Energumene’s drastic Cheltenham price cut is all so bafflingly predictable

It was a lost weekend if you like watching horses race on turf in Britain or Ireland. We were robbed of the December Gold Cup and the Bula (as we used to know it) at Cheltenham, the John Durkan at Punchestown, jumps cards at Doncaster, Hereford and Carlisle as well as consecutive days of Flat action at Newcastle, on top of which these islands are now entirely out of the World Cup, so the sporting gods are clearly angry with us about something.

Thanks to Cork and Sha Tin, we still had some sustenance to keep us going. The Irish results look like being quite influential when we get to the festival three months from now, while the Hong Kong fixture brought together international talent for some top-class thrills and it's important to savour all of that because our intake looks like being rationed in the coming days.

Energumene must have impressed someone with his Bar One Racing Hilly Way romp because most firms now have him odds-on for the Champion Chase, 6-4 having been available on Sunday morning. Oh well, that's what bookmakers do when ante-post favourites win easily, and perhaps the aim is to stimulate interest in other races by making punters think: "I'd better take some of that 5-4 Facile Vega before they wipe that off as well . . ."