going to take The Beehive and Zoffany Rocket as reasons to think they might be capable of reversing form with Holburt as well.   Hes All White 2pts @ 6/1 with Bet365 Zoffany Rocket 0.5ps e/w @ 18/1 with Betfred The Beehive 0.5pts e/w @ 20/1 with Betfred   Race 3 (4am) Hey Happy only 6th on debut, but had a wide run with no cover and wasn't beaten all that far. Sandman not beaten far in 3rd on debut. Switching To Win jumped well in trial win. Sandman looks way overpriced to me if he builds on that debut effort. Also going to cover Switching To Win.   Sandman 1pt e/w @ 16/1 with Betfred Switching To Win 1pt @ 4/1 with Bet365   Race 4 (4.40am) Bad race but Dodge City won well last time and could have enough for these. I'm surprised he's not shorter in the betting.   Dodge City 1pt @ 5/1 with Bet365   Race 5 (5.20am) Can see why American In Paris is fav as Longclaw has a few lengths to make up on him although he improved on that effort next time. Lucques put in a rare poor one last time but otherwise he is usually very solid. At the prices I am going to take Lucques to bounce back e/w.   Lucques 1pt e/w @ 17/2 with Betfred

My brief thoughts and bets for tomorrow morning's jumps races at Hamilton.   Race 1 (2.40am) Annunciate should win this. He jumps really well and I think he just bumped into last time. No bet though as he's odds on.   Race 2 (3.20am) He's All White faster winning time slower last 600m than Holburt. The Beehive was just behind in 3rd and could improve for that over this shorter trip. Zoffany Rocket didn't jump well enough when 5th in that race. The Poormanzabeel 2 placed runs in NZ last year over a couple of furlongs shorter. Only one flat run a month ago since last Sep with 6 trials. I think Holburt is worth taking on again and He's All White should be favourite for me. Also going to take The Beehive and Zoffany Rocket as reasons to think they might be capable of reversing form with Holburt as well.   Hes All White 2pts @ 6/1 with Bet365 Zoffany Rocket 0.5ps e/w @ 18/1 with Betfred The Beehive 0.5pts e/w @ 20/1 with Betfred   Race 3 (4am) Hey Happy only 6th on debut, but had a wide run with no cover and wasn't beaten all that far. Sandman not beaten far in 3rd on debut. Switching To Win jumped well in trial win. Sandman looks way overpriced to me if he builds on that debut effort. Also going to cover Switching To Win.   Sandman 1pt e/w @ 16/1 with Betfred Switching To Win 1pt @ 4/1 with Bet365   Race 4 (4.40am) Bad race but Dodge City won well last time and could have enough for these. I'm surprised he's not shorter in the betting.   Dodge City 1pt @ 5/1 with Bet365   Race 5 (5.20am) Can see why American In Paris is fav as Longclaw has a few lengths to make up on him although he improved on that effort next time. Lucques put in a rare poor one last time but otherwise he is usually very solid. At the prices I am going to take Lucques to bounce back e/w.   Lucques 1pt e/w @ 17/2 with Betfred

My brief thoughts and bets for tomorrow morning's jumps races at Hamilton.   Race 1 (2.40am) Annunciate should win this. He jumps really well and I think he just bumped into last time. No bet though as he's odds on.   Race 2 (3.20am) He's All White faster winning time slower last 600m than Holburt. The Beehive was just behind in 3rd and could improve for that over this shorter trip. Zoffany Rocket didn't jump well enough when 5th in that race. The Poormanzabeel 2 placed runs in NZ last year over a couple of furlongs shorter. Only one flat run a month ago since last Sep with 6 trials. I think Holburt is worth taking on again and He's All White should be favourite for me. Also going to take The Beehive and Zoffany Rocket as reasons to think they might be capable of reversing form with Holburt as well.   Hes All White 2pts @ 6/1 with Bet365 Zoffany Rocket 0.5ps e/w @ 18/1 with Betfred The Beehive 0.5pts e/w @ 20/1 with Betfred   Race 3 (4am) Hey Happy only 6th on debut, but had a wide run with no cover and wasn't beaten all that far. Sandman not beaten far in 3rd on debut. Switching To Win jumped well in trial win. Sandman looks way overpriced to me if he builds on that debut effort. Also going to cover Switching To Win.   Sandman 1pt e/w @ 16/1 with Betfred Switching To Win 1pt @ 4/1 with Bet365   Race 4 (4.40am) Bad race but Dodge City won well last time and could have enough for these. I'm surprised he's not shorter in the betting.   Dodge City 1pt @ 5/1 with Bet365   Race 5 (5.20am) Can see why American In Paris is fav as Longclaw has a few lengths to make up on him although he improved on that effort next time. Lucques put in a rare poor one last time but otherwise he is usually very solid. At the prices I am going to take Lucques to bounce back e/w.   Lucques 1pt e/w @ 17/2 with Betfred

After putting up Dark Mahler up I was shocked to see him backed into favouritism at one stage because as I said in the preview Point The Way was certainly they right favourite even if I thought his price was on the sort side. As it turned out he was the strongest stayer in the race and didn't even race lazily as he usually does so it was a pretty easy watch for his backers. Apparently it was the 5th biggest prize money for a hunter chase this season which is great for the northern pointers to go for a big pot, but it was a pretty weak contest for the money. Nine Altars was 2nd again in the contest and he threatened to cart of with his jockey at one stage. To his credit he kept going well enough despite that mid race move. Rattle The Cage was up there, then got outpaced and then stayed on to just get 3rd from Dark Mahler. He was ridden to stay and didn't.
So we are left with just 2 hunter chases at Cartmel to end the season. This is always one of the weaker races of the season and amazingly in the last 9 runnings there has been no winning favourite. Really that ought to change this afternoon because Benefaktor has a fair bit in hand on all known form. I put him up at Cheltenham on the back of a very impressive performance at Revesby on his seasonal return, but after setting a decent pace he failed to stay. He went to Edgcote after that and was made to work very hard by Luke Harvey's Drumlynn to win over today's trip (the official margin was a head, but the pointing formbook reckons it was a dead heat and it did look too close to call for me as well). There are two concerns for me. The first is he had a very hard race that day so it might have left a mark and the 2nd is there could be a fair bit of pace in this contest which might not be ideal either. Still you have the best jockey in the race and you would imagine she will be sensible enough out in front.
To me Gold Time looks a bit short in the betting. She wasn't anything special last season and was pretty exposed in Ireland. This season she unseated in her first two starts the first of which she would have been a well beaten 4th behind Dressedforsuccess. That has to be a concern going under rules for the first time and Cartmel is a tough jumping track. The price is based on the face she has won her last two, beating Teescomponents Boy by a length in what was a decent time and then winning in a pretty slow time at Hexham a couple of weeks ago. She wouldn't be for me.
Given what I have just written it is no surprise that the 25/1 about Dressedforsuccess was taken as he would have beaten her quite comfortably if she had not unseated at the last. That was on good to firm ground so conditions should be ideal and I suspect it was too soft for him at Catterick back in March when he pulled up. The concern is he was a well beaten 5th in this race 2 years ago where he never got involved, but on quicker ground he can do better.
I'm a bit more surprised that Teescomponents Boy has been backed as the 2nd to Gold Time stands and with Immy's claim he is 5lbs better off here. He also ran terribly 8 days ago at Garthorpe and he wouldn't be for me.
Royal Chant weakened very quickly last week at Southwell and the jockey reported that he had stopped very quickly. This is a poorer race over a shorter trip so that might help him here. His best performance of the season was when beating Absainte in April on quick ground over 2m6f. To me he would have more ability than most of these.
Rafferty went off a million miles an hour in the 2m race at Cheltenham and not surprisingly fell in a hole. If he does the same here then he has no chance and I suspect if he did Gina would let him get on with it on the favourite rather than try and keep tabs with him. He bolted up in a maiden over 2m4f on his point debut in April which was his first run for 2 years. I find it hard to fancy him on the back of the Cheltenham effort.
Sliecegar gave his jockey his first winner at Hornby Castle in April and he made all that day after not getting involved at Dingley 5 days before. He was then pulled up in a restricted at Garthorpe when he looked to down tools once he was headed. If he has to lead then he has little chance of doing that for me here and even if he does I can't see him being good enough to stay there.
One For Martha and Some Ambition have no chance and that leaves us with Babytaggle. He led for a bit on Friday, but then just couldn't go the pace over a sharp 2m which was one of my concerns. He's a massive price again on that Huntingdon run especially in this poorer race. The concern though is he is going to struggle to lead again, but then you are getting 100/1 to find out.
I think the best way to play is by taking the favourite out of the equation given I don't fancy Gold Time who becomes a short price favourite in the betting without market. I will back Dressedforsuccess and Royal Chant plus a very small cover of Babytaggle.
Dressedforsuccess 1pt in the betting without fav market @ 4/1 with Bet365
Royal Chant 1pt in the betting without fav market @ 13/2 with Bet365
Babytaggle 0.25pts e/w in the betting without fav market @ 50/1 with Bet365

After putting up Dark Mahler up I was shocked to see him backed into favouritism at one stage because as I said in the preview Point The Way was certainly they right favourite even if I thought his price was on the sort side. As it turned out he was the strongest stayer in the race and didn't even race lazily as he usually does so it was a pretty easy watch for his backers. Apparently it was the 5th biggest prize money for a hunter chase this season which is great for the northern pointers to go for a big pot, but it was a pretty weak contest for the money. Nine Altars was 2nd again in the contest and he threatened to cart of with his jockey at one stage. To his credit he kept going well enough despite that mid race move. Rattle The Cage was up there, then got outpaced and then stayed on to just get 3rd from Dark Mahler. He was ridden to stay and didn't.
So we are left with just 2 hunter chases at Cartmel to end the season. This is always one of the weaker races of the season and amazingly in the last 9 runnings there has been no winning favourite. Really that ought to change this afternoon because Benefaktor has a fair bit in hand on all known form. I put him up at Cheltenham on the back of a very impressive performance at Revesby on his seasonal return, but after setting a decent pace he failed to stay. He went to Edgcote after that and was made to work very hard by Luke Harvey's Drumlynn to win over today's trip (the official margin was a head, but the pointing formbook reckons it was a dead heat and it did look too close to call for me as well). There are two concerns for me. The first is he had a very hard race that day so it might have left a mark and the 2nd is there could be a fair bit of pace in this contest which might not be ideal either. Still you have the best jockey in the race and you would imagine she will be sensible enough out in front.
To me Gold Time looks a bit short in the betting. She wasn't anything special last season and was pretty exposed in Ireland. This season she unseated in her first two starts the first of which she would have been a well beaten 4th behind Dressedforsuccess. That has to be a concern going under rules for the first time and Cartmel is a tough jumping track. The price is based on the face she has won her last two, beating Teescomponents Boy by a length in what was a decent time and then winning in a pretty slow time at Hexham a couple of weeks ago. She wouldn't be for me.
Given what I have just written it is no surprise that the 25/1 about Dressedforsuccess was taken as he would have beaten her quite comfortably if she had not unseated at the last. That was on good to firm ground so conditions should be ideal and I suspect it was too soft for him at Catterick back in March when he pulled up. The concern is he was a well beaten 5th in this race 2 years ago where he never got involved, but on quicker ground he can do better.
I'm a bit more surprised that Teescomponents Boy has been backed as the 2nd to Gold Time stands and with Immy's claim he is 5lbs better off here. He also ran terribly 8 days ago at Garthorpe and he wouldn't be for me.
Royal Chant weakened very quickly last week at Southwell and the jockey reported that he had stopped very quickly. This is a poorer race over a shorter trip so that might help him here. His best performance of the season was when beating Absainte in April on quick ground over 2m6f. To me he would have more ability than most of these.
Rafferty went off a million miles an hour in the 2m race at Cheltenham and not surprisingly fell in a hole. If he does the same here then he has no chance and I suspect if he did Gina would let him get on with it on the favourite rather than try and keep tabs with him. He bolted up in a maiden over 2m4f on his point debut in April which was his first run for 2 years. I find it hard to fancy him on the back of the Cheltenham effort.
Sliecegar gave his jockey his first winner at Hornby Castle in April and he made all that day after not getting involved at Dingley 5 days before. He was then pulled up in a restricted at Garthorpe when he looked to down tools once he was headed. If he has to lead then he has little chance of doing that for me here and even if he does I can't see him being good enough to stay there.
One For Martha and Some Ambition have no chance and that leaves us with Babytaggle. He led for a bit on Friday, but then just couldn't go the pace over a sharp 2m which was one of my concerns. He's a massive price again on that Huntingdon run especially in this poorer race. The concern though is he is going to struggle to lead again, but then you are getting 100/1 to find out.
I think the best way to play is by taking the favourite out of the equation given I don't fancy Gold Time who becomes a short price favourite in the betting without market. I will back Dressedforsuccess and Royal Chant plus a very small cover of Babytaggle.
Dressedforsuccess 1pt in the betting without fav market @ 4/1 with Bet365
Royal Chant 1pt in the betting without fav market @ 13/2 with Bet365
Babytaggle 0.25pts e/w in the betting without fav market @ 50/1 with Bet365

After putting up Dark Mahler up I was shocked to see him backed into favouritism at one stage because as I said in the preview Point The Way was certainly they right favourite even if I thought his price was on the sort side. As it turned out he was the strongest stayer in the race and didn't even race lazily as he usually does so it was a pretty easy watch for his backers. Apparently it was the 5th biggest prize money for a hunter chase this season which is great for the northern pointers to go for a big pot, but it was a pretty weak contest for the money. Nine Altars was 2nd again in the contest and he threatened to cart of with his jockey at one stage. To his credit he kept going well enough despite that mid race move. Rattle The Cage was up there, then got outpaced and then stayed on to just get 3rd from Dark Mahler. He was ridden to stay and didn't.
So we are left with just 2 hunter chases at Cartmel to end the season. This is always one of the weaker races of the season and amazingly in the last 9 runnings there has been no winning favourite. Really that ought to change this afternoon because Benefaktor has a fair bit in hand on all known form. I put him up at Cheltenham on the back of a very impressive performance at Revesby on his seasonal return, but after setting a decent pace he failed to stay. He went to Edgcote after that and was made to work very hard by Luke Harvey's Drumlynn to win over today's trip (the official margin was a head, but the pointing formbook reckons it was a dead heat and it did look too close to call for me as well). There are two concerns for me. The first is he had a very hard race that day so it might have left a mark and the 2nd is there could be a fair bit of pace in this contest which might not be ideal either. Still you have the best jockey in the race and you would imagine she will be sensible enough out in front.
To me Gold Time looks a bit short in the betting. She wasn't anything special last season and was pretty exposed in Ireland. This season she unseated in her first two starts the first of which she would have been a well beaten 4th behind Dressedforsuccess. That has to be a concern going under rules for the first time and Cartmel is a tough jumping track. The price is based on the face she has won her last two, beating Teescomponents Boy by a length in what was a decent time and then winning in a pretty slow time at Hexham a couple of weeks ago. She wouldn't be for me.
Given what I have just written it is no surprise that the 25/1 about Dressedforsuccess was taken as he would have beaten her quite comfortably if she had not unseated at the last. That was on good to firm ground so conditions should be ideal and I suspect it was too soft for him at Catterick back in March when he pulled up. The concern is he was a well beaten 5th in this race 2 years ago where he never got involved, but on quicker ground he can do better.
I'm a bit more surprised that Teescomponents Boy has been backed as the 2nd to Gold Time stands and with Immy's claim he is 5lbs better off here. He also ran terribly 8 days ago at Garthorpe and he wouldn't be for me.
Royal Chant weakened very quickly last week at Southwell and the jockey reported that he had stopped very quickly. This is a poorer race over a shorter trip so that might help him here. His best performance of the season was when beating Absainte in April on quick ground over 2m6f. To me he would have more ability than most of these.
Rafferty went off a million miles an hour in the 2m race at Cheltenham and not surprisingly fell in a hole. If he does the same here then he has no chance and I suspect if he did Gina would let him get on with it on the favourite rather than try and keep tabs with him. He bolted up in a maiden over 2m4f on his point debut in April which was his first run for 2 years. I find it hard to fancy him on the back of the Cheltenham effort.
Sliecegar gave his jockey his first winner at Hornby Castle in April and he made all that day after not getting involved at Dingley 5 days before. He was then pulled up in a restricted at Garthorpe when he looked to down tools once he was headed. If he has to lead then he has little chance of doing that for me here and even if he does I can't see him being good enough to stay there.
One For Martha and Some Ambition have no chance and that leaves us with Babytaggle. He led for a bit on Friday, but then just couldn't go the pace over a sharp 2m which was one of my concerns. He's a massive price again on that Huntingdon run especially in this poorer race. The concern though is he is going to struggle to lead again, but then you are getting 100/1 to find out.
I think the best way to play is by taking the favourite out of the equation given I don't fancy Gold Time who becomes a short price favourite in the betting without market. I will back Dressedforsuccess and Royal Chant plus a very small cover of Babytaggle.
Dressedforsuccess 1pt in the betting without fav market @ 4/1 with Bet365
Royal Chant 1pt in the betting without fav market @ 13/2 with Bet365
Babytaggle 0.25pts e/w in the betting without fav market @ 50/1 with Bet365