Back to the Jumps - some Fancies for the 2008/09 season

Horses to follow (As of 31st Oct 2008)

Gold Cup Candidates

1. Kauto Star : will be my selection for the Gold Cup at Cheltenham without a doubt, this ex french gelding did nothing wrong last season winning his fair share of chases even though he was always regarded inferior by many to his stablemate the mighty DENMAN (which was later proved to be correct at the festival in march), but with that fellow not certain to be around for the first half of the season Kauto Star can make hay on both sides of the water as he will be aimed at some of the top irish chases also!

2. Neptune Collonges:Finished a cracking third to Denman and Kauto Star (btn a head for 2nd!) in last seasons Gold Cup and that proved to everyone that he is top class and as he will be only a seven yr-old this time around who is to say he cannot reach the very top as he showed when taking the G1 Punchestown Gold Cup in April on his last start! (he´s already won 6 group races, two of them G1 events) Plus he goes on any ground which is a great help.

3. War of Attrition: Has been there and done it and now as we saw in October this year he could be back to his best after almost 2 years on the sidelines! It was great to see him jump with his old enthusiasm when winning by a wide margin in Punchestown and Davey Russell was really excited (but not going over the top) with his performance. There are a shortage of Gold Cup horses that realisticaly have a chance (that are not trained by Paul Nicholls anyway surely he will be going to match Michael Dickinsons feat of training the first 5 home soon!) So lets keep our fingers crossed that War Of Attrition is as good as ever.

NOVICE CHASERS

4. Wind Instrument: Has always been well regarded in which ever yard hes been in be it winning Bumpers for Tom George or hurdles for Carl Llewellyn, this is a really good looking horse and everyone has been patient with him and he rewarded them by winning 2 in a row at the end of last year! Mark my words he will be making a name for himself this season and don´t be surprised if you see him lining up at Cheltenham for one of the big novice races come March!

5. Kazal: This lightly raced gelding who won 6 of his first 7 races has a touch of class and has been crying out for fences so this year will see him coming back to his early career form and if you think he was 3rd in the World Hdle behind Ingles Drever last year how good is he going to be this time around! Supreme Nov Chase fancy if going chasing.

6. Wichita Lineman: Was once touted as one of the best hurdlers in the country in the 2006/07 season but seemed to lose his way somewhat last year and ended up the bridesmaid on more than one occasion! But he pleased a lot of people when making his chase debut at Chepstow showing true grit and determination to get up and win in a 3 way photo. It will be interesting to see where Jonjo goes with him but on his day he is top class and fences should bring out the best in him.

7. Kicks For Free : Another brilliant hurdler who went wrong through illness but had a breathing Op and that did the trick as we saw when he rounded off last year with a good 2nd at Cheltenham and then running well at Aintree over a trip which was way too far. Returned this year over fences and put in a brilliant round of jumping for a novice and if he stays at around 2 1/2mile he can run up a sequence!

8. Oscar Park: We can´t leave good old Oscar Park out as he did us proud last year winning 2 of his 4 races and he would have beaten Barber Shop when unshipping his rider on his chase debut at Kempton! Well, he finished well beaten in the Sup Nov Chse at Cheltenham in his last race but that only shows us how well he is regareded by connections that they let him take his chance in that event, trouble is he wont be seen out till springtime so we will keep him as a reserve for then.

9. Barber Shop: Turned in some great displays of jumping when racing prominently and is our version of the Paddy Power winner this year! This fellow as only been out of the first 4 once in his career and HM The Queen will be having some exciting times this season for sure as he jumps for fun and doesn´t shirk a fight when it gets tough!

10. Big Bucks: Another one from the Nicholls yard who shot onto the scene last December when beating the tough Barbers Shop at Newbury in a ding-dong battle from the last flight to get the verdict close home by a neck (though he was going away at the end), he continued to improve in his first season in England and his trainer kept him in his own class as a novice and wasnt tempted to over do it! This year will see a more mature individual and he could win The Hennessy Gold Cup as hes that good!

11. Baltiman: We spotted this one last season when hurdling as he was always there or there abouts and then suddenly ran an absolute cracker behind the mighty Jered! His connections always said he would be a better chaser and making his debut in September he made every post a winning one to come home clear of his field, some wernt too impressed as the fav fell when closing in second but we think he had it well held, and so it was to prove as next time he made all oncemore to win comfortably in the G3 event at Tipperary! He seems to be getting on really well with his new pilot T J Doyle.

12. Finger On The Pulse: This Irish chaser was always going to be high class once he got his jumping together, he would have won a hell of a lot more but for mistakes and falls here and there just when it mattered! But as he proved at Cheltenham in the Jewson and again when making his debut this year he can be very good so watch him closely this term as he could reach some heady heights.

Hurdlers

1. Den Of Iniquity : Very highly regarded at home but wasnt seen after Cheltenham in March as the ground turned against him and he was given time so as to keep him for novice hurdles this season, as long as the going is on the soft side of good he will be a force to be reckoned with and should be able to reward connections and win a few culminating in a shot at one of the novice hurdles at the festival come March!

2. Jered : This one will win the Champion Hurdle in 2009 that is certain! Won all of his last 3 races with ease culminating in a G1 at Punchestown, he oozes class and and it will take a very good horse to lower his colours this season and seeing as there are only two good enough (Katchit and Osana both trained in England) he should be able to clear up in Ireland before going on to Cheltenham glory!

3. Osana: As mentioned above he will be the main danger to Jered when he comes over in March, he ran a cracker twice at Cheltenham, once when 2nd to Sizing Europe giving weight and then again when 2nd to Katchit in the Champion hurdle itself. He´s only been out of the first 4 once in his life and that just shows that he is as tough as teak and totally honest, we are certain he and Katchit will be the best the hurdlers in England this year.

4. Whiteoak: Noted at Doncaster in January when getting the better of Tazbar in a G2 Nov Hdle we were privilaged to actually see her in the flesh next time up at Ascot when she didnt let us down and duly won as she liked! Things got better as she obliged oncemore at the Festival at a juicy 20/1, she´s only run 7 times over hurdles so the best should be yet to come!!

5. American Trilogy: Was really impressive first time up in England when winning a novice hurdle at Aintree, if you think this fellow won a Listed race in France and was actually 3nd to Its Gino btn less than 2 lgth on another occasion! (and the latter was 3rd in the Arc) So you know we are talking class. On paper at least he could make the grade in all the best novice races this year.

6. Bergo: We had him on our list last year but it didn´t work out with Paul Nicholls, he even had a spell with Mr Gask where he tried to no avail to get him to the races. Well eventually Harry Findlay sent Bergo to Evan Williams who after giving him loads of TLC sent him to Plumpton for a nov hurdle and he won like a good thing, jumping really well he won with ears pricked and this will have done him the world of good! Bergo was placed in a G3 on the flat in Germany and was always well regarded (we own his sister Bukett) but he struggled to find his feet in England and we are now hoping he as turned the corner and can deliver the goods.


7. Ashkazar: Never leave one of David Pipes hurdlers out of a list of horses to follow! Well the sky is the limit for this one as he showed last season when coming over from France he won 4 of his first 5 races which ended in a career best effort when 2nd to Crack Away Jack in the Fred Winter Hurdle at the Festival! He will be campaigned over hurdles again with the Greatwood Hurdle as his first target. Prefers top of the ground.

8.Missis Potts: To some this one maybe a strange choice but when a horse is as good over hurdles as she is over fences then you are on to a money spinner! Missis Potts ran up a sequence before finishing 10 lgth behind Jack The Giant in a the hot Ascot Ladbroke Hurdle! She got back to winning ways though when defeating the good yardstick Battlecry at Hereford and ran well in defeat at the festival in a G3, her dam is a half sister to Denman so you now know where she gets her toughness from!

9.Nothingbutthetruth: Can only improve on his debut form as he was as green as grass but he´s a really good looking gelding who seemed to enjoy himself and won well in the end for Warren Marsden, it was only a very low key affair at Uttoxeter but he could win a couple more at lucrative odds if placed in the right company!

10. Made In Taipan: Seems to have been around for years but its only been 2 seasons! When he gets a bit of good/soft ground you will see how good he really is as up to now hes been mixing it with the best and has been placed in 75% of all races hes contested to date! Two good 2nds to Jered speak volumes as to how good he could be on the day.

11. French Opera: Another one what could now benifit from getting his head in front oncemore after a series of gallant defeats! Was actually second to no less than Elusive Dream on one occasion and Deep Purple in a Listed race at Kempton on the other. Lets hope this can be a season where he sticks to the winning thread.

12.Petitfour: Five races and 3 wins saw Petitfour improve out of all recognition in his first season over hurdles! Beating Gone For Lunch in the G1 hurdle at Aintree in April set the seal on a great campaign for his connetions and this season could even see him contesting the World Hurdle come Cheltenham time as he is very highly regarded at home!

13. Cedrus Libani: This fellow was my tip for last years Arkle but after winning 3 races on the trot he was not taken seriously by Howard Johnson as he was too wrapped up in Tidal Bay and was thinking of selling Cedrus Libani (he owned half) hopefully to the USA but it wasnt to be and he went to Mr and Mrs Rucker for 50,000 at the Doncaster sales. Well they will have a great time with their new buy who should thrive at his new yard (hes now with Evan Williams)who has already done well with Bergo this year.