The Charlie Hall Chase may be a distant speck on the horizon but the first five pages of the Racing Post today are devoted to jumps trainer Paul Nicholls. Gold Cup winner Denman, who I don't believe will ever be beaten again, figures pretty prominently of course. What remains unanswered is the question of who will ride him this jumps season. The present incumbent is Sam Thomas but will Nicholls and the horse's joint owners, Harry Findlay and Paul Barber, jock him off in favour of the stable jockey Ruby Walsh. Watch this space.
The other burning question is what has been wrong with 4-1 St Leger second-favourite Look Here, advised here at 10-1 after her runaway Oaks victory. She had to miss the recent Yorkshire Oaks due to a "minor setback" but trainer Ralph Beckett is refusing to say why. Has Beckett been to one of those inside information seminars over which the National Trainers' Federation and the British Horseracing Authority's security department have fallen out? Perhaps security chief and ex-copper Paul Scotney will take him in for questioning?
The mud will be flying at all three venues today. Proven heavy-ground performers are the only horses worth looking at and I'm going for one of those in the shape of Collateral Damage 3pm at Beverley. The reasoning is simple. The horse is well handicapped (actually lower in the ratings than when winning earlier in the season), in good form (a close fourth in a classier contest last time) and has run best when the ground has been bottomless. He doesn't win that often but the blinkers have been helping him put his best foot forward of late.
12pm Collateral Damage now a non-runner . . .
. . . and there's an inspection at Beverley! Will advise what comes of that as soon as we get the news from the course.
12.50pm Beverley goes ahead!
In the absence of my original tip, the alternative wager there is King Of The Moors 3.30pm, who has been in excellent form lately and appeared to have plenty in hand when winning at Hamilton last time out.
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