THIS season has been a very slow burner.
But after chucking a few more logs on the fire, we are now roaring into life.
Mother nature has made things far more difficult than it needed to be, flooding my gallops and forcing a few potential winners to sit out.
All the struggles were worth it after Le Patron landed the Grade 1 Henry VIII at Sandown last Saturday.
He was superb and we hope he can go back-to-back in the Scilly Isles at the same course in February.
Spirit D’Aunou is a horse I have always liked and it was great to see him back to winning ways too.
That being said, the handicapper has really tried his best to stop him from ever winning again.
Do not get me wrong, I still think he can rate higher in the future, but a 10lb rise was a right kick in the nuts.
Going up 24lb for winning three races by ten lengths is a pill I’m having trouble swallowing.
I knew Le Patron would take a fair old whack too, but him landing on a mark of 150 shows how little they watch the races.
Going up 17lb means he will probably never run in a handicap again, but that would not be a bad thing if he keeps progressing.
As for Nassalam, everything came together beautifully at Chepstow.
All eyes will now be on the Welsh Grand National just after Christmas and the handicapper cannot stop me this time!
He went up 8lb for that win but will only have to shoulder a 4lb penalty for the marathon race.
The ground should remain in his favour in the time between and I can’t help but be excited about another potential big-race winner.
Just the one runner at Cheltenham’s Christmas meeting for me and there was lots to like about Hermino AA’s third in yesterday’s final race.
I was very surprised at how poorly he ran over fences this season so it was nice to see him smash through the line back over hurdles in a competitive race.
That was his first run at three miles and the fact he kept on so well opens plenty of options.
Let’s just hope the handicapper leaves him alone!
FREE BETS – GET THE BEST SIGN UP DEALS AND RACING OFFERS
Commercial content notice: Taking one of the bookmaker offers featured in this article may result in a payment to The Sun. 18+. T&Cs apply. Begambleaware.org
Remember to gamble responsibly
A responsible gambler is someone who:
Establishes time and monetary limits before playingOnly gambles with money they can afford to loseNever chases their lossesDoesn’t gamble if they’re upset, angry or depressedGamcare – www.gamcare.org.ukGamble Aware – www.begambleaware.org