I think for a 10 to follow, you have to look for a Gold Cup horse. War of Attrition was head and shoulders above his opponents last spring and his programme will be geared towards a repeat bid come March.
He started this season in fine style and looked the business in every respect with his victory at Punchestown. His trainer Mouse Morris will keep him fresh between January and March, so you can expect to see him in action over the Christmas at Leopardstown with a run at Down Royal before that.
As for Beef Or Salmon, you can expect him to show well in a Lexus or a Hennessy, but the Gold Cup is surely beyond him now.
His stable companion Church Island is also being mentioned in terms of the blue riband, but I don’t see a lot of avenues to explore there that would put him in the frame.
Iktitaf is a horse with definite Champion Hurdle credentials. He’s a new kid on the block, but he oozes class, and is improving all the time. Before Christmas he will be seen in the Hatton’s Grace at Fairyhouse.
Brave Inca, the reigning champion, has got a punishing style of running, yet he keeps responding by delivering the goods. If he was sent chasing this term, he definitely would be among my picks, but I suppose you can understand his connections keeping him over hurdles.
I think the jury is still out on Harchibald; you would love to see him have the last laugh, and some times that happens, but I’m going to pass him over as a one to follow.
My third pick is Asian Maze. I am putting her forward as a three-mile hurdler. She probably will run in races over two-and-a-half miles or even shorter. I think over three miles she will be difficult to beat. She has got an enormous following and an enormous engine. She skips along in front so successfully and she’ll be hard to peg back in the Stayers’ Hurdle at Cheltenham.
Another mare to go into the 10 to follow is Blazing Sky, trained by Frank McGuinness. A novice hurdler – she beat Brogella and Celestial Way easily on her return at Punchestown. There is a very attractive programme for novice mares over hurdles and the signs are it will take a useful one to beat her.
Noel Meade’s Leading Run is a horse that keeps winning, so it no surprise that it features in my selection. He won all his bumpers last season and he’s going to be a staying novice hurdler this term.
As a seven-year-old he will be more mature than most of his likely opponents. Some people weren’t impressed by his jumping at Punchestown in his seasonal reappearance. I have no doubt that will improve, and allied with his battling qualities, Leading Run is one I will follow until he is beaten.
An unoriginal Grand National choice is Hedgehunter. He has to go in the list – second at Aintree and in the Gold Cup last season – and it’s likely that trainer Willie Mullins will face a similar choice this time around. Will he run in both again?
He’s a fair horse. He wasn’t that far behind War Of Attrition at Cheltenham, and had to carry a punishing burden in pursuit of Numbersixvalverde at Aintree. I would not be surprised to see him go in both again, and I wouldn’t rule out Hedgehunter picking up some other prizes along the way.
For me an enormous excitement each winter is the development of the novices and being able to spot the one that will make a successful chaser. One that fits the bill and is in my list is Francis Flood’s Pom Flyer. He has the make and shape of a steeplechaser and I think he’ll make the grade in the two-mile division.
Staying with potential novice chasers, Mounthenry, trained by Charles Byrnes makes my list. He disappointed some with his run at Punchestown when he finished second behind Gemini Lucy. The latter is a slick mare, so he will have learned a lot. Three miles in testing ground should also stand to him as the season progresses.
My penultimate pick is yet another staying novice chaser – Vic Venturi. He’s got plenty of class and is trained by Philip Fenton. He actually beat Mounthenry in a graded hurdle event at Fairyhouse last Easter, but fences is definitely what his game is about.
Finally, I’m going to go for a two-mile chaser, with Newmill the choice. He got his favoured good ground for his big race triumphs at Cheltenham and Punchestown last spring. If something similar underfoot presents itself come March, he will strongly fancied to retain his champion chase crown.
In conversation with RTÉ Publishing's James McMahon
