There are two little voices in my head - but I'm listening to the one that says this is a cracking Coral Gold Cup bet

It’s a wonderful time of year for jump racing fans, especially those of us who love our chasers. They’re all back from their summer holidays, including the big boys of the fencing game, like Fact To File and Gaelic Warrior. They’re sixth formers now and command the quad like the head boy and rugby captain.

Meanwhile, a nervous huddle of novices is sticking to the periphery of their new surroundings, careful not to get in anyone’s way. They are the usual mixture of gawky and clumsy, but a few of them are already creating a din and putting themselves about. Final Demand and Kopek Des Bordes certainly aren’t intimidated. They’re smirking and sticking their tongues out at the older kids like Henry Pollock during an All Blacks haka.

Some of the middle years have already faced off in the Paddy Power Gold Cup and there’s another big prize up for grabs on Saturday. This time, Coral are the sponsors and the action switches from Cheltenham to my local track Newbury. Maybe there will come a time when we stop referring to the race by its former title, the Hennessy, but I’m still at least a decade away from that day. If you think you dislike change now, wait until you hit your sixties.