Bill Esdaile

THREE days of Cheltenham’s November Meeting bring some top-class Jumps action to the table this week, but putting anything up ante-post at the moment is far from easy with so little rain around. Jumps trainers throughout Britain and Ireland are crying out for rain so they can get a run into their horses, without having [...]

NATIONAL Hunt trainers will be breathing a sigh of relief with the wet and wintry weather that has swept into all corners of the UK this week, with it bringing a notable easing in the ground. Conditions have been dry for so long that many horses have had to delay their seasonal reappearances, but now [...]

WE’RE also jumping at Ascot on Saturday with a pair of Grade Twos headlining the card. Pic D’Orhy and Golden Ace are favourites for the 1965 Chase (1.30pm) and Ascot Hurdle (2.45pm) respectively, but their prices are both on the short side and I’m looking elsewhere in search of some value. The Hurst Park Handicap [...]

LAST Saturday’s racing in Britain was dominated by one yard, with trainer Venetia Williams winning three big races in the space of 45 minutes and taking home the best part of £200,000 in prize money. The winning spree included Haydock’s Grade One feature, won for the second consecutive year by the tenacious Royale Pagaille, and [...]

SANDOWN’s card this Saturday looks a pre-Christmas cracker, headlined by the Grade One Tingle Creek (3.00pm), where Nicky Henderson’s Jonbon will attempt to win consecutive editions of this coveted two-mile prize. Jonbon is remarkably consistent, and if successful on Saturday, he would take his career record to 16 wins from 19 starts and his earnings [...]

SATURDAY also sees prestigious action up at Aintree in the shape of the Grade Three Becher Handicap Chase (2.07pm). The runners will have to contest 21 famous Grand National fences, so there’s no harm identifying contenders who’ve got experience over the uniquely testing obstacles. King Turgeon immediately comes to mind after his spring-heeled victory on [...]

THERE’S no doubt that Cheltenham’s Saturday action will capture most punters’ attention this weekend, but I think I’ve found a bet on a less heralded card on the same day. Kateira is clearly a mare going in the right direction for the Skelton team, but her price is on the short side for my liking [...]

WE’RE back at the home of the Jumps this week as Cheltenham hosts its two-day Christmas Meeting. While there’s some good racing on Friday, Saturday’s card makes more appeal at this stage from an ante-post perspective and the big handicap, the December Gold Cup (1.50pm), is definitely a race to focus on. This is the [...]

SATURDAY’s racing offers up some tasty festive appetisers ahead of next week’s festive bonanza, which begins with a bang on Boxing Day. It’s always nice to attempt to pay for the Christmas turkey before it’s cooked, and Ascot’s card presents a few good chances of doing just that. The Grade One Long Walk Hurdle is [...]

THOROUGHBRED Aftercare Programme's (TAP) launch at the Howden Christmas Racing Weekend at Ascot Racecourse is the latest evolution in the significant investment made into eventing by David Howden.