Long Run with jockey Sam Waley-Cohen
The deluge which has left much of the country underwater did not entirely spare racing over the festive season but it could have been so much worse. Cheltenham’s big meeting on New Year’s Day was the chief casualty, robbing several high-profile horses of the opportunity to advertise their various claims, and the Chepstow card which contained the Welsh National was held over until this coming weekend. The Boxing Day feature at Kempton thankfully survived while Leopardstown’s traditional Christmas week of action also went ahead as planned. The going may leave plenty of question marks over the value of the form but all information is greatly received and, with weather patterns remaining highly unpredictable, how are we to know that such conditions will not be replicated in the Cotswolds come mid-March?
SAGE OF THE NORTH 