I cannot think of another top trainer under either code who is so willing to grant interviews to the media as Nicky Henderson. What is so surprising is that Nicky is entitled to be considered ‘old school’, having started his … Read More »

It’s hard to know where to begin in relation to the action in Ireland, so I’ll start elsewhere with the relatively low-grade 0-100 2m 4f handicap chase run at Lingfield last Friday. Why, you are fully entitled to ask, is … Read More »

The stewards were busy on Saturday, looking into the running of Iroko and Delta Work at Cheltenham and, of more interest to me, the victory of Owl Of Athens in the 2m 4f 0-100 handicap hurdle at Uttoxeter. As you … Read More »

I want to devote this edition of the Roundup to Mike Futter, who died last week after suffering a stroke 11 years ago. Some of you will remember him through his association with Monty’s Pass, who landed a £1 million … Read More »

I was interested to hear Paul Townend talking with Lydia Hislop and Ruby Walsh about King George VI Chase winner Banbridge over the weekend. The obvious impression from the horse’s style of racing and form is that he could struggle … Read More »

We had a feast of top-class racing over the Christmas holiday, giving rise to some notable fluctuations in the ante-post markets for Cheltenham. Unlike this time last year, when about half the races had a Willie Mullins horse at the … Read More »

If everything goes according to plan … and in this game we have to accept things can change at the last minute … it looks as if Lossiemouth will meet Constitution Hill in the Christmas Hurdle at Kempton on Thursday. … Read More »

I have written before about the decline in interest in ante-post betting, which is a great shame, but looking at the Gold Cup market there is nothing that entices me to advise an early investment. Fact To File, who beat … Read More »

I’m not sure that anyone outside the immediate circle of Venetia Williams’s yard could have predicted the ease with which Djelo won the Peterborough Chase at Huntingdon on Sunday. The six-year-old was always travelling very smoothly and went effortlessly clear, … Read More »

Although the ante-post market is not the force of old, there is plenty of material for discussion regarding the current Champion Hurdle betting. The first quandary relates to the participation of Constitution Hill. The seven-year-old seems to be quite fragile … Read More »

I’m not so sure that Sunday’s John Durkan Memorial Punchestown Chase will prove to have great relevance to the Gold Cup. Yes it was a thrilling spectacle and Willie Mullins may be proved right that, on figures, this was the … Read More »

With 16 of the 19 races at Cheltenham’s three-day November meeting going to winners priced at 7/2 or shorter, the punters had the better of the argument with the bookmakers. Even Il Ridoto, the 10/1 winner of the Paddy Power … Read More »