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The headline selection of Monday, King Of Highways, was very poor at Plumpton.
He drifted out in the morning, but was backed in just before the race started, so seeing a poor performance was a bit surprising.
Whenever there is late money, it means a big run is on the cards, but the complete opposite happened. He didn't go a yard and put in a horrendous performance.
On the brighter side, King Gris won under Sean Bowen, who landed another four-timer.
There was serious money on King Gris, and I don't think I've been on a horse that has been gambled in this much. He went off at 4/11F after being tipped up at 11/4!
That is a lot of money, and in hindsight, the signs were there. He was running off a ridiculously low handicap mark on stable debut for Gordon Elliott, and he has a lot of future entries this week.
Livy's Lad 6/4 (2pt) – Southwell 1.22
Despite saying that I try and stay clear of short-priced favourites, it's hard not to think anything above EVS is very good value on Livy's Lad.
This race looks very poor, and even the horses that are arriving in decent form shouldn't be good enough to stop Livy's Lad.
Nick Gifford's five-year-old chaser made a winning chasing debut last time out at this track, winning in good style.
The handicapper hasn't been too harsh on him and has only put him up 5lbs. That small increase should give him a fantastic chance of winning again.
We know the track and ground are fine, as he handled both last time out. I can't see anything against him; all he should have to do is jump nicely, and he'll win. We know that's not always a given in jumps racing, but he looks a solid horse on Tuesday.
Staffordshire Knot 6/4 (1pt) – Clonmel 1.05
I'm going to sound like a hypocrite now, as this is another short priced horse. I backed a horse in the Pertemps qualifier that Staffordshire Knot won. I thought they wouldn't want to win a race of that nature, with the finale in March being the plan.
It turns out that isn't the plan, as they were more than happy to win the qualifier and win it nicely. He has gone up 7lbs for that success, and they are sending him back out again.
I don't think this is a straightforward win, but obviously, I see him as the most likely winner.
He's in great form at present, and has always had a good reputation from when he was owned by the Potter's, who sold him just over a year ago. He fetched big money at the sales and is still a young enough horse to mature into what Gordon Elliott always thought he could be.
The top weight is a solid horse, and is probably the main danger over French Dynamite. I get the impression that French Dynamite will be heading to Aintree next year for the National, so he will be running over hurdles in the meantime.
GambleAware