Bullseye: Get your horse racing tracker ready after a trip down memory lane

The dank approach to October always reminds me of one thing that lit up the customary Autumnal dirge - Spanish Don’s victory in the 2004 Cambridgeshire. The 100-1 rag was the jump cable that kick-started the Ferrari that drove me headfirst into a life of racing. 

Even today, the memory is as clear as a Mediterranean rockpool. My father telling me he will put a wager on, looking at the formbook and somehow choosing the outsider of a 32-strong field, and our whole family gathering to watch in the sitting room as David Elsworth’s rocket-fuelled, turbo-charged, life-changing beast flew down the centre of the track to wrest the prize from his 31 shorter-priced rivals. 

Did I hear his name from the commentator once before the final 50 yards? No, I did not. Perhaps that’s why my unbroken voice shrilled louder than a dragoon guard’s cornet as he burst from nowhere to win me the quite enormous sum of £250. That was an unfathomable and intangible amount of money – and certainly an amount my mother was not going to allow me to keep.

“It’ll be put towards family finances,” she said with almost imperceptible relish. Of course, in hindsight it was absolutely fair enough given they paid for literally everything in my life. But cue tears, more shrill screaming, and a sulk that lasted until the November Handicap. Luckily, though, this setback did nothing to deter me from the sport - in fact it gave rise to an incendiary combustion in the belly that made me want to spend my life in it. 

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Afterwards, I began to develop a fondness for particular silks - notably Tabor’s orange and blue, Juddmonte’s pink and green (I purchased a polo shirt emblazoned with Dancing Brave’s colours), and the black and white of Lucayan Stud (sadly not seen anymore). Certain horses began to work their way into the welcoming atrium of my heart - Falbrav, Bahamian Pirate, Hoh Hoh Hoh and Evens And Odds. Fanunalter, Rewilding and Opinion Poll would follow later. 

You might notice everything mentioned so far has been entirely centred around the Flat. And ultimately, that code is probably my favourite of the two. But it’s oh so marginal. One of my earliest memories is sitting around the fire in Cornwall on a decidedly miserable afternoon watching Dad cheer home 10-1 shot Papillion to win the Grand National (he was on at 33s, he tells me).  

As has been the case for many like me, the Grand National brought with it an excitement that few other weekends could match. I took special note of whenever Trevor Hemmings’ The Last Fling lined up and watched him soar over the birch fences on multiple occasions. I was totally devastated when he lost his life in the race.

Aintree’s showpiece became something of an annual puzzle. I’d spend weeks in the lead-up to the contest trying to figure out who had the requisite staying power, which horse liked big fields, who was a good jumper - and also who was worth avoiding. Darwin would have been proud of the endless reams of charts I created, giving each of the 40 runners a mark out of ten for a plethora of different attributes. It’s fair to say that by the winter of 2004, there was no vaccine for the bug I had caught.

As I’ve grown older, different aspects of the sport appealed to me more, and vice versa. One thing I’ve appreciated over the years is the perfect timing between the seasons of each code. Come October each year, I can’t wait for the Silver Trophy at Chepstow. Likewise, in April, I’m dying for the Guineas. And with each season comes the rejogging of the memory and the scouring of the form guide to remind myself of what excitements are in store for the coming months. That’s one thing the Jumps has over the Flat is the endless re-emergence of household names to enjoy from campaign to campaign.

Constitution Hill (right): is in store for a good season, but is far too obvious to include here!

So, what better time than now to scribble a series of horsing morsels to chow down on ahead of the forthcoming National Hunt season? And I’m not talking about Allaho and Constitution Hill. Let’s have a look at those further down the list of the clear and obvious, starting with Gordon Elliott’s new recruit, Deeply Superficial. 

The hammer went down at £385,000 at the Tattersalls December Sale following her 10-length demolition job of Mullenbeg in a point-to-point, who was one of the stars of the bumper scene last season. That form is now red-hot and she’s definitely worth putting on Racing TV for when she inevitably lines up at odds-on for an Irish big-field maiden hurdle. 

Another could-be star of the novice hurdle ranks is Queens Gamble, who burned up the Cheltenham hill like a paraffin heater on her racecourse debut at the end last season. It’s difficult to find first-time appearances more devastatingly impressive than that one, and Oliver Sherwood will surely have a very smart prospect to go to war with. 

Keep an eye, too, on Jet Powered, who has joined the Nicky Henderson yard in the famous Donnelly silks of black and yellow. The five-year-old easily won a point at the end of 2021 and went for £350,000 at the same sale as Deeply Superficial. 

Of those we know a bit more about, French Aseel is one to keep an eye on in the novice chase division. He bounded clear of a massive field at Leopardstown for Ellmarie Holden over Christmas but met with a setback once joining Willie Mullins and couldn’t take his chance in the Triumph Hurdle. He remains a horse of significant promise, as does West Cork, last season’s Greatwood Hurdle victor. Dan Skelton says the plan is to go chasing, and he could well be a slightly classier incarnation of Third Time Lucki. 

Shishkin: will have to battle Energumene and Ferny Hollow in the Champion Chase division

Although Energumene and Shishkin probably have the Champion Chase sewn up between them, I’m excited to see how Ferny Hollow gets on now back from injury. He possesses oodles of class and is thus far unbeaten over fences, with his two wins including a dominant performance in the Grade 1 Racing Post Novice Chase last Christmas.  

The most exciting prospect for this campaign, though, is Galopin Des Champs. He would have pulverised Bob Olinger but for coming down at the last in the Brown Advisory, and his electric combination of fluid jumping and V12 engine mean he’ll be a force to be reckoned with in all the big staying events as he steps into open company.  

Keep an eye, too, on Three Stripe Life. He was bought as a chaser and now we have the chance to see what he can do over the larger obstacles. So much to savour and enjoy!