Ed Chamberlin's five wishes for racing's Christmas

1. That this stop-start season finally gets rolling

Yes, there have been flashes of brilliance from the likes of Constitution Hill, Frodon, Jonbon, L’Homme Presse and Edwardstone but there have still been more stops than starts with frozen tracks, fog, low sun, whip controversy and high-profile non-runners. Let’s hope from Boxing Day we can have an escape and focus solely on the racing and the jumps season can burst in to life.

I failed dismally with last year’s Christmas wish for a new Festival combining Kempton and Ascot so instead we’ve improvised and created an ITV Racing Christmas Festival with six days of live racing on terrestrial television from Boxing Day at Kempton through to New Year’s Day at Cheltenham, showcasing the best horses on both sides of the Irish Sea.

In true Festival fashion we’ll need prizes for the top trainers and jockeys so maybe the best performance over Christmas will get a highly sort after ITV Racing mug. Blankety Blank eat your heart out.

2. No strike

Let's hope the BHA diffused the situation with their statement last week because at Cheltenham's December meeting it felt like mutiny was in the air. As Tom Scudamore eloquently described on The Opening Show on Saturday, further discussions should lead to a compromise and both parties finding middle ground.

At a time when nurses and train drivers are striking over pay, jockeys striking over where they can and can’t hit a horse would have made horse racing a laughing stock. Common sense can still prevail.

3. L’Homme Presse

Last week it looked like the King George was in danger of falling apart. My fear is always sports fans opening up the newspaper on Boxing Day to weigh up the plethora of sporting action, seeing a King George with only five or six runners and diverting their attention elsewhere. Whatever the quality of the field, a small number is always a turn-off for people who dip in and out of watching or attending race meetings.

This year we've experimented by moving the King George start time to 2.30pm to enable people to watch the big race before all the 3 o’clock kick-offs.

Paul Nicholls is the King of Kempton on Boxing Day but I’m going to take him on this year with L’Homme Presse. Kempton is all about getting in to a jumping rhythm and this guy is so fluent over his fences. He’s already a Cheltenham Festival winner, has the soft ground he relishes, and could have a class edge over the Ditcheat duo of Bravemansgame and Hitman.

4. Fortescue

I'm always green with envy that Luke Harvey heads to Chepstow on the 27th, while Kempton often feels like after the Lord Mayor's show.

It’s always difficult to make up ground in the Becher Chase at Aintree yet Fortescue was dropped out last, he was second last as they jumped the water and still had only four behind him as they approached Becher’s Brook. He made up ground relentlessly from there and stamina looks his forte. You need that in spades to win a Welsh National and that test looks ideal for Fortescue. Henry Daly won the race in 1999 with Edmond and has another live contender with Fortescue. 20/1 with Sky Bet is a decent each-way option.

I'll also have a few quid on The Galloping Bear, who got his eye in over hurdles at Carlisle and is another who will relish this stamina test.

5. Showcasing the best in Ireland

We'll try and show recordings of the best of the action on the 26th and 27th at Leopardstown before their races take centre stage on ITV on the 28th and 29th when my Sporting Life colleague Oli Bell takes over the presenting baton.

There's a feast of top class horses and punting options but I've only had one investment so far: Panda Boy in the Paddy Power Chase (3pm, December 27th).

Martin Brassil’s charge won the Pertemps Qualifier at this meeting last year. He's faced a couple of tough assignments in Graded ranks over fences, after winning well on his chasing debut back May. This has clearly been a target for the six-year-old grey, and back in handicap company at around 8/1, there is still plenty of juice left in those odds.

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