A five to follow with a difference - they are not blindingly obvious!

We all have our bugbears and many of them are not really that important in the grand scheme of things. Horses to follow lists of the obvious nature fall into that category for me.

Do we really need a mega six-figure sales purchase, unbeaten bumper star or any number of promising youngsters from Mr Nicholls, Henderson and Mullins pointing out to us ahead of the jumps season?

The answer, for me, is no. With that in mind, I’m going to focus on something different, highlighting five horses beaten in bumpers that can shed their maiden tags sooner rather than later this campaign. Hopefully they all win, maybe none of them win (surely not!), but they may just have gone under the radar going into an exciting winter.

Drash On Ruby
Jeremy Scott

There are a number of horses worth following from the Warwick bumper in December won by Might I, a race that was run at a considerable gallop on soft ground.

You have to go back to January 2017 to find a faster bumper time in such conditions at Warwick, bettering winning times recorded by subsequent Marsh and Mildmay winner Chantry House, Ballymore fourth Bear Ghylls and Listed novice hurdler Wilde About Oscar, and Drash On Ruby caught the eye travelling well before eventually finishing fifth.

Drash On Ruby is a sister to Jeremy Scott's stable star Dashel DrasherCredit: Edward Whitaker

This Jeremy Scott-trained mare is a sister to stable star Dashel Drasher and was really well backed to score on her second start at Taunton, once again travelling well but failing to quicken when it mattered.

She was a creditable third at Ascot on her final start of last season and returned with an encouraging second at Ffos Las on her hurdling debut on Saturday, beaten fair and square by the winner but jumped well and finished clear of the remainder. She can go one better next time.

Kankin
Alex Hales

This Andrew Cohen-owned homebred looked a likely winner for all bar the final few strides when a very promising second on his sole start at Market Rasen in December.

Kankin was denied by previous Ascot runner-up Italian Spirit, an easy maiden hurdle winner at Fakenham on Friday, and the form has been well and truly franked by those in behind.

Third Lunar Sovereign has since won two novice hurdles and finished third in the Dovecote, fifth Turpin Gold has gone close in two other bumpers, sixth Just A Whim has won a maiden hurdle and seventh An Tailliur racked up a handicap hurdle five-timer between May and October.

That suggests this was a decent contest and Kankin, trained by Alex Hales, should be up to winning a similar event before going novice hurdling.

Another Market Rasen debutant runner-up who warrants a mention is the Gary Moore-trained Authorised Speed, a €155,000 store purchase who was luckless in running behind an Irish raider in May. He similarly looks to have plenty of ability.

One Eye On Vegas
Stuart Edmunds

The well-regarded Washington was 2-2 in bumpers last season with his second success coming at Huntingdon, in which this four-year-old shaped with lots of promise against older rivals.

One Eye On Vegas made his debut just four days on from his fourth birthday and ran a super race against five and six-year-olds, travelling nicely into the home straight and keeping on well for third.

Stuart Edmunds (left): has a nice young prospect in One Eye On VegasCredit: Grossick Racing Photography 0771

Runner-up Marble Sands had beaten the aforementioned Italian Spirit at Ascot two starts previous, fourth Grosvenor Court and fifth Lebowski had been placed in bumpers and Our Colossus, who finished last of the six runners, has landed a maiden and novice hurdle during the summer.

It was a slowly-run affair, which may account for just 12 lengths splitting the field at the finish, but there was lots to like about the effort of One Eye On Vegas, who will be seen to best effect over staying distances.

Sherborne
Colin Tizzard

Named after the market town near to where Tizzard trains, Sherborne was a major eyecatcher when finishing strongly for second at Hereford in November.

This half-brother to Scottish National winner Joe Farrell probably gave the all-the-way winner too much rope and earned the following remark from Racing Post analyst Dave Toft: “He ran a race full of promise and he should win a similar bumper if making just the smallest improvement for the outing.”

He ran below par on his only other start, finishing fourth at Warwick in February, but that was at the Kingmaker meeting which was rescheduled to two days later having been frozen off for its original Saturday slot.

The heavy ground must have been tacky following a prolonged spell of low temperatures and covers on the course, so he may just have found it tough going. Sherborne was far from totally disgraced, fading into fourth in the final furlong, and third Our Surprise and sixth Goudhurst Star have won maiden hurdles since. Sherborne should follow suit and prove a useful novice hurdler.

Thelasthighking
Nigel Twiston-Davies

This five-year-old could prove a shrewd buy for Nigel Twiston-Davies and connections having been purchased for £65,000 at the Tattersalls Cheltenham May Sale.

A point-to-point runner-up on debut in April, Thelasthighking, then trained by Jim Dreaper, dropped back from 3m to 2m2f for a bumper at Tipperary and travelled supremely well through the race. Watching the replay back, you wonder how he doesn’t win after breezing to the front approaching the final furlong.

Nigel Twiston-Davies: Thelasthighking can prove a shrewd buyCredit: Edward Whitaker

He was edged out of it in the closing stages and maybe his early keenness told late on, but it was a run full of promise.

The early signs for the form are good with runner-up My Immortal winning a maiden hurdle, fifth Chicago Time scoring in a similar event at Cork on Sunday and sixth Drewscourt landing a maiden point-to-point. Thelasthighking is definitely one for the tracker.

Tashkhan has a big future for Ellison

A raceday with four top-level contests and a Group 2 that no doubt will become a Group 1 is always going to deliver and it was another cracking Qipco British Champions Day at Ascot on Saturday.

It was brilliant to see Baaeed maintain his unbeaten record in the QEII Stakes and I have enjoyed following his remarkable progress since working on track when he made a successful debut at Leicester – and that was only 131 days ago on June 7!

Eshaada and Aldaary ensured it was a day to remember for Jim Crowley and Shadwell, with Minzaal running a super race in the Champions Sprint too, on a poignant afternoon for the operation following Sheikh Hamdan’s death in March.

Trueshan confirmed his status as the leading stayer in the Long Distance Cup – the Group 1 race in waiting – and 50-1 runner-up Tashkhan performed with huge credit in splitting the winner and Stradivarius.

The three-year-old was receiving 8lb from his elders but it is no mean feat taking on such hardened and talented stayers – and he fared better than any other three-year-old in the past ten editions. Eye Of The Storm, Stradivarius and Sir Erec finished third in the race at the same age in that period.

Tashkhan (right): a big career-best performance when second to Trueshan in the Long Distance CupCredit: Alan Crowhurst (Getty Images)

Tashkhan was bought out of Emmet Mullins’s yard – it’s no mean feat improving one from that shrewd operation – but he has progressed swiftly through the ranks, starting off on a mark of 70 for Ellison and now boasting a triple-figure rating and a Group 2 second to his name.

His jockey Ben Robinson said: “He’s one for the future, he’s only three and whatever he does now, he will only improve,” while Ellison added: “He’s improved with every run this year. We came here thinking he could be in the first four and he’s run a blinder.

“We bought Tashkhan to go jumping, but that is not happening and he'll run in all the best races next year."

The future is very much bright for Tashkhan and he potentially could rival Subjectivist – should he return – for star stayer status in the North.

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