Three of our tipsters give their thoughts on the action to come this jumps season, featuring Paddy Power Gold Cup views, jockeys to follow and whether Lossiemouth will be challenged come March.
Firstly, is there a major race this season you’re particularly looking forward to and why?
David Massey: I’m very much looking forward to the Welsh National this year as my work-partner Vicki Gibbins is attending for the first time, and has no idea of the joys that await.
Matt Brocklebank: It’s got to be the John Durkan at Punchestown towards the end of November. This race is worth watching and rewatching a few times as these days Willie Mullins unloads some of his best chasers for the two-and-a-half, three-mile and marathon divisions. He's even scared off Inothewayurthinkin who is heading elsewhere for a first start of the season by all accounts. There is always some pre-race scepticism over the readiness of certain individuals in it but the last two editions have served up cracking finishes, including Gaelic Warrior holding off Fact To File 12 months ago. This is the unofficial start of the winter campaign in Ireland for my money. Let's just hope for some more rain in the coming weeks.
Andrew Asquith: I always look forward to the Coral Gold Cup at Newbury each year, usually one of the strongest non-Festival races in the calendar and, if the ground comes up soft, I think Salver has the right sort of profile for it. He kept good company as a novice last season, winning a couple of Grade 2s at Sandown and Windsor, and also running a cracker when third to a couple of Willie Mullins-trained chasers in the Brown Advisory at the Cheltenham Festival. Salver has a mark of 150 which looks perfectly fair ahead of a first start in handicaps over fences. A strongly-run race over slightly further than three miles will suit him perfectly and, still only a six-year-old, he can progress further this season.
Ben Linfoot: I’ve always loved the King George at Kempton on Boxing Day and we best look forward to that as we don’t know how many they’ve got left at that track. If it moves to a left-handed course in the future it would be a real shame.
Rory Delargy: If you start dreaming about March when you’ve not yet seen Christmas, you tend to get brought down to earth pretty quickly. Next Saturday is far enough ahead for me!
