dunlaying

Steel Ally 0
Lulamba +4+
Mambonumberfive +5
Kargese +7
Kopek Des Bordes +10+

The top figure is from soft ground form but Steel Ally went on faster ground over hurdles .
Kopek Des Bordes is too short . Those behind him in his runaway success have run 29 times since for just one win .
....?............
Inowhaturthinkin -8 assisted
Gaelic Warrior 0
The Jukebox Man +4
Envoi Allen +4
Banbridge +4
Affordale Fury +4
Jango Baie +5
Haiti Couleurs +5


Jango Baie looks to be too short . Watch him win at Ascot . Pushed out through the line he beat Gidleigh Park who was allowed to oast in . The others did not turn up . If he was unlucky at Kempton the same could be said about Gaelic Warrior but The Jukebox Man was the guvnor on the day . He fluffed the last but came back in fine style .
The figure for Envoi Allen is from last November .
...............
Il Etait Temps 0
Majborough +1+
L'Eau Du Sud +2
Irish Panther +6 revised
Solness +11
Found A Fifty +11


The figure for the Skelton horse comes from The Shloer . It is more likely to be +18 as the opposition might not have turned up on the day .

I have no figures for the missing runners .

Pacifica Pier 0
Power For Power 0
Title Role +1
Sword Maker +2
Treanmor +6
Zumbezi +7
Tailgunner Joe +10

Iknowthewayurthinking -6 assisted
Galopin Des Champs 0
I Am Maximus +2+
Gaelic Warrior +2
Fact To File +2
Fastorslow +3
Affordale Fury +6
Grangeclare West +7
Lecky Watson +9
Stellar Story +11
Iknowthewayurthinking +12 unassisted
Montys Star +13
Firefox +16
Spindleberry +17
Haiti Couleurs +17
Champ Kiely +20

In boglike conditions Stellar Story could run well .
.................
Majborough 0
Solness +3
Marine Nationale +3
Found A Fifty +3
Energumene +8
Only By Night +9
Senecia +9

Lethal Levi 0
Mysterious Night +5
Witness Stand +8
Apologies One +8
Marbaan +9
Shootout +10
Chicago Critic +10
Audience +10

The figure for Lethal Levi comes from handicap form and is off the scale but he has another rating which would put him on top . The race to look at is The Bunbury Cup , take a look . At a big price he would be interesting .
..???......?.
Opera Ballo 0+
Silawi +2
Vafortino +2
Nations Pride +4
Holloway Boy +4
Midak +7

A nice little race .
.....?....?........
The Big Breakaway 0???
Homme Public 0 from form at 2 miles
Annual Invictus +1
Unanswered Prayer +2
Escaria Ten +6
Some Scope +7
Peaches And Cream +7
Latenightpass +8

Homme Public is by Cocoriko who gets stayers and is a half brother to Gaboriot . He takes a big step up in trip .

Daily it becomes ever more difficult to get into this section of Betfair .
I have never found this race easy but can not resist having an interest in it . As always no adjustment has been made for claims .
Now Is The Hour 0
Shecouldbeanything +3
Quai De Bourbon +3
Better Times Ahead +3
Intense Raffles +4
Harry Des Ongrais +6
Will Do +7
Spanish Harlem +7
Captain Cody +8
Shanbally Kid +9
Conyers Hill +9
Jordans +10

The figure for the top chap is from old form .
...............
Spillanes Tower 0
Stellar Story +7
Flaming Porter +7
L'Homme Presse +7
Grey Dawning +9

The top chap gets his rating from his second to Fact To File and it might be on the high side .
Stellar Story seems to be out of sorts .
Flaming Porter has not been seen for quite a while .
L'homme Presse has to find 4lb on recent form to equal the rating here .
But Grey Dawning might have beaten fresh air last time and his rating comes from Spring form at Aintree . Is he really an odds on shot ? I have my doubts . Do not forget the race is run at conditions .

Fugitif 0
Heltenham 0
Jungle Boogie 0
Hitman +1
Bad +4
Neon Moon +4
Vicenzo +6
Scarface +8
Etalon +10

Il Etait Temps 0+
Jonbon +4
Thistle Ask +18
Gidleigh Park +19
JPR One +22

Thistle Ask looks to have improved by 39lb since October 25th . However , if he has improved then Saint Segal has improved by 19lb since last March .  That should set alarms off and looking further you find Boothill , Sans Bruit and JPR One behind them . Masters of inconsistency .
And if the improvement is indeed there then it would be unwise to expect another big leap . The closer one gets to the top ratings the more the improvement becomes incremental .
He is only 7/1 and the favourite 8/15 which suggests to me that Il Etait Temps is not certain to run .
...............EDIT : At 8/15 the favourite has to be a bet .
Richmond Lake 0
Johnnywho +4+
Imperial Saint +6
Royale Pagaille +9
Konfusion +13+
Myretown +16+


If Royal Pagaille is not declared Grand Geste goes to +1+
......?....
I am not one that sees a conspiracy in every strange result but the Clarence House stinks . Thank God the horse is OK.

Master Chewy 0
Edwardstone +1
Boombawn +2
Kalif Du Berlais +11
.................
Nassalam -3???
Destroytheevidence 0
L'Homme Presse +3
Joyeux Machin +5
Resplendent Grey +7
Myretown +9
Mr Vango +11
Val Dancer +11

The target figure has nothing to do with this horse giving 8lb and a 2l beating to Haiti Couleurs .
I agree that Me Vango looks too low but I can not get a higher figure for him .
L'Homme Presse ran a fine race last time . He was not off . There is a 500k bonus for winning this and a race at Aintree .
..........
Moon Rocket 0
Hollygrove Cha Cha +1
Doyen Quest +5
Wade Out +5
The Jukebox Kid +8
Lauren's Bay +10

No racing therefore January becomes the Silly Seaon or , more accurately , the silly arse season where everybody puts up a short one for Cheltenham .
Several of the better fancied horses have question marks against them for one reason or another .
Il Etait Temps , never won at the track .
Jonbon no longer a force .
L'Eau Du Sud , forget his win over Jonbon and he becomes a nobody .
Majborough , powerful but must improve his jumping .
Etc

A surprise entry for some is Calico but if you take a good look at his record you should spot that he is at the top of his form and could still be improving . He goes on any going . He has won twice at the track .
At 66/1 he might be worth an e/w interest .
Off of the top of my head he would need to find 19lb if all ran to form but it is more likely that he would need 13lb .

Silly Season is a term that I will always associate with Ian Balding . 
I believe it was the first good horse that he trained . What a great trainer he was .

Blackjack Magic 0
Annsam +1
Gabby Cross +1
Note Volatus +2
Credo +3
Copperhead +3
Le Milos +5
Gustavian +7
Digby +13
...........
Minella Trump 0
Triple Trade +3
Can You Call +5
Numitor +7
Hurricane Bay +9
Jet Plane +10

Donald's horse is friendless even though it has been tipped up .