With little in the way of eyecatchers in the past week, Andrew Mount turns his attention to the New Year and offers some punting advice in his ‘January Jumpers’ feature.
I love trying to spot horses who peak at a certain time of year, with Mr Wagyu, who has an amazing record in June/July, being my current favourite. When I first started writing the ‘Trend Horses’ series of horse-to-follow books for Raceform at the beginning of this century a handicap chaser called THE LEADER was the one I looked forward to most. He won in January of the year 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2005, with all the wins on right-handed tracks when the mud was flying. Fast forward a few years and it was THE SAWYER who took over the most predictable ‘January Jumper’ mantle, winning twice in January of 2007, 2009 and 2010, with the last four wins at odds of 9-1, 8-1, 8-1 and 11-2. My tracker includes several horses with a similar profile, which will hopefully make the New Year a happy one. I’ve also thrown in a couple of trainer angles.
Horses to follow in January
ANNSAM
ANNSAM has missed a couple of opportunities recently because of the weather and is one to side with from now on. He’s only had one run in January, which resulted in a comfortable win at Catterick in 2020, but three wins in December strongly suggest that this is his time of year.
BLAZON
Kim Bailey’s BLAZON has a solid all-weather record (seven wins from 29), including January figures of 1190 (2-4) with both defeats excusable. Backing him on synthetics from December to February would have seen us win five of our nine bets and make a profit of £31.00 to a £1 level stake at SP.
FIRST FLOW
FIRST FLOW, another Kim Bailey inmate, has January figures of 113 (2-3), with the wins at 14-1 and 9-4. He couldn’t live with Shishkin and Energumene in the Grade 1 Clarence House Chase at Ascot last term, finishing third at 16-1, but he remains of interest for that contest after his encouraging reappearance third in last month’s Peterborough Chase at Huntingdon.
JOKE DANCER
Sue Smith’s JOKE DANCER has gradually been running into form, finishing a 14-1 third at Wetherby in late November. He’s two from five in December (+£5.83), two from four in January (+£5.33) and two from five in February (+£3.83). He can be supported on his next start.
Andrew Mount’s Best Bets – Tuesday, 20th December
Top Tipster Andrew Mount has made four selections for Tuesday’s racing. Back his selections with Bet UK’s new customer offer and Get £30 Free Bets when you Bet just £10 Posted: 6pm December 20th (Odds correct at time of writing) 1.25 Plumpton – Midnight Mary (1pt win -10/1 general)MIDNIGHT MARY showed a willing attitude on…
Mon 19 Dec 2022KRAZY PAVING
KRAZY PAVING is well into the veteran stage but has won nine of his 25 starts over 6f from January to March (+£34.63) including four from ten in January.
MERCIAN PRINCE
Amy Murphy’s 11-year-old won at Kempton in mid-October when we last saw him and also does well in the New Year, with January figures of 1F117 (3-5) for a profit of £6.50.
NICK VEDDER
NICK VEDDER, who finished sixth at Kempton yesterday (Monday, December 19th), has form figures in January of 32191141 (4-8). It’s a shame Southwell ripped up the Fibresand as he loved that surface but he has won three times at Newcastle and a return to Tapeta will suit.
PINK JAZZ
PINK JAZZ trailed home last of nine at Wolverhampton on December 10th but that was his first run since June, and he was very weak in the betting. He usually goes well at this time of year – his record in December/January now reads 7101181069 (4-10) for a profit of £13.50 – and those figures suggest he’ll bounce back sooner rather than later, probably when the money is down.
SCHIEHALLION MUNRO
SCHIHALLION MUNRO has yet to strike this term but form figures in January/February of 311121 (4-6), with the defeats at 16-1 and 13-2, suggest we should be supporting him each-way in the New Year.
TWO FOR GOLD
TWO FOR GOLD loves winter ground and has form figures in January of 1131 (3-4). He finished a respectable fifth in the Grand Sefton Chase at Aintree on his reappearance and should be winning soon.
Trainers to follow in January
SUE SMITH
Sue Smith has shown a profit with her January runners in eight of the past nine years, with the only loss in 2021 when she only had six runners (one winner). Since 2014, backing all her runners in January would have found 60 winners from 234 bets (25.6% strike-rate) for a profit of £141.07 to a £1 level stake at SP. Although best known as a trainer of chasers (+£63.12), Smith’s hurdlers (+£66.95) and bumper runners (+£11.00 from just seven qualifiers) also made a valuable contribution to the overall total. Pay close attention to her runners at Catterick and Sedgefield.
SANDY THOMSON
Since 2016, Sandy Thomson has a January record of 27 winners from 115 runners (23.5% strike-rate) for a profit of £87.75 to the usual £1 stake. Like Sue Smith, his chasers (+£10.00), hurdlers (+£73.55) and bumper runners (+£4.20) all showed a profit.