The man who handled the high-class Dato Star to win a series of major hurdles races more than a decade ago is now mulling a bid for the John Smith’s Grand National at Aintree in April with According To Pete who seems to better this season at the age of 11 than he has ever been before. The Accordion gelding arrived at Haydock having sprung a big surprise on his previous outing when popping up at odds of 33/1 to land the Grade 3 Rowland Meyrick Handicap Chase at Wetherby on Boxing Day, bravely defeating fellow light-weight Helpston by a length. People who had placed a horse racing bet on him will have been delighted.

Raised 7lbs for that win to a mark of 142, conditional rider Harry Haynes’ mount was asked to carry considerably more weight on heavy ground at Haydock but he jumped like a buck throughout and took up the running at the 11th fence. From then on Jefferson’s charge never saw another horse, and though he was tiring going to the final fence where Consigliere was in hot pursuit, he eventually kept-on well in the bottomless conditions to hold the late finish of Pearly Steps by three-and-a-half-lengths, with Consigliere three-quarters-of-a-length further back in third.

Bookmakers have introduced According to Pete into the ante-post market for the Grand National at a general offer of 33/1, and should the ground come up testing at Aintree it would come as no surprise to see him put up a very bold show indeed.

With enough experience under his belt over fences, connections may see this year as the perfect opportunity to try Planet of Sound out over the bigger obstacles at Aintree. Punters may have him marked out as a decent shout in the each-way Grand National betting.

The former Punchestown Guinness Gold Cup winner started the season in the Hennessy Gold Cup at Newbury in November where he finished second to Carruthers. The gelding had every chance as he jumped the last with the eventual winner, but just couldn’t match the popular Lord-Oaksey-bred victor in the run in to the line.

Last season was a quiet campaign for Planet of Sound, however, although he only ran twice, they were in two of the biggest races on the National Hunt Calendar. First he started things off in the Betfair Chase at Haydock where he finished third and was only behind eventual winner Imperial Commander and Tidal Bay. He then followed that up with a run in the King George which was rearranged for January 15 after being postponed on Boxing Day due to a frozen track. He could only come fifth on that occasion at Kempton where he was behind Long Run, Kauto Star and Nacarat.

Planet Of Sound has only been to Aintree once in his career and that was for a novice chase back in 2009. In his 20 starts on a racecourse, he has only failed to complete the trip once, which was at Ascot two years ago.

Always held in very high regard by his trainer, Cinders And Ashes ran at Haydock despite fears that the heavy ground cold prove troublesome, but in the race itself the son of Beat Hollow was always travelling like a winner and only had to be given an inch of rein to take up the running from long-time leader Double Ross going to the final flight before pulling away to win by six-lengths after being heavily eased in the last 100 yards by regular pilot Jason Maguire. Those looking at the latest Cheltenham odds will have been pleased by his efforts.

The odds-on favourite, beaten a length by Broadbackbob on his hurdling bow at Ascot in November, has been unbeaten since with impressive victories at Aintree and now two at Haydock and McCain suggests his charge will not be seen again until the big race at Cheltenham in less than two months time. The winner of his first two outing in bumpers last term went on to prove himself a very useful performer in that sphere, failing by just a short-head to beat the smart Keys in a listed bumper at Cheltenham a year ago, before running a cracker in the Cheltenham Festival Bumper where he held every chance at the furlong pole before fading to finish fifth behind Cheltenian.

McCain is convinced that his horse has developed considerably and will not fade this time and bookmakers now rate him as short as 10/1 in the Betfair Cheltenham antepost betting for the race, to give the yard a flying start to the showcase fixture of the jumps season.

State of Play, a 40/1 chance to win the race at the fourth time of asking at the age of 12, is set to line-up alongside Cappa Bleu and possibly another Williams-trained runner in the shape of former smart chaser Deep Purple, but it is Cappa Bleu, a fine third in the Grade 3 Coral Welsh National at Chepstow at the end of December who seems to be the main hope for the yard having now conclusively proved that he does stay a marathon trip. Those looking at the latest online horse racing betting should remember this.

Competing at Chepstow on ground far softer than ideal for him, Cappa Bleu nonetheless ran a fine race in the three-and-three-quarter-mile contest run on bottomless heavy ground, mudlark Le Beau Bai going on to take the spoils ahead of Giles Cross with Williams’ charge an honourable third having stayed with the front pair until between the final fences, after which Paul Moloney eased his mount off when it was clear his wining chance had gone.

Williams reports his 10-year-old to have recovered particularly well from his Chepstow exertions and hopes that the handicapper well allot his horse a decent racing weight and that the ground on the day of the big race is no worse than ‘Good to Soft’. Such conditions would give Cappa Bleu the best possible chance of proving himself in the ‘worlds’ greatest steeplechase’, a race for which bookmakers currently offer odds of around 25/1 about the Welsh National third going two places better at Aintree on the biggest stage of all.

Trained by Victor Dartnall, Roudoudou Ville has made his way up the handicapping ranks from a lowly starting point at the beginning of last term and has continued to perform well in ever higher grade in two outings so far this term. After scoring at Wincanton last March off a mark of just 102 the French bred gelding followed up at Chepstow a fortnight later, romping away with a class 4 contest by some 15-lengths, a performance that saw him raised to a respectable mark of 132. Racing just one more time last term Dartnall’s charge ran well to be second to Door Boy at Perth in April before being given a summer break. Those looking at the latest Cheltenham betting odds will have marked him as one to watch.

Returning to the fray at Sandown in November the seven-year-old beat Midnight Appeal by a comfortable four-lengths before being asked to tackle the Grade 3 Spinal Research The Atlantic 4 Gold Cup at Cheltenham last month where he really excelled, going four-lengths clear at the final fence in one of the most competitive handicaps of the season (off 145), only to be caught in the dying strides by AP McCoy on Quantitativeeasing and Robert Thornton on Medermit, eventually being beating just a length into third. Fans of Betfair Cheltenham races will have still been impressed.

Despite coming so close to a major prize Dartnall was still delighted with coming third and believes that on similarly decent ground at Cheltenham’s showcase fixture his horse has a serious chance of being in the money in the Festival Plate. Bookmakers agree and make the West Country chaser a 14/1 chance in the ante-post list to continue his rise up the chasing ladder.

Menorah didn’t jump particularly well, making a number of mistakes (including a bad blunder at the second from home), but by that point he had already taken the contest by the scruff of the neck and still came home to win with something in hand. The right-handed Kempton track that posed him no problems over timber proved more troublesome over fences and it is clear that the gelded son of King’s Theatre will be a great deal more at ease going the other way round when he tackles the Irish Independent Arkle Chase at the Cheltenham Festival on March 13. People looking for the best Cheltenham free bet online need to bear this in mind.

And in beating Kumbeshwar, Menorah has lowered the colours of a formerly smart hurdler and a horse who had until his eclipse at Kempton shaped as though he might well make a serious name for himself over fences as well. Alan King’s gelding, runner-up to What A Charm in the Fred Winter Juvenile Hurdle at least season’s Cheltenham Festival and then a fine second in Grade 1 company to the unbeaten Zarkandar at Aintree, came into the Kempton race having won two of his three novice chases, most recently slamming Criqtonic by 16-lengths at Plumpton.

So Menorah’s win might well have offered more positives than negatives, and those firms that have eased him in the ante-post market for the two-mile novice chasing crown to as big as 16/1 in places might have been just a little too hasty in dismissing the chance of the 2010 Supreme Novice Hurdle winner. Kumbeshwar has subsequently been pushed out to 40/1 for the same event.

When Master Minded bounced back to something very close to his best in beating the smart Somersby by three-lengths in the Grade 2 Amlin 1965 Chase at Ascot, it appeared all roads would be certain to lead to Kempton at Christmas for the former dual champion chase winner who has been specifically trained this term to stay the extra yardage of the ‘King George’. Less than an hour later, after his stable companion Kauto Star had put up one of the great performances in modern times in coming back from the brink to beat reigning Cheltenham Gold Cup winner Long Run by eight-lengths to land his fourth Grade 1 Betfair Chase at Haydock, all the talk at the Lancashire venue was of whether or not ‘Kauto’ would bid to win an unprecedented fifth title at the Sunbury track on December 26. Anyone looking to bet on King George VI Chase action should remember this.

On Sunday morning Kauto Star was reported to have taken the race very much in his stride leaving Nicholls and Smith with the ‘headache’ of deciding if the old warrior should be allowed to set a new standard for the coveted Kempton race, or to wait for other opportunities later in the term. Will they consider running both horses against each other, or could Master Minded drop out of the Kempton equation and be rerouted to an alternative Grade 1 target?

The answers will be forthcoming over the next few weeks, but whatever route they choose with their two stars, the Nicholls camp looks sure to put up a bold bid to deprive Long Run (second at Haydock on Saturday), of another triumph in the Christmas period jumps showcase event.

The seven-year-old ran a creditable race at Ascot on Saturday when a 12-length third to Master Minded and Somersby in the Grade 2 Amlin 1965 Chase, staying close to the action until a mistake three from home combined with a raising of the tempo caught him out, leaving him unable to quicken with the principals. King observed that his charge had run more or less as he was entitled to perform on official BHA ratings so he was far from disappointed with third place and has nominated the Peterborough Case as the next stop for his classy chaser. Anyone looking at the Betfair King George VI Chase Betting will be keeping an eye on him.

Runner-up in the Grade 2 Dipper Novices Chase at Cheltenham on New Year’s Day, Medermit went on to land the Grade 1 Scilly Isles Novice Chase at Sandown the following month before failing to justify favouritism when only fourth behind Captain Chris in the Arkle Trophy at the Cheltenham Festival. He ended the season with a solid effort in chasing home Wishfull Thinking at Aintree. Fans of King George VI horse racing should bear this in mind.

This season got off to a fortuitous start for the grey son of Medaaly who looked set to be passed by Captain Chris at the final fence of the Grade 2 Haldon Gold Cup at Exeter when that rival crashed to the ground, leaving King’s horse to come home a length-and-a-quarter clear of Cornas. It’s asking a lot of Medermit to mix it with the best three-mile chasers in the business in the ‘King George’ having never tackled that distance before, but the option still remains open for the 33/1 to take his chance in a race likely to be dominated by Long Run and Kauto Star.

Thomas rode the Paul Nicholls-trained 11-year-old on eight occasions, winning the first four times the pair joined forces, including the 2007 Hennessy Gold Cup at Newbury (which Denman subsequently land again in 2009), the Grade 2 AON Chase back at the Berkshire track, and a few months later that amazing triumph when Denman put up his best ever performance in landing a monster gamble for part-owner Harry Findlay when proving too strong for his stable companion and living legend Kauto Star in the 2008 Gold Cup, a race that many people cite as being one of the greatest ever renewals of the blue riband affair. People who follow the Cheltenham tips are unlikely to forget the race any time soon.

“He was unbelievable” Thomas remembers. “On his day there was no better chaser in the world. He had a lot of speed. Nothing was going to come by him the day he won the Gold Cup. Denman was real powerhouse.”

Even though he was just a few weeks short of his 12th birthday Nicholls had been preparing Denman who had been as short as 16/1 with some firms to win again at Cheltenham, for one final season at the top and he had appeared to be in fine shape for his reappearance run at Leopardstown in the Lexus Chase at the end of December, only for a tendon injury to end the dream of racing on for one more term. Owner Paul Barber had little hesitation in calling time on Denman’s career, allowing him to bow at gracefully and in one piece.

16-time champion jockey Tony McCoy partnered Denman into second place behind Imperial Commander in the 2010 Cheltenham Gold Cup and described the winner of 14 of his 24 career starts as “a tank”.

Bred by well known French racing pundit Claude Charlet, Baby Mix only arrived at George’s yard a couple of months ago but connections had been hopeful that he would be useful on the evidence of some very decent work witnessed on the home gallops. With Hinterland sent off a 2/7 favourite on the strength of his easy defeat of subsequent winners Hollow Tree and Secret Edge in a Grade 2 event over course and distance last month, George would certainly have been satisfied had his three-year-old run into a place behind the market hotpot, but from the home turn it was clear that Paddy Brennan was going better than Ruby Walsh and once he asked Baby Mix to lengthen the response from the grey was immediate. People planning a Cheltenham bet should remember this.

Pinging the final flight the gelded son of Al Namix sailed clear of Hinterland before powering off up the hill to score by a comfortable seven-lengths, a victory that saw bookmakers react immediately by installing Baby Mix as the new 10/1 ante-post favourite for the Triumph Hurdle while pushing out Hinterland from his previous mark of 8/1 to 14/1.

Baby Mix had been a fair sort on the Flat in his native France in winning three times from eight outings at up to 13 furlongs so stamina was never likely to be an issue tackling two miles over hurdles. George has yet to come up with a plan for the next outing for his new star and will doubtless be giving the matter plenty of thought over the next week.