The bulk of the talk is invariably about Cheltenham on the weekend after the highlight of the racing year but that's even more the case this year after an outstanding Festival allied to the fact that two meetings in Britain are off today, with the one left at Fontwell being run on desperate ground.
Naturally, there will be plenty of horses to take from Cheltenham -- runners that will be winning races in the coming weeks. A number were mentioned on our live blogs each day during the week and one to add to the list would be Metaphoric who ran a fine race to be fifth in the last race on the opening day and was an eye-catcher having having reviewed recordings of that day's racing.
This ex-Flat performer has been mentioned in dispatches in the Guardian itself in the Saturday Horse Sense column in recent weeks and it is highly likely we still haven't seen the best of him so far. Metaphoric had a particularly rough passage before running on into fifth and should get better as his jumping improves.
Jockey Davy Russell has just revealed on the At The Races channel that River Liane broke a blood vessel in the same race. He looked sure to run a big race in that event and was travelling well until asked for his effort.
This is not a day to get heavily involved given the aforementioned conditions at Fontwell. Nagam 4pm at least has proven form on heavy ground, has dropped down the weights and ran encouragingly when third at Towcester last time. He looks the best bet on a card where only those with form on very soft ground should be considered.
