Never mind the frozen turf - here's my annual quiz of the racing year!

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It's been a bit of a slow weekend, if you're into quality horse racing, and it looks as though jump racing fans in particular are going to be short of entertainment for a couple of days.

What better time to offer our annual Christmas quiz of the racing year to test your recall of events over the past 12 months and, occasionally, beyond?

This is intended as a bit of fun but we do have a prize to offer, for those of you who need a lure to get you out of the traps. Our winner will receive a copy of the brand new Racing Post Annual,

Just email your answers (only one email per entrant, please) to frontrunner@racingpost.com and make sure to put the number of the question next to each answer.

The entrant with most correct answers will win. In the event of a tie for first place, the winner will be whoever sent me their answers first.

The deadline for entries is 9am on Thursday. I'll reveal the winner in Friday's Front Runner.

In the event of any dispute, my decision will be final – if only that were true at any other time.

For those of you who find it all too easy, John Randall will be along to sort you out with his own quiz in the Racing Post on December 23. Here are the questions . . .

The Cheltenham Festival

1. Constitution Hill was 9-4 joint-favourite when he hacked up in the Supreme Novices' Hurdle. Who was the other joint-favourite?

2. Which horse, a recent winner, finished last in the Champion Hurdle?

3. What was the SP of Gordon Elliott's first winner at this year's festival?

4. By how many lengths did Bob Olinger win the Turners Novice Chase?

5. Willie Mullins won how many of the seven races on Gold Cup day?

Baaeed

6. The great horse won ten races in his career. How many were Group 1 contests?

7. Which Godolphin runner chased home Baaeed in his first two starts of the year?

Baaeed: a star for ShadwellCredit: Edward Whitaker

8. Name the winner of the only race in which Baaeed was beaten.

9. What was the SP for Baaeed on his final start?

10. What stud fee has been announced for Baaeed?

Lester Piggott

In May, we lost the man regarded by many as the greatest Flat jockey they ever saw.

11. How old was Lester Piggott when he rode his first winner in 1948?

12. On which horse did he achieve the last of his 30 wins in British Classics?

13. Name the horse that gave him the most recent of his five Irish Derby successes?

14. Which horse was he about to ride when he told John Magnier in the Haydock paddock in 1972: "Don't be looking for me at the furlong pole, I won’t be there until the line"?

15. At which track did he achieve his most important success in jumps racing, aboard Prince Charlemagne in the 1954 Triumph Hurdle?

Favourites

16. Which horse was a beaten favourite at the Cheltenham Festival, then fell in both the Grand National and the Irish Grand National?

17. Which horse started favourite for the Grand National?

18. Which chestnut was unplaced favourite in both the Sagaro and the Queen Alexandra?

19. Which horse started odds-on for both outings this year, finishing third at Royal Ascot and eighth at Saint-Cloud?

20. The market got it right in the Derby, won by Desert Crown (5-2). He was the first favourite to win the Classic since which horse?

The Queen

In September, we lost Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, who had been such an important supporter of horse racing during her 70-year reign and who clearly got such pleasure from it.

21. Which horse won both the Oaks and the St Leger in the royal colours in 1977?

22. Name the colt who came closest to providing Her Majesty with Derby glory, finishing second in 1953?

23. Carlton House was a game third for the owner in the same race almost 60 years later, in 2011. Which horse won?

24. Which horse represented Her Majesty in the Cheltenham Gold Cup of 2009?

25. Which horse was trained by Andrew Balding to win this year's Temple Stakes for The Queen? Royal Ascot

26. Name the sensationally unlucky fourth horse home in the St James's Palace Stakes.

The Queen: was a massive supporter and enthusiast of the sportCredit: Edward Whitaker

Royal Ascot

27. Which jockey rode a 356-1 double on Dubai Future and Get Shirty on opening day?

28. State Of Rest was given a finely judged, front-running ride in the Prince of Wales's Stakes by which jockey?

29. Name the unlucky grey runner-up in the Britannia Stakes, carrying the royal colours?

30. Which juvenile landed the Chesham to become the first debutant to score at Royal Ascot since 1996?

Jockeys

31. Which jockey responded to an eight-day suspension by saying: "I don't want to give a bad image to my sport and put my colleagues in trouble," then elbowed a rival jockey out of the saddle three months later?

32. Which visiting jockey partnered the winners of both the King's Stand Stakes and the Royal Hunt Cup?

33. Which jockey finished runner-up in the Flat championship in Ireland after a long battle?

34. Who lost the ride on the Irish Derby winner but partnered Group One winners on consecutive days a fortnight later?

35. Which jockey, brought over in early summer to ride for a major Yorkshire yard, said: " I've been getting rides every day, which is great. That doesn't happen in Ireland unless you are stable jockey. I've no plans on going home. I'm loving it."

Trainers

36. Which trainer broke through at Group 1 level by sending out the winners of the Coronation Cup and the Haydock Sprint Cup?

37. Name the Ebor-winning trainer who retired in August, citing financial difficulties?

38. Which Newmarket-based trainer, who sent out Rotherfield Greys to win the Stewards' Cup in 1988, decided to quit last month?

39. Which trainer had the 150-1 runner-up in the Derby as well as the fourth at 66-1?

40. Which trainer sent out the winner of Aintree's Topham Chase for the fifth time? Who said it?

41. "He didn't overcomplicate it, which is what he did yesterday. It's an awful habit. Our hero overcomplicated it yesterday and I was clear in my definition of that. I think it's right to say what you think. It's over, it's past, it's finished and we move on."

42. "If you lose fair and square that's fine but for an experienced jockey to wipe out four horses in the field, I don't even know what to say to that."

43. "It's one cock-up after another - a big industry being run like it's a gymkhana."

44. "In Ireland the culture on the way home from the races was that you stopped for a '99' - you knew every ice-cream cone shop there was. In England they stopped at an off-licence."

45. "I was living in a house with one of the girls who worked in the yard and I was eating takeaways every night. So when James started and was so successful it made me try that bit more."

Grandstand finish

46. Which ex-jockey won Dancing With The Stars on RTE?

47. Name the trainer of the Cheltenham Gold Cup winner Linwell, better known as a journalist and author, who died in January at the age of 96.

48. Which horse was described by the Racing Post's analyst as "the sort with more to offer if kept in training" when second at Newmarket in September 2020, her most recent defeat?

49. "He'll just jump out of those gates and take command," said the trainer but, when the gates opened, the jockey was looking out the back of them and "almost fell off" as a result. Such was the reverse that befell which Royal Ascot favourite?

50. "It's a long road that doesn't turn..." Which owner used these words to explain their decision to have horses with a particular trainer once more, six years after they'd parted company because of a dispute over training fees? ?

Got something to say? Opinions are always welcome at the Front Runner! Do please share your thoughts, tips and reminiscences by emailing frontrunner@racingpost.com. ?

Monday's picks

As I noted last week, Stan Moore is back in form, with four winners from 16 runners since the start of November. His Hot Day (3.20) put up his best effort for ages at Lingfield last week when stuck wide throughout under a 5lb claimer but keeping on well into third place just the same.

With Luke Morris up for today's return to Lingfield, Hot Day is better drawn in a smaller field and gets to run from a 2lb lower mark. He's the right favourite at 2-1 or so.

Scott Dixon (6/33 over the last fortnight) is another trainer doing well and his two most recent successes have been with the claimer Elisha Whittington aboard. They team up in the closer at Wolverhampton with Broomy Law (8.30), whose rating has dropped two stones since he started the year with Kevin Ryan.

His latest race didn't work out well for him, as the eventual 1-2 broke clear when he was hemmed in among others, but it was possible to read some promise into it. He's worth a look at 12-1.

Graeme Rodway has four Lingfield fancies (£)

Three things to look out for on Monday

1) Joseph O'Brien sends yet another well-bred debutant to Dundalk. Twentynine Palms (2.45) is an American Pharoah half-sister to Uncle Benny, who was beaten only by Line Of Duty in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf of 2018. Even so, the market for this mile maiden has a clear preference for her relatively experienced stablemate Den Of Iniquity, a close second a fortnight ago. Tangentially, Uncle Benny was trained by Jason Servis, who pleaded guilty on Friday to doping horses.

2) What should we expect from Dreal Deal in the closing 1m4f handicap (5.45) at Dundalk? He runs for owner-trainer Ronan McNally, found guilty by a referrals committee of the IHRB last week of a range of charges including causing serious damage to the interests of horse racing in Ireland. Dreal Deal was among the horses featured in that case, the committee finding his initial handicap rating had been achieved by underhand means, before the horse won six in a row. He is now winless for almost two years. Can we expect a return to winning ways at a time when his trainer's licence is evidently at risk? He did run with some promise over this course and distance 12 days ago. McNally says he will continue to contest the allegations against him. Penalties have yet to be determined. My colleague Richard Forristal has outlined his concerns on the subject.

3) How about the dedication of our reigning champion jockey, William Buick? He was riding in Hong Kong yesterday morning and was second aboard Botanik in the Vase, earning connections prize money of £458,768. Presumably, he then hared to the airport because he's booked for two at Wolverhampton this evening. He should be rewarded for his effort because Phrenikos (6.00) is a 4-9 shot in the 7f maiden, having shown promise in two starts. He's a Shamardal half-brother to Coroebus.

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The Front Runner is our latest email newsletter available exclusively to Members' Club Ultimate subscribers. Chris Cook, a four-time Racing Reporter of the Year award winner, provides his take on the day's biggest stories and tips for the upcoming racing every morning from Monday to Friday. Not a Members' Club Ultimate subscriber? Click here to join today and also receive our Ultimate Daily emails plus our full range of fantastic website and newspaper content