Must read update from Chris Days Ten To Follow this National Hunt season 2014/15

 Ten To Follow this National Hunt season 2014/15 

  

Update report from our ten to follow analyst  Chris Day Chrisday100 click to follow 

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Three of our horses have run since our last update, resulting in two wins and a third place.

First up was Saphir Du Rheu, who easily won a Class 2 Exeter novice chase by 11 lengths without turning a hair and effectively put himself in pole position among the British novices for the Cheltenham staying events. Having fallen at Newbury the week before, there can’t have been too many takers at 4-5 in a field which included a highly rated Oliver Sherwood contestant but he never touched a twig and sauntered home up the stiff Exeter straight without ever coming off the bridle. He is considered a future Gold Cup winner by connections and, on this performance, the world is at his feet although I could not recommend an Ante Post bet at this stage as he still has RSA and JLT options in March.

On Saturday, Champagne West maintained his unbeaten chasing record at Cheltenham in a three runner race which was never likely to play to his strengths nor see him look impressive. He pulled hard, as he does in slowly run affairs yet easily saw off a Kim Bailey trained novice who had won his previous two races without ever looking likely to be beaten. His jumping was sticky but indicative of a horse who is pulling hard and wants to go faster and I'm pretty sure he'll look a lot better in a better race where his very high cruising speed and turn of foot can be used to better effect. For me, he’s got JLT written all over him and, in future, King George and Gold Cup.

You'd have to be pretty happy at this stage to have these two on your side for the big Spring races and there are no British novices I’d have ahead of them in that respect.

Finally, Brother Brian, who had won at Kempton in early November, ran above his mark of 140 in third in Saturday’s Relkeel Hurdle behind former Champion Hurdler (now rated 160) and Volnay De Thaix (158). This may do his mark no good but showed he’s up to running in decent company and there are races at Haydock and Fontwell in the New Year which will be winnable plus he could take in Ffos Las’ Welsh Champion Hurdle or even The Lanzarote at Kempton beforehand. Wherever he goes, I'd still have him of interest depending on the handicapper’s reaction.

 Over Christmas we could see Saphir Du Rheu at Kempton and hopefully Sgt Reckless bidding to enhance his Cheltenham claims if the ground rides decent before we head into the run up to the Festival.