It's the most wonderful time of the year

Not long now until the big one – the King George of course!

Christmas isn’t too bad either – I’m in the sprouts fan-club – and this time of year always reminds me of when I used to break up from work and head to WHSmith for my copy of the Superform Flat annual. This would’ve been during the mid-nineties when I was in my twenties so I quite enjoyed the fact most people my age were holding on to their Christmas bottle of booze from the office on the train, while I was clutching my formbook – felt nice, my little secret book that had all the answers for the following season.
That used to be a ritual of mine every year, sat at home flicking through the previous season’s form with a mince pie and sausage roll for company. After that it was time to read December/January’s bumper edition of Odds On – remember that?
They always used to have a Festive quiz that seemed to take all Christmas holiday to complete. What a superb magazine, with Russell Clarke, Mark Coton, Nick Mordin and Alan Potts all coming up with addictive columns each month – a feat sadly not repeated since. Mark has become a good friend of mine since our days at the Post, and Nick Mordin and Alan Potts are still writing about racing, but I’ve not seen or heard much from the former for a while, although I did note an interview in Smartersig back in January where it stated he was still a pro punter. Anyone know more?

The other ritual I would enjoy each Christmas was studying the Welsh National on my birthday and even found the winner on three consecutive occasions. The trends were the main pointer back then, as they are now, so I’ll be hoping they come good again this time around to provide me with a birthday win – I’ll be 36 by the way, not that you needed to know but I’ll tell people until I hit 40 then shut up!

I’ve not been punting much recently, partly due to picking up this cold/cough that’s currently doing the rounds, although I did have a stab at the Ladbroke Hurdle at Ascot on Saturday which got me beat on official ratings. I did look at the Silver Cup on that card too, and noticed one of the few qualifiers was Niche Market, especially as he arrived via Cheltenham. It wasn’t a gimme but I hope some of you found him.

That leads nicely into last week’s performance ratings from Ascot, the most noteworthy being Punchestowns in the Long Walk Hurdle. The last two five-year-olds to land this event were My Way De Solzen and Baracouda.

PERFORMANCE RATINGS

KENNEL GATE NOVICES’ HURDLE – Medermit 71

NOEL NOVICES’ CHASE – Deep Purple 68

THE LADBROKE HURDLE – Sentry Duty 74

SILVER CUP HANDICAP CHASE – Niche Market 70

LONG WALK HURDLE – Punchestowns 88

INTERNATIONAL HURDLE (from Cheltenham) – Binocular 86



TOP OF THE FORM

There were plenty of winners from last week’s Top 20, but unfortunately for my nap in the RFO table it was another second!

Here is the updated list of eyecatchers – Balzaccio in particular standing out on Saturday.

Alonso De Guzman, Amir Pasha, Arctic Freedom
Balzaccio, Bavarian Nordic, Brazilian Brush,
Castano, Compton Classic
Emirates Sports, Ever Cheerful
Glasker Mill
Kack Handed
King’s Forest
L’Homme De Nuit
Leading Edge
Leceile
Oracle Des Mottes
Persian Peril
Piscean
Red Somerset
Resounding Glory
Safari Run
The King Of Angels

Happy Christams to all and good luck finding the Festive winners from the book.