Thyme Hill and Defi Du Seuil lead the way for consistent and classy yard

Making bold long-range predictions has become a hazardous business in the Brexit age, but there is something calmly reassuring about the consistency that has long been the hallmark of Philip Hobbs’s training operation.

We can fairly safely say that six months down the line he will have sent out 100 winners and cracked the £1 million prize-money barrier. And if that is the case, it will be the sixth time in seven years the trainer has fulfilled his twin ambitions.

Thirteen winners in October has set things up nicely for his winter campaign; one of them could help fulfil yet another personal ambition, to see a new hurdling star emerge at Sandhill Stables.