Retail frustrations at Christmas and the 2024 Ladbrokes Handicap Hurdle at Ascot

I begin this yuletide post with a slight digression on customer service - an occasional hobby horse of mine. 

I think we'd all agree good customer service should be lauded.

Six years ago, at precisely this time of year, I was only too happy to record Marks and Spencer's outstanding customer service in a post entitled 'A gift horse at Christmas'. 

Similarly, poor customer service needs to be called out as well.  

I'm afraid, six years on, standards at the once outstanding Marks and Spencer appear to have slipped.

A couple of months back I signed up for a Sparks card and, as instructed, downloaded the M&S app. The main motivation was to receive a free hot drink after six hot drink purchases - a modest enough goal, I think you'll agree, but, these days, that's about all I have the stomach for.

Anyway, it wasn't clear to me how the app was supposedly recording my coffee purchases so last week I asked a helpful member of store staff to explain. She showed me the app on her phone; a digital card popped up showing each purchase on her device, a feature that clearly wasn't working on my mine. A call to the helpline was required.

Two assistants - one customer, the other technical - quickly offered the same diagnosis and both were rather adamant: I didn't have the requisite digital profile and the simple answer was I needed to go away (as soon as) and create one. Having registered months earlier, I knew this couldn't be the case but my humble protestations were given short shrift.

Such larks with Marks! Chasing a free coffee felt like harder work than chasing a free bet.

Anyway, Plan B kicked in - details of the sorry saga were sent in a separate mail to somebody else and a prompt reply followed, the start of which is reproduced below:

"Thank you for contacting us at M&S.

"I'm sorry you had to go through this process, as a shopper my self [sic] I understand how frustrating you are."

Naturally, when I showed this response to my wife, she could only concur. 

Still, I was surprised to hear that rumours of my retail notoriety had reached the lower echelons of Marks and Spencer's nationwide support team... 

Retail therapy like that - it's enough to drive anyone to the formbook.

13 have been declared for the Ladbrokes Handicap Hurdle (3.35), the finale at Ascot tomorrow where a crowd of over 19,000 is anticipated; I have no doubt certain patrons amongst that number will have successfully claimed at least one free hot drink from Marks and Spencer.

The going is described as good to soft.

Five weeks ago Be Aware and the mare Dysart Enos finished second and third respectively behind Burdett Road in the Greatwood at Cheltenham (Fiercely Proud sixth, Go Dante ninth); on revised terms the pair look closely matched.

Unbeaten four-year-old Kabral Du Mathan had the Boodles at Cheltenham as a target last March after winning the Chatteris Fen Juvenile Hurdle at Huntingdon but he never got there after suffering a setback. 

Paul Nicholls' inmate has been well backed through the day; this represents the gelding's first race with more than eight runners.

Three four-year-olds have come home in front in the past 20 years: Cause Of Causes (2012); Sternrubin (dead-heated with Jolly's Cracked It in 2015); and Tritonic (2021). 

Flashy chestnut Secret Squirrel, trained by Hughie Morrison and owned and bred by his wife Mary, finished third behind Our Champ over course and distance seven weeks ago (Fiercely Proud fell two out when disputing second) and is six pounds better off here; the trainer won this with Marble Arch in 2001 and Not So Sleepy in 2019 and 2020. 

The market currently rates Secret Squirrel a 6/1 chance while Our Champ is 20/1 in a place - having been 40s earlier in the week.

Favour And Fortune was sixth in the Supreme in March before winning the Scottish Champion Hurdle at Ayr in April. Writing in the RP Weekender, Alan King says:

"He's come to hand quicker than I expected after his hock injury and he might have returned to action at Doncaster last weekend. 

"I decided that he would benefit from waiting a week and I was delighted with how he worked on the grass last Saturday.

"While I'm sure there will be improvement in him, as he's not run since last April, I believe that he's ready to run well."

The yard won this with Raya Star in 2011 and Tritonic 2021.

Top weight Steel Ally jumped well to make all and win at Haydock over two miles three furlongs off a career-high mark last time. Sam Thomas' charge has gone up another six pounds for that effort; it was testing at Haydock so better ground here should help but I'm not certain the step back in trip will.

Fiercely Proud is better going right-handed so his sixth under a hold-up ride in the Greatwood is easily forgiven. However he finished behind Be Aware, Steel Ally and Secret Squirrel in the Novices' Championship Final won by Helnwein at Sandown in the spring.

Rated 77 on the Flat in Ireland, front-runner Impero beat decent yardsticks Norman Fletcher, Aucunrisque and Jilaijone in a conditional jockeys' handicap at Cheltenham in October off 119 and has since won a Musselburgh novice hurdle over two and a half miles; the yard hasn't recorded a win so far this month.

Black Hawk Eagle proved no match for Norman Fletcher at Huntingdon last time while 2021 winner Tritonic finished last of 11 runners on the all-weather at Kempton 10 days ago and is clearly considered the stable's second string.

Kihavah, rated 101 on the Flat, is at his best on good ground and was declared a non-runner late this afternoon. 

Go Dante's nose defeat of Faivoir in the Imperial Cup at Sandown last March reads well. Olly Murphy's charge still has the look of one with something in hand of his current mark (132) but things don't appear to have gone to plan this term. 

He finished fifth behind Lump Sum in the Welsh Champion Hurdle at Ffos Las (weakened gradually from two out) and underwent wind surgery the very next day. Next time in the Greatwood he faded out of contention approaching the last and was beaten 19 lengths.

In a Straight from the Stable article just over a year ago [RP Weekender 01-05.11.23] Olly Murphy said:

"He wants very soft ground..."

When this race was priced up earlier in the week, I thought two horses looked overpriced - Our Champ and Go Dante's stablemate Alnilam, who never made the final declarations, presumably on account of the ground.

Our Champ beat Break My Soul a nose in the Lavazza Handicap here, despite conditional jockey Freddie Gordon dropping his whip in the final 110 yards. On revised terms the gelding has roughly two and a half lengths to find with Secret Squirrel and has been supported in the market through the day.

Hughie Morrison has said he thinks Secret Squirrel is well handicapped whereas Chris Gordon is on record saying the handicapper has probably 'got' his charge now.  

The Gordon yard has been slow to come to hand this season but King William Rufus won a handicap hurdle six lengths at the track earlier this afternoon.

Our Champ is the each-way suggestion, 16/1 in a couple of places but at the time of writing 20/1 with bet365 who pay four places. 

Anyone fancy a coffee?

A gift horse at Christmas

Why, only the other day I turned to Beeves, my butler, and cried in complete exasperation, 'Examples of outstanding customer service are just so extremely rare these days!'

And then this happened.

It was a miserable night and a howling gale was blowing outside. I'd sent Beeves on an extraneous errand to source some cat worming tablets - we don't have a cat - when there came a loud knock at the front door. 'What's this,' I wondered to myself, 'the start of another Christmas ghost story?' It was a man from DHL. Spooky indeed.

He handed over a rather weighty package - I guessed it contained at least one bottle - and asked me to confirm the address was correct. The parcel was addressed to my wife so I quickly confirmed we were indeed the intended recipients.

After five unsuccessful attempts at spelling the surname, the man from DHL passed me his portable device, I signed it 'B. Blenkinsop', and with this unexpected package safely secure in my possession I dashed into the kitchen to inspect its contents.

The sturdy packaging, emblazoned with M&S logos on all sides, was duly opened by my wife to reveal a bottle of red, a bottle of white ('whatever mood you're in tonight') and a bottle of rosé too - all in a stunning presentation box!

Now, the sort of people I know aren't generally given to such largesse, even in the season of goodwill, but working on the assumption you should never look a gift horse in the mouth, I was all for cracking open the red there and then and setting down to a cosy night in in front of a roaring fire while the gale raged outside.

My wife though has a particular eye for the detail (especially when I happen to be engaged in a minor deception of some description) and from past experience I could just sense there was a problem brewing. The fears were confirmed when she curtly announced, 'There's a problem.'

My teensy-weensy, tentative suggestion that we at least consumed the contents of one of the bottles before asking too many questions received short shrift.

It transpired that although the package appeared correctly addressed, the accompanying Christmas message indicated its bacchanalian contents were not actually intended for my wife or me at all, but for my mother and father-in-law. My wife's sister, in a moment of festive forgetfulness, had selected the wrong shipping address for her order.

Oh dear. An easy enough mistake to make, yes, but it led to much angst and several conversations ensued.

Eventually a phone call to the Marks & Spencer Customer Service department brought about the following resolution.

M&S would send a replacement package to mother and father-in-law, completely free of charge, while we retained the presentation box containing the bottles of red, white and rosé that I'd inexplicably become rather attached to.

Of course I fully recognise Christmas is a time for families everywhere but this rather propitious outcome means I shall be drinking my in-laws' wine free of charge while they're situated some 250 miles away at the other end of the country. It's starting to feel like a really special Christmas already and, to be honest, I'd be hard pushed to see it getting that much better.

Thank you Marks and Spencer for your outstanding customer service this Christmas.

Occasional readers hoping for similar levels of largesse from this week's blog post should note that last week's selection obliged at odds of 7/1 and, as I haven't tipped two consecutive winners since the last time someone mistakenly sent my wife three bottles of wine, it's reasonably safe to assume you've missed the festive boat, so to speak.

Usually at this time of year I like a bet in the JLT Hurdle (2.25 Ascot) but this renewal looks decidedly trappy and with much of the value gone, I'll watch from the sidelines.

Nicky Henderson saddles three, all making their seasonal debuts; Call Me Lord tries three miles for the first time while Top Notch is the biggest price of the trio but this evening the Racing Post reports the gelding was 'knocked sideways' by a flu vaccination six or eight weeks ago. Last year's winner Sam Spinner would be my idea of the winner and he has been well tipped up but he was beaten fair and square by Unowhatimeanharry (in receipt of six pounds) last time and connections have now decided to try cheekpieces.

Twelve have been declared for the Tommy Whittle (Haydock 2.40) where the going is described as soft, heavy in places. Three of the field wouldn't be guaranteed to stay - Clan Legend, Whoshotwho and Ballyarthur.

The last horse older than eight to come home in front was Chives in 2004.

Kimberlite Candy won over three miles at Ayr seven weeks ago and heads the market. In his stable tour (Weekender 07-11.11.18) handler Tom Lacey described his charge as 'inconsistent' and said, '...I'd admit he could be a hard horse to catch right.'

There has been market support for Rocklander while Duel At Dawn looks to face a stiff task on his seasonal debut. Daklondike is of some interest in a first time visor; I'm just left with the impression he isn't the easiest ride.

Sharp Response ran well to finish fourth behind Lake View Lad in the Rehearsal Chase at Newcastle three weeks ago (third Otago Trail declared in the Garrard Silver Cup at Ascot) with the Trevor Hemmings owned Testify finishing a tailed-off sixth. Donald McCain's charge is entitled to come on for that first run after wind surgery but he will certainly need to carrying top weight here.

Top weight on heavy ground often spells trouble but I note that both Cannington Brook (2012) and Seventh Sky (2015) won carrying that same weight on heavy ground.

At the time of writing BetVictor offer 9/1 Testify and pay one fifth the odds four places. 

Previous course winner Testify is the festive each-way suggestion.

Now, what did I do with that corkscrew...