The Real Whacker drives new name to top of Ten to Follow leaderboard

In a week of dazzling performances and huge points hauls from the leading protagonists, it was the victory of The Real Whacker that proved of greatest significance to the contestants at the top of the Tote Ten to Follow table.

Introduced to the game in the pre-Cheltenham transfer window, The Real Whacker’s short-head defeat of Gerri Colombe in the Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase delivered 60.70 points to 2.4 per cent of teams in the competition, including The Broken Have Evolved 11. They now take over at the top of the table with a total of 820.34 points.

That team includes the two biggest points scorers of the season: Galopin Des Champs, whose Gold Cup victory delivered 54.20 points for 64.8 per cent of stables, and State Man, who could not lay a glove on Constitution Hill (52.47 festival points for 77 per cent of players) in the Champion Hurdle but still picked up 13.70 points for second.

The biggest-scoring horse of the week, however, was  Stayers’ Hurdle victor Sire Du Berlais who collected  97.60 points for the 0.5 per cent of stables that included him in their ten. 

Sire Du Berlais and Mark Walsh after capturing the Stayers Hurdle Credit: Edward Whitaker

Envoi Allen’s Ryanair Chase win, his third festival success, gave 11 per cent of stables 59.30 points, while Energumene was not far behind with 53.60 points from his Champion Chase defence, benefiting 62.6 per cent of stables. 

His Closutton stablemate El Fabiolo landed the Arkle and 53.50 points for 16.9 per cent of stables, while Stage Star assisted three per cent of teams by adding 36.00 points to his tally in the Turners.

Marine Nationale had got the week off to a fine start in the Supreme to score 62.67 points but with only 1.3 per cent of stables on board, while the emotional victory of Honeysuckle in the Mares’ Hurdle rewarded 57.1 per cent with 29.45 points.

The latest standings

LEADING HORSES
1 Galopin Des Champs 133.75 points
2 State Man 121.00
3 Constitution Hill 107.07
4 Editeur Du Gite 99.10
5 Sire Du Berlais 97.60
6 El Fabiolo 96.60
7 Faivoir 91.80
8 Home By The Lee 87.50
9 Teahupoo 83.70
10 Gerri Colombe 82.31

LEADING TEAMS
1 The Broken Have Evolved 11 820.34 points
2 Marky Tupp 48 811.73
3 Tidal Bay 014 810.08
4 E5 798.16
5 AW7 788.82
6 Tidal Bay 09 785.08
7 Tidal Bay 011 763.18
8 Nelzig 58 759.60
9 The Broken Have Evolved 3 755.27
10 Killeshin Stables 2 755.10

LEADER'S TEAM
Galopin Des Champs 133.75 points
State Man 121.00
Constitution Hill 107.07
El Fabiolo 96.60
Bravemansgame 69.75
The Real Whacker 60.70
Edwardstone 59.60
Honeysuckle 43.77
Gentleman De Mee 32.90
Shishkin 13.40

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