Bob Olinger v Galopin Des Champs - a sumptuous starter on a magnificent menu

The numbers haven't added up quite the way we wanted. Two potential superstars plus two rags still only equals four, but a wise man once said that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts and, while I'm no Greek philosopher, Aristotle makes a valid point.

Yes, of course, it is bitterly disappointing no British representative has bothered to show up, but the only thing that matters about the Turners Novices' Chase is Galopin Des Champs and Bob Olinger being in it. And, while we might be low on numbers, the equation is still not easily solved.

These are two of the best novice chasers of our lifetime. That is not just me talking hysterical nonsense either, those in charge of facts and figures back it up.