Ten To Follow 09.01.2019

Posted 2 years ago

It has been an action-packed period in the jumps racing world since the last Ten To Follow update, and the New Year has brought with it a new set of competition leaders! 

The action started at Newbury with a Mares' Listed chase which saw Magic Of Light and Robbie Power put in an eyecatching performance to win by 14 lengths. This wasn't a point scoring race for players, but Magic Of Light is certainly one to look out for in the future.  

Next it was off to Ascot for two days of racing, and six point scoring opportunities.  Friday started with a Grade 2 race and saw Angels Breath justify favouritism to beat a talented field. The next race was another Grade 2, won nicely by the Kim Bailey trained Vinndication, and saw 8 Ten To Follow teams score 30 points each. Friday ended with a Listed Bumper race where Eden Du Houx stayed on well to finish on top, however this horse is relativity new to the British racing scene and so no points were scored by any players after his win. 

Long Walk Hurdle day at Ascot provided players with three point scoring opportunities, the first of which was the Long Walk Hurdle itself. Popular Ten To Follow horse Sam Spinner was looking to make his comeback, however the cheek pieces didn't work and he unseated his rider in dramatic fashion at the second. After an action packed race Paisley Park stayed on well to win, and rewarded jockey Aidan Coleman with his first ever Grade 1 victory. The next race was a Listed Handicap Chase and was won in impressive fashion by Valtor at a starting price of 33/1! The final race of the day was a Grade 3 Handicap Hurdle and saw Cheltenham Festival winner Mohaayed return to winning ways for team Skelton. The day also saw a Listed Hurdles race for Mares at Haydock. This was won nicely by the Stuart Edmunds trained Queenohearts. It was a great day of racing, but also a day of big priced winners and as a result no player scored any points across the four races.

Boxing Day provided a chance for players to get a lot of points on the board with three Grade 1 races at Kempton and a Grade 3 Chase event at Wetherby. The latter saw Lake View Lad follow up his win at Newcastle to have his first success at graded level. This horse was missed by Ten To Follow players, but the same can't be said for the winners at Kempton Park. 

First up was the Kauto Star Novices' Chase which saw La Bague Au Roi, in partnership with Richard Johnson overcome a talented line up to win, providing 8 teams with 35 points each. The next race was the Christmas Hurdle and gave us a chance to see the second most popular horse in the competition Buveur D'Air. However, it was the other Nicky Henderson horse Verdana Blue who ran on well to beat his stable companion by just a short head, scoring 35 points for 25 different Ten To Follow teams. Then it was time for the main event, the King George. The race was full of talent including the popular picks of Might Bite, Native River and Waiting Patiently, but it was Clan Des Obeaux who finished on top. This horse was placed in 11 Ten To Follow teams, and as it was a bonus race each team received 55 points for the victory.

The run into the New Year saw seven more scoring opportunities. Of those seven races five scored points for players, starting with the Welsh Grand National where Elegant Escape kept on strongly to win, scoring 25 points for 75 different teams. The next result for players was at Kempton Park where Dynamite Dollars held off the popular Kalashnikov to win and secure 30 points. Well done to Trevor Shaw and Derek Latham who were the only players to have the Nicholls’ horse in their team. Next up was the mighty Altior who proved once again why he is the most popular horse in the competition winning the Desert Orchid Chase with ease and securing another 30 points for 238 teams. The final three races of the year were a Listed race at Doncaster won nicely by Lady Buttons, a Grade 1 at Newbury won by Champ, and a Listed race at Taunton won by Posh Trish. Well done to Johnathan Nuttal and Judy Atkinson who both received 35 points thanks to Champ, and to Doug Miles who was the only player to benefit from Posh Trish’s victory.

New Year’s Day saw point scoring action return to Cheltenham with 5 races providing players a chance of points. The first of these was a Listed Hurdle won by Jarveys Plate, well done to John Tillett who was the only player to have the horse in his team, scoring him 20 points. The next points race was the Grade 2 Dipper Chase where Lostintranslation battled back well to win, scoring 30 points for 19 different Ten To Follow teams. The other 3 point scoring races of the day saw the Venetia Williams trained Aso, the Sue Smith trained Midnight Shadow and the Tom Lacey trained Glory And Fortune all finish in first place, however none of these horses were point scorers for players.

The final two races for this update were at Sandown. The first, a Listed race saw only 2 runners and allowed the popular Ten To Follow horse Laurina to win with ease, securing 20 points for 64 teams. The second race was the Grade 1 Tolworth which was won by the Colin Tizzard trained horse Elixir De Nutz, congratulations to Joe Williams who was the only player to get the 35 points from this Grade 1 win.

The Christmas and New Year period provided a vast amount of top quality National Hunt racing, however it also provided a lot of upsets, and shock results. Nevertheless, the leaderboard has changed, and there is now a 4 way tie for the lead with Phil Stubbs, Derek Latham, Alan Wellsteed and Gary Hutt all on 245 points. The latest scores can be found here.  

Position    Name & Team Team Score
1 Phil Stubbs (9) 245
1 Derek Latham (2) 245
1 Alan Wellsteed (8) 245
1 Gary Hutt (9) 245
5 Paul Moloney (3) 240
5 Matthew Taylor (3) 240
7 Gary Hutt (4) 235
7 Paul Moloney (1) 235
7 Matthew Taylor (5) 235
7 Alan Wellsteed (10) 235