Hello, Friend

A couple of things for you today, including some jumps notes from a soon to be resident pro-punter... but first up...

If you've yet to grab the latest free report from Mr Geegeez, Matt B, you can do so at the link below...

78 Trainer/track combos for this jumps season, it's worth reading. This link won't be up for too much longer, so don't miss out... as freebies go, it's very good...

You can do so HERE >>>

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Pro Punter returns...

I'm delighted that friend of the blog, pro-punter and paddock expert Adam Norman, will be returning to my blog this winter with a renewed focus on the great racing game.

We'll be sharing daily tipping duties, with my renewed focus/energy on the staying chases (C3+, 2m7f+), and Adam's eyes focussed mainly on the northern tracks, which is where he always excels. For all there will be the odd southern raider to ponder.

Adam is at his best when he goes racing and has been dabbling on the flat this summer also, working for a betting syndicate, providing them with paddock-side information. His paddock eyes are some of the best around and it's what helps give him a cutting edge.

Having had a chat with him, he thinks dipping into the Flat has helped sharpen his eyes for the jumping game and he can't wait to get cracking, his mind in the best place it's been for a few years. As is mine, hopefully that will play out in the months ahead!

I'm excited to see what Adam can do in the tipping chair alongside his track-side visits, the first time he'll have combined the two, and with any luck we will all benefit.

We will also get exclusive access to his track-side notes, which we plan to publish every 2 weeks or so.

However, that's for all another day.

Adam attended his first jumps meeting of the season on Wednesday, and threw together a few musings which I've posted below. I enjoyed the read...

Over to Adam...

Southwell Sept 27

What did we learn from today - our first National Hunt meeting of the season.

Despite plenty of watering the ground was described as good to firm by the jockeys hence a clutch of non-runners.

Modest stuff overall, the clear highlight being the success of Kinondo Kweto in the staying chase, picking up a remarkable-in-the-circs £9k+ for this third W on the spin.

Jonny England noted this pot was worth a good deal more than the 'Bobby Renton' at Wetherby in the middle of next month - shame on the North Yorkshire venue!

Kinondo has barely left the snaff in three jaunts over the black ones. Noted as a fair prospect last winter, the six-year-old was only given a short break before getting a late summer campaign and has done the shrewd Guiseley husband & wife combo proud. The previous Uttoxeter win bagged £12k+ - top bananas.

The six-year-old will go up another 5lb for this but as we saw at Uttox he's still very green and doesn't do much in front. My heart bleeds for the h'capper <not>. He looks a proper winter chaser - yet to run on soft - and it's hard to put a ceiling on his ability.

Even accounting for the weaker summer form, I'd have him as a 130 type already. Who knows where they'll go next - there are few better than the Englands at placing horses to best effect.

Runner-up Farouk De Cheneau, like the winner a tad keen, is probably a strong stayer but lacks size and scope and was fiddly a few times here. I'd worry about him over bigger fences. His coat was gleaming - Hendo feeds his nags caviar and champagne.

The Oliver Greenall kennel is in good heart and was denied a double on the card when The Questioner was caught on the back foot in a steadily run finale.

A winner on soft ground, I've had him marked him down as a through stayer and he got stuck in a pocket at the wrong time before rattling home. This was nowhere near a stiff enough test and I'd be interested next time on a stiffer track like Carlisle (outside).

Trainer notes

WHAT has happened at the Dr Newland barn? I've heard a couple of reasons why he's gone 69 days and nearly 50 runners without so much as a sniff. The only blank months he'd had since 2015 were Feb 16, Feb 19 and Feb 20. He's had fewer runners than normal during the summer which tells me there's a bug around.

FWIW the ones I saw today looked dull in their coat and they stood out in this regard with the vast majority of runners still holding onto their summer sheen. Avoid until further notice.

It's still early days for the jumpers. Scouse wordsmith Paul Ferguson was in attendance promoting his annual which means everyone's getting excited about the season ahead. My advice is to take a pull, tiptoe through October and the hopefully with a bit of rain we can then get reet stuck in!

PS; Oh, by the way. Note the name, if you haven't already, of Jake Thomas Coulson. Don't know anything about him but I suspect he knows how to train racehorses.

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That's all for today.

I've been busy with my head stuck in my HorseRaceBase accounts. I think I've got 38 'staying chase' trainer angles to share at some point, and I plan to do my own 'Trainer Track Profiles' report, with one micro angle per course, both of those, along with my 'monthly trainers', forming the daily stats foundation on the blog.

The excitement is building and soon we'll have plenty to get stuck into day to day. I can't wait!

All the best,

Josh