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THE 2017-18 jump season is just about to get in to full flow so Mr Fixit has asked me to pick out my top horses to follow in the months ahead. A tricky task but one that's good fun to do at this stage of the season.
The key ingredient for me when looking at horses to follow is to find those with good ability who aren’t likely to be over-bet, in other words those that wont be heavily backed by their supporters.
That often means avoiding popular big-name trainers and jockeys or stables and owners who are known for having a punt on their horses. For example, that generally rules out horses owned by JP McManus who is known for having a good punt when one of his horses is fancied.
I have tried to give a good selection of horses of various ages and abilities that I think are potential improvers and winners for this season for one reason or another. So without further ado and in no particular order, here is the list of horses to follow that I have picked out for season 2017-18;
1. High Bridge
This six-year-old only finished in mid-division in the Supreme Novices Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival in March but the form of that race is already working out well. High Bridge was behind Elgin (7th) that day who dotted up in the William Hill Handicap Hurdle at Ascot in early November with High Bridge back in 3rd.
I like the form of that race too (Caid Du Lin in 7th place has run well since) and I think that High Bridge is one that will find a race or two to win this season.
2. Gardefort
This Venetia Williams-trained horse has strong form on all surfaces and very nearly won at the festival in March, losing out by a length or so to one of my tips Rock The World. There is no shame in that result and Gardefort’s recent 4th place at Aintree on his seasonal debut was also decent.
He is a very consistent type of horse who more often than not will run to form and although I wouldn’t expect huge improvement from him given that he is a fairly well-exposed 8-year-old chaser I will be surprised if he doesn’t win at least one nice handicap chase this season at a decent price. Definitely one to keep on side.
3. Three Ways
Jamie Snowden has a relatively small yard when compared to the big boys and girls but he sent out 25 winners last season and has had a Cheltenham winner in the past (Present View) so knows how to ready one for the big occasion. I think Three Ways is a promising horse who may well be slightly under the radar.
He recently lost a match to a promising Paul Nicholls chaser (Give Me A Copper) but he didn’t jump particularly well at some flights and had to make up ground on the flat. In the end he only lost by 3.5 lengths and I think Give Me A Copper will prove to be a pretty handy chaser this season (he’s also worth sticking in your horse tracker by the way).
Three Ways missed out on getting a run in the Pertemps Hurdle at the festival last season by one place and if his jumping can improve and he picks up a win or two over fences I could see him being aimed at the Close Brothers Novices Chase on Day 1 of the festival this year, which is actually the race that Snowden won with Present View back in 2014. Perhaps it is written in the stars?
4. Gortroe Joe
I’m not entirely sure what the plan will be for this horse and whether he will go for handicaps or try to compete in the graded novice hurdle races but he looked a decent horse to me when he went down by 3.5 lengths to Slate House at Cheltenham in October. He has yet to win a race under rules so we might get a decent price when he races in future.
Dan Skelton, his trainer, has a high opinion of the horse and was looking for him to settle into his races better which he did last time at Cheltenham. He was given an easy ride that day and I expect that he will improve massively for the experience and develop as the season progresses. I’m looking forward to seeing what he can do.
5. Baron Alco
This horse owes me nothing given the number of wins and places he has had when I have backed him but I think he can have another good season. He is a bold-jumping front-runner and those sort of horses don’t tend to be suited by longer trips but given that his sire is Dom Alco I think he might improve again this season if he is stepped up to three mile chases, particularly around flat tracks where he can build up a nice in rhythm in front and get the rest of them working hard in behind.
I don’t think he is astonishingly well-handicapped but on good or soft ground I think he can be competitive this season and I’m looking forward to seeing him back on the racecourse soon. A great horse to watch as he bowls along in front.
6. Romain De Senam
Probably more of an obvious selection here given that Romain De Senam is a young progressive chaser for Paul Nicholls who has already won two fairy uncompetitve handicaps this season but I think he could have lots more to come. Although he is now in his second season as a chaser it is easy to forget that he is only a five year old.
Paul Nicholls is just brilliant at getting more and more improvement out of his handicappers and I can see this lad being no different. That progress might even start this coming Saturday where he is entered in the BetVictor Gold Cup at Cheltenham.
I wouldn’t put anyone off backing him for that and once I have had a good look at the form over the next couple of days I may well tip him if I think his price is decent value. Either way he will be winning more races this season.
7. Indian Castle
This last one is perhaps a wee bit self-indulgent. Regular readers may remember that I have followed Indian Castle for a couple of years so there might be some bias in my point of view but I am still convinced that he has a big race handicap in him.
He is a horse that his owners and trainer Ian Williams clearly aim at Cheltenham each season and his record is decent there having been 6th and 4th in the 3 mile 2 furlong handicap in the previous two years which always has 20-odd runners. He is usually lightly campaigned each season having only had a total of fourteen runs in the last four years.
The tricky part is that it has been four years since he actually got his head in front. He has been placed several times though and I think he will win one of these big handicaps soon enough. Perhaps not one to follow with too much of your hard-earned but when he does get into the winners enclosure it will be worth it and I’m certainly not going to stop following him.
Over to you…
So, that's my seven to add to your notebook. Let me know which horses you think will make an impact in the season ahead by commenting below.
GambleAware