The Saturday Nap - Week Nine

Ascot tomorrow is quite likely to be a routine Saturday Nicholls-Walsh benefit. Why wouldn't it be. Big Bucks would be long odds on even if opposed by every long distance hurdler that could be found to put up against him but it's hardly a tip and I've seen 1/3 shots turned over before now. The Minack is a possibility for serious investment. But I might leave Ascot well alone on a day when the going has changed and the state of the ground is the single most important thing in horse racing. There might be a few 16/1 shots going in tomorrow. The form book doesn't go out of the window but it needs to be used properly, which means looking at which horses have and haven't won on soft or heavy ground.
Haydock could be the place to look, where Wymott, 2.45, in the Tommy Whittle Chase apparently has the right credentials to justify favouritism. That will be the Saturday nap unless updated before 11.30 in the morning.
Week 10, posted perhaps next Thursday with a thought for Boxing Day, will be the last edition of this feature. It has proved a recession-busting success and after Kempton we can sit back and tot up by exactly what percentage these investments have outstripped more gilt-edged funds. But my point was that October to December, in the right sort of races, was the best time to get involved. It's a shame if you didn't get on but maybe we can do it again in the first half of next year's jump season. Until then, it's Quot Erat Demonstrandum and don't forget to tune in for the Cheltenham Festival Preview in March.