With today's meetings at Bangor and Sandown - and Sunday's at Exeter - abandoned, I was surprised to see Dan Skelton's mare Let It Rain chalked up clear favourite for tomorrow's William Hill Hurdle (3.20 Newbury) because I thought we'd seen more than enough of the wet stuff for the time being.
The going on the hurdle track is currently described as heavy with 'one small area of standing water'; at the time of writing no inspection is planned, although further rain is forecast.
This race has a long history in various guises; since 1963 only two winners older than seven years of age have come home in front: Neblin (1987) and Geos (2009).
My starting point is a Class 4 handicap hurdle at Ascot the Friday before Christmas, festively named the Ascot Shop Handicap Hurdle.
Dance And Glance just held on to pip the fast-finishing All In You a head with Let It Rain third and The Hardest Geezer fourth; one and a quarter lengths covered the first four home and all were ridden from well off the pace.
Let It Rain raced off a mark of 120 for that handicap debut and was subsequently raised four pounds for her troubles; we haven't seen her since.
Of course, Mr Skelton knows how to lay one out for a race - Superb Story in the 2016 County Hurdle is one that tends to spring to my mind, primarily because I stubbornly refused to bet the beast.
Earlier this season the trainer saddled another mare, Panic Attack, to win the Paddy Power Gold Cup at Cheltenham over two and a half miles and then, 14 days later, sent the same mare out to win the Coral Gold Cup at Newbury over three and a quarter miles.
The suspicion is this mare is ahead of her mark; the degree of understatement contained in that particular statement will be revealed in due course.
One day after the Ascot Shop Handicap Hurdle Hot Fuss separated winner Wilful and third Alexei in another festively named feature, the Ascot Rotary Club Festive Handicap Hurdle, previously more mundanely referred to as the Ladbrokes.
That was a decent effort from Tom Dascombe's four-year-old, having previously finished well behind Tutti Quanti in the Gerry Feilden.
On the third day of the new year All In You reversed Ascot form with Dance And Glance (Hot Fuss fourth) at Sandown, coming from well off the pace to beat that rival with something to spare. After that race handler Warren Greatrex said [RP Weekender 07-11.01.26]:
"I took a risk running him so quickly after Ascot but I needed him to get into the William Hill Hurdle at Newbury. I was worried about the heavy ground, which rode like glue, but he handled it well and actually quickened on it. I've got five weeks to get him ready for Newbury. He has plenty of gears and likes a fast pace. I'd also like to run him at Royal Ascot in the summer."
One slight concern - much of his racing to date has been on right-handed tracks.
13 days later Hot Fuss reversed Ascot form with Wilful in the Fitzdares Sovereign Handicap Hurdle at Windsor (The Hardest Geezer fourth, Milldam fifth, Poet Laureate ninth, Go Dante tenth and Bubl Dubi withdrawn after crashing through the rails and getting loose). A gutsy display from the winner, now rated six pounds higher than when contesting the Gerry Feilden, but that looked a hard race.
The Twiston-Davies yard has previously won this race with a novice (Splash Of Ginge in 2014, Ballyandy in 2019); Un Sens A La Vie makes his handicap debut off a mark of 132.
His second to Old Park Star at Kempton in November, beaten three lengths conceding six pounds, reads well now, given that Old Park Star is currently 15/8 favourite for the Supreme at the Festival next month. To date he has raced on ground no worse than good to soft.
I must have been the only one who didn't know about Lanesborough when Ben Pauling's charge hosed up eight and a half lengths ahead of Williethebuilder (winner twice since) in a Doncaster handicap hurdle before Christmas.
He was raised 14 pounds to a mark of 130; some were disappointed with fifth in the Lanzarote next time but it was a respectable effort, beaten 10 lengths.
Top weight Tutti Quanti finished sixth in the Supreme last year and needed the run on seasonal debut behind Celtic Dino in the Welsh Champion Hurdle at Chepstow.
He looked good in the Gerry Feilden; Persian War carried 11-13 to victory in 1968 and, in more recent times, Al Dancer (2019), Glory And Fortune (2022) and Iberico Lord (2024) all carried 11-08.
The Hardest Geezer looks a tough nut and has been thereabouts in his four starts this term without really threatening to do the business.
Milldam has a good record on heavy ground, with Isabelle Ryder's five pounds claim an added bonus. Jamie Snowden's charge has been supported in the market during the day.
Wellington Arch and Wreckless Eric represent the O'Neill yard. The former looks the pick of the pair and beat the latter over two and a half miles at Aintree last spring; his best form is over that longer trip.
Writing in this week's RP Weekender handler Neil Mulholland says of Bucephalus:
"He probably would be a big price for a horse, who if the ground is very soft, will carry a light weight. He could give a good account of himself at decent odds. He was second last time at Haydock and we're very happy with him. He's a tough horse who gives his best."
I'd imagine the trainer was envisaging a lower weight than 11-08; Harriet Tucker claims seven.
Go Dante, third in the 2024 renewal behind Iberico Lord and L'Eau Du Sud, finished seventh last year behind Joyeuse; Olly Murphy's charge was 26 lengths behind Hot Fuss at Windsor last time and boasts a better record in the Imperial Cup at Sandown.
Veteran Faivoir finished a creditable third in the Greatwood in November but has been well beaten twice since while Poet Laureate looked in the mix in Hot Fuss' race at Windsor before weakening very quickly at the business end.
Of the principals I like the chance of All In You, a £90,000 purchase from the David Maxwell dispersal sale who should have no problems with underfoot conditions.
At the prices though I'm going to take an each-way interest in Dance And Glance who meets All In You four pounds better off than when beaten one and a half lengths at Sandown last month. The stable has sent out four winners from 12 runners in the past fortnight.
Dance And Glance is the each-way suggestion, 18/1 at the time of writing with bet365, Sky and Paddy Power paying five places.
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