Fakir D'Oudairies puts a case for stable switch in pre-festival transfer window

The major points shift of the weekend inevitably came in the last British Grade 1 before Cheltenham as Fakir D’Oudairies rewarded 7.8 per cent of Tote Ten To Follow stables with 29.45 points thanks to his victory in the Ascot Chase.

There are plenty of British trainers who would like Fakir D’Oudairies ensconced in their yards before he contests the Ryanair Chase at the festival and, while that is not going to happen, it is a possibility for Ten To Follow players who can bring him into their teams when the transfer window opens on March 7.

Fakir D’Oudairies, who was last week’s biggest point-scorer, has already influenced the leaderboard. Shed The Frog 26 remains in top spot despite being without JP McManus’s chaser, but is being closely pursued by the only two teams now in the top ten with Fakir D’Oudairies in their ranks, Shed The Frog 40 and Shed The Frog 34.

They were the only two movers in the top ten last week, leaping 31 and 32 places respectively and giving Shed The Frog a monopoly of the top positions, while the list of top points-scoring horses is unchanged.

Does He Know and David Bass power through the rain to win the Reynoldstown ChaseCredit: Edward Whitaker

Ascot was where the majority of significant action took place, with Does He Know netting 28 points from his victory in the Reynoldstown Chase, while Fortescue boosted his tally by 22.6 points in the Swinley Chase.

Two horses who have delighted and frustrated their supporters in equal measure, got on the scorecard. Goshen, picked by 1.1 per cent of stables, got into the winner’s enclosure for the second time this season in the Kingwell Hurdle at Wincanton for 21.58 points , while Melon, winless since December 2019, landed the Red Mills Chase at Gowran to contribute 21.2 points for 0.4 per cent of stables.

Leading horses

1 Cloudy Glen 87.30 points
2 Edwardstone 87.12
3 Conflated 86.60
4 Tornado Flyer 83.60
5 Honeysuckle 79.42
6 Commander Of Fleet 75.50
7 Glory And Fortune 72.30
8 Tommy’s Oscar 68.42
9 A Plus Tard 66.40
10 Greaneteen 66.40

Leaderboard

1 Shed The Frog 26 487.74 points
2 Shed The Frog 40 483.59
3 Shed The Frog 34 482.76
4 Caltonian9 478.10
5 Cap Juluca 11 477.43
6 U4 476.26
7 Honey Honey Honey 8 476.22
8 Studio Shirley 19 475.81
9 Honey Honey Honey 7 470.92
10 Deep Moments 33 470.43

Leading team

Honeysuckle 79.42
Greaneteen 66.40
A Plus Tard 66.40
Allaho 50.90
Bravemansgame 50.55
Shishkin 48.29
Concertista 46.30
Third Time Lucki 42.94
Chantry House 22.94
Clan Des Obeaux 13.60

Read these next:

'You hardly notice he leaves the ground' - Nicky Henderson purring over Shishkin

'I can't believe they're still offering 8-1' - Cheltenham clues from the weekend

Cheltenham or Aintree? Henry Daly mulling next move for 'fantastic' Hillcrest

What's on this week: Cheltenham clues aplenty in lead-up to world's richest race

Head over to our dedicated Cheltenham Festival site for the latest tips and odds for every race at the festival. Our leading horseracing tipsters share their Cheltenham Festival tips and predictions and it's completely free!