Adam Norman: Unsung hero Aso well worth a try at three miles

There’s a lot of ‘horsey love’ on social media these days - not that that's a bad thing, of course - but a cynic might suggest that much of it concerns horses from yards who are more PR-savvy than others.

That might go some way to explain why you don’t often see much written about the classy Aso, who has done connections proud over the years and made Frodon dig right to the bottom of his reserves in the Ryanair Chase in March.

Aso was better than ever last season following a year off, and his trainer Venetia Williams sent us a timely reminder of how good she is at bringing horses back right at their peak when Burtons Well overcame a lengthy absence at Aintree on Sunday.

He has yet to prove he stays three miles but if he is declared for the Bet365 Charlie Hall Chase on Saturday, I’d love to see him ridden with the positive tactics that seem to suit so well over shorter. Those stamina doubts will ensure he goes off a bigger price than he should and if he looks as good at Burtons Well did in the paddock I won’t be able to resist an investment.

Phil Kirby has had a very quiet few months both on the Flat and over jumps, but his horses are coming back to form and a winner and second at Carlisle last week is a sign of things to come.

It is a big week for the Richmond handler as stable stars Top Ville Ben and Lady Buttons have their first assignments of the season at Wetherby on Saturday.

The former has to go and prove he can mix it with the leading players in the Charlie Hall Chase, but the dream is still alive, and a solid start here might just tee him up for a tilt at the Ladbrokes Trophy at Newbury on November 30.

Phil will have had this date in mind for a few months now and there are a couple of other horses from his yard worth mentioning away from the big meetings.

Dares To Dream should enjoy the drop back in trip after pulling too hard on her return and the opening race at Ayr looks to be a good opportunity for this bumper winner, while Romeo Brown is worth a second look wherever he runs this weekend.

Sam Spinner would have been a hot favourite for the Bet365 West Yorkshire Hurdle but they are taking the novice chase route this season with the Stayers’ Hurdle runner-up.

This is the kind of horse that has cost me a small fortune in the past as he really doesn’t have the size and shape of a chaser regardless of what connections might say.

He looked far from a natural on his chasing debut at the track over an inadequate trip, but his stamina kicked in up the home straight and he seemed to jump more fluently with the prize in sight.

That augers well for diehard fans and he will face just four rivals in the Best Jumps Action On Racing TV Novices’ Chase on Friday, but I won’t be in any rush to back him, although his raw ability and tremendous attitude can’t be faulted.

However, I still don’t think he will be as good a chaser as hurdler though, in fact I would probably bet a shade of odds-on that he will be bidding to go one better in the Stayers’ Hurdle come March!

It was great to see Rose and Tony Dobbin back in the winners’ enclosure at Kelso on Saturday and their best novice hurdler from a couple of seasons back, Coole Hall, will bid to get his career back on track when taking on Sam Spinner.

The health issues that assailed the Hazelrigg inmates last winter have been well documented and the Flemensfirth gelding was never right, but he is held in the highest regard by his trainer and a big run at Wetherby is not out of the question.

I know Rose is itching to run the fragile, but talented, Jonniesofa but refuses to run her stable star on anything other than soft ground.

If we do get a bit more rain ahead of the weekend, then hopefully the nine-year-old will run at Ayr on Saturday.

He was ready to run in February before the ground turned, so I don’t expect fitness to be an issue with the horse having skipped a couple of recent engagements.

Having been dropped to a rating of 133, I will be looking to have a good each-way bet on Jonniesofa when he does run to continue the revival of the Northumberland stable.

There is rain forecast again on Saturday, but nothing like the deluge we saw at Cheltenham's Showcase Meeting where the mud-lovers were in their element.

If you are going racing this weekend, get yourselves down to the paddock as it is the best time of year to pick up fitness hints, and I think it bears repeating that plenty of horses still look very much on the burly side at this early part of winter.

That will change over the next two to three weeks, of course, as trainers start to work their horses harder on the gallops, but even novice paddock watchers can spot the ones who are likely to improve for the run.

It is not an exact science – nothing is in this game – and a couple of Harry Fry’s horses had me scratching my head last week by winning quite comprehensively despite looking as though they would improve for the outing.

As such, it makes me wonder what Winningseverything is capable of when fully tuned up, as I thought we saw a quality performance from him at Southwell last Thursday. He looks sure to defy a penalty next time out and hold his own in a better grade, so is worth adding to your Racing TV tracker.