Notebooks out: Five horses who caught the eye on Racing TV this weekend

Jump racing fans were treated to some brilliant action on Racing TV this weekend, with the highlight being the Betfair Chase at Haydock.

Lostintranslation shot to the head of the Cheltenham Gold Cup betting after defeating Bristol De Mai in the Grade One showpiece. Colin Tizzard’s seven-year-old is also second-favourite behind Cyrname for the King George VI Chase at Kempton and I would not put you off backing him for that Grade One contest on Boxing Day.

Laurina also made a big impression when defeating Minella Indo on her chasing debut. She is certain to take high rank in the novice chase division this season and is now clear favourite for the Arkle at the Cheltenham Festival.

Don’t forget, you can watch all the racing action again for free every day in the results and replay section on our website here.

Here are five horses that caught the eye in defeat and could pay to follow over the coming months.

Bajan Excell ran a race full of promise on his hurdling debut behind Dinard Rose in this 2m maiden hurdle at Gowran Park.

A shade keen early on, he made a couple of mistakes and was also hampered a couple of times, but still managed to show a good attitude to finish third. Heavy ground is clearly no issue for this three-year-old having won on the Flat in testing conditions, so that will be to his advantage over the winter months.

His jumping could improve, but he is likely to have learnt plenty for this run and ought to be capable of getting off the mark over obstacles sooner rather than later.

Tom Lacey looks to have another nice horse on his hands with Glory And Fortune who was unlucky not to finish a place better in the Listed contest at Haydock.

The four-year-old made plenty of jumping errors and raced enthusiastically under Robbie Power before he was badly hampered at the third last when he was starting to mount his challenge.

He would have almost certainly finished second, but it is unlikely he would have beaten the easy winner, Thebannerkingrebel, who was described by his trainer as “a bit of a freak” afterwards and looks smart.

Glory And Fortune is clearly held in high regard by connections to be pitched into a Cheltenham bumper – which he was successful in – on debut last year and looked a horse with a bright future when scoring on his hurdling debut at Huntingdon in October.

Whoshotthesheriff was in the process of being involved in the finish when falling at the second-last at Cheltenham in October and almost gained compensation here but found only a well-handicapped rival too good.

The five-year-old pulled nicely clear of the third but could not go with Bold Plan up the run in having travelled strongly throughout the contest.

This performance was off a rating of 132 and he has clearly improved since joining Philip Kirby at the start of this year. The son of Dylan Thomas is capable of landing a similar handicap next time out with the likelihood of more to come given he is relatively lightly-raced.

Tedham caught the eye when staying on late in a 2m5f handicap hurdle at Cheltenham on his first start after a wind op this season and did so again here.

Jonjo O’Neill’s charge finished a never-nearer third having got outpaced before turning into the home straight and would have finished second in a few more strides.

Well-backed beforehand, the five-year-old shaped like a thorough stayer and he remains unexposed over this sort of trip.

He should be capable of winning a valuable handicap off his rating of 130 and looks to have a bright future over staying trips.

Having run a huge race when third over this course and distance on his first start after a 709-day break, Cherif De L’Isle again shaped encouragingly and suggested he is capable of winning a race off his rating of 107.

He travelled well throughout the race and probably got to the front too soon before getting tired late on in the gruelling conditions.

The seven-year-old has endured a couple of lengthy absences off the track, so has clearly had his problems, but has only had seven starts, and if connections can keep him sound, he is sure to get back in the winners’ enclosure over the coming weeks.