Away From The Spotlight: Horses to follow at Worcester, Ffos Las and Fontwell

Horse Racing

Mon October 12, 2026 · 3h ago

There are tips for Worcester, Ffos Las and Fontwell as David Massey looks ahead to the week's jumping.

Like many of you here, I enjoy reading the excellent columns on the Sporting Life website (is this right, editor? Can I have a pay rise now?), where our scribes cover pretty much every aspect of racing from across the globe. It’s a broad church, and whilst we all have our specialist subjects, there’s lots of crossover. Heck, I’ve even enjoyed some of the French flat stuff this time around, and a trip to the Arc next year is on the cards.

My work partner Vicki loves her two-year-olds, as she often eulogises them, and did so again in her articles about Newmarket’s big meeting at the weekend, where she discussed a newfound love for Charlie Appleby’s Musical Times. Heartwarming stuff. However, her last little paragraph left me cold.

“There’s nothing like a good autumn romance to keep you going through the cold, winter months – and all that bloody jumps racing.”

I shook my head. A pop at this very column, so Gossamer-thin she might as well have said it through a loudspeaker from the paddock at Champions Day next weekend. I’m not angry, Vicki, just disappointed, and I've informed her as such. As punishment, she will have to join me at Ludlow (when they get back racing) to stand on the roof in the middle of January, when it will be so cold there will be polar bears running around in anoraks in the centre of the course. Then she’ll see what bloody jumps racing is really all about. It can’t all be trips to the Arc and Breeders' Cup for her.

Fillies' Mile report: Vicki Gibbins falling in love with Musical Times

Anyway, let us move on from (friendly) column wars to try and find a few interesting ones for this week. First stop off is Worcester, and I’ll be there today.

I’ll be surprised if Onehundredandeighty is beaten in the opener at 13:37; the step up in trip looks sure to suit, but I don’t think he’ll be much of a price. I’ll be having a second look at Washington Parks at 14:07; a switch to fences and some cheekpieces could be the reason for something better than he’s shown so far. He’s clearly handicapped on a couple of bits of his Irish form, and he already has a lot of disappointments on his dance card.

The third 0-100 on the card at 14:37 will take no winning, and Kally Du Bruyeres ought to come on a bit for that run here behind the aforementioned Onehundredandeighty last month and does at least know how to win races.

Potters Charm is the star turn on the card, and a clear round ought to be enough to see him win the Novice Chase at 15:07, but at this stage I'm probably backing Authoceltic in the 16:07. I backed him at Ascot back in March. He really ought to have won that day, and as you do, I now have a “he owes me” mentality with him. Two miles on good ground is ideal, and if he’s ready to go, I think he might have too much boot for Kykorock in the latter stages.

Under normal circumstances, I should be at Southwell on Tuesday, but Tuesday isn't normal; it is Mrs M’s birthday, so we are going to the Strictly Legends show in town. I was trying to think of the nearest thing Southwell has or has had to a legend. Maybe Reg Hollinshead’s Suluk (one for the teenagers there), who won eighteen hurdles in his hurdling career, all on the all-weather at Southwell back in the day, when such a thing existed. As for today, I’m hoping Mel Rowley is the trainer.

Her Cheesy Icon (14:35) isn’t exactly bred for fences, but he's got enough size to crack them, and he was improving nicely over hurdles when we last saw him, though that was at the back end of last year. He’s got Marche D’Aligre to beat, who definitely has the size for fences and kept catching the eye last year. However, as I said in the column last week, I’m still not quite sure where we are with Jamie Snowden’s horses, normally so fit this time of year, but I’m seeing plenty perhaps in need of the run, so I’ll give the Rowley beast a go.

There’s a race in her Shorten Sassy (17:23) too; she stays really well, and she ran a good race when third to Belladinotte over this C&D back in April when she kept on stoutly after getting outpaced. She arguably wants even further, but this is a winnable race, so I’m hoping she’s ready to go on her first start since May.

It’ll be interesting to see which of James Owen’s gets the nod for the first at Wetherby on Wednesday (13:25), as both are useful Flat performers and just the sort you’d be coming back here for the Wensleydale at the Charlie Hall meeting later in the month. I prefer Magnetude, who loves quick ground, and with no rain in the forecast for Yorkshire this week, it’ll be quick.

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No such ground concerns at Ffos Las on Wednesday, and one you definitely want onside, win or lose here, is Babatunde (13:45), trained by Richard Mitford-Slade. If he isn’t better than a mark of 95, I’ll eat my woolly winter hat; placed in a point-to-point back in 2024, he showed more than enough in handicap hurdles to win a race, but he was missing for all of 2025. Interestingly, his trainer is throwing him straight over fences on his return, and he’s one of my most interesting runners this week.

Back It Up has two entries this week, one at Fontwell on Thursday and one at Uttoxeter on Friday, and it’ll be interesting to see where he goes. Four times a winner for David Kemp in point-to-points, he’s now with James Owen and has been handicapped with three runs over hurdles; both races he’s in are handicap chases, and although the handicapper has not exactly been kind with an opening mark of 109, neither is it unworkable, so keep an eye out as to where he goes later in the week.

Rula Bula is another with a couple of entries at Uttoxeter on Friday, and I’m looking forward to her having a crack over fences too. A lovely mare with loads of size and scope for fences, she won first time up at Carlisle last year, so she might be fresh enough to catch. She’s sticking to two miles, whichever race she goes for, the handicap or beginners' chase, but she’ll get a lot further, and let’s finish on a wild throwaway comment: she might be the sort for a Regional National in time. But that’s the joy of “bloody jumps racing”; there’s always something to look forward to two years down the line…

Have a great week!

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