Tote Ten To Follow Competition: Harry Allwood selects his team

There are plenty of chances to win prizes during the Tote Ten To Follow competition this year, with a £150,000 guaranteed prize pool on offer, as well as four monthly prizes of £10,000!

Not only that, there are also monthly prizes, a 50-inch TV, a 12-month Racing TV subscription plus much more to be won in the Racing TV league.

As Andy Stephens explained when revealing the horses he will be including in his Tote Ten To Follow entry, you need to include ones who are going to be competing regularly in Grade One contests, and also the 25 bonus races.

The ten I have chosen all look sure to be competitive at the highest level over the coming months, and they will hopefully pick up a bonus race or two along the way.

Before entering, it is worth taking a close look at the rules, and the bonus races.

The competition certainly adds extra interest to the 2020-21 jumps season. Best of luck!

Things didn’t quite go to plan for Willie Mullins’ high-class chaser last season, with a foot abscess ruling him out of the Champion Chase at the last minute, but he still won a Grade One.

It is wise to think he will prove hard to beat in the two-mile chase division in Ireland this season before an overdue tilt at the Cheltenham showpiece.

He remains lightly-raced and has already shown what he is capable of, but I still don’t think he has achieved his full potential yet.

Expect him to secure a couple of Grade Ones in Ireland ahead of the Festival before a potential trip to Aintree for the Melling Chase.

The highest-rated chaser in Britain who proved going left-handed over three miles is not an issue to him with a hugely impressive performance in the Charlie Hall Chase on his return.

Options are now open for Paul Nicholls’ superstar, but he is almost certain to have another tilt at the King George on Boxing Day before a third tilt at the Grade One Ascot Chase next year.

The Gold Cup is also an option later in the season, and he will also have a handful of options at Aintree.

He needs to put a disappointing run in the Champion Chase behind him, but let’s not forget, Defi Du Seuil was still a dual Grade One winner last season.

He seems to have been around a while, but he is still only seven, and he produced some high-class performances last season.

Philip Hobbs has said his stable star is likely to take a similar route again this season, and I don’t expect him to meet Chacun Pour Soi until the Cheltenham Festival.

The Tingle Creek, which is a bonus race, is almost certain to be on his radar again and there’s a good chance he will pick up plenty of points ahead of the Festival.

Blew the cobwebs away at Down Royal on his return in October and is likely to be aimed at the two Grade Ones he won last year, the Savills Chase and Irish Gold Cup, which are both bonus races.

He wasn’t beaten that far in the Cheltenham Gold Cup last season, and another tilt at jump racing's blue riband event is also a likely option.

Given he is going to contest races where there will be plenty of bonus points on offer, he is worth adding to your Tote Ten To Follow team.

One of the most exciting horses in training, it is hard not to add this unbeaten superstar into your Ten To Follow list, despite the fact he is unlikely to win any bonus races, other than at the Cheltenham Festival.

He is certain to prove hard to beat in whichever races he runs in this season before heading to Cheltenham in March, and it will be no surprise if he has at least two or three Grade One victories over fences next to his name by then.

Proved much the best in the Champion Hurdle last season and she has the potential to dominate the two-mile hurdle division this season.

She is likely to start off in the Grade One Fighting Fifth at Newcastle before attempting to defend her crown in the Christmas Hurdle, which she won in style last year, and all roads will lead to a second tilt at the Champion Hurdle.

Nicky Henderson’s charge has the potential to be one highest points earners in the Tote Ten To Follow competition this season, especially as the Aintree Hurdle, another bonus race, is a possible target after Cheltenham.

He was only beaten a length and a half by Al Boum Photo in the Cheltenham Gold Cup, and that result may have been different had he endured a better prep.

He will start his season off in the Betfair Chase, which is a bonus race, and I think he will take all the beating in that contest again this month.

He’s another who could have a second tilt at the King George, before bidding to go two places better in the Cheltenham Gold Cup.

A typical “whatever he does over hurdles is a bonus” horse as Monkfish is without doubt a chaser in the making.

I was against him at the Festival last season, purely because he appeared to have plenty to learn still and Patrick Mullins said he was a horse “who still needs to fill into his frame”.

However, he still managed to win a high-class renewal of the Albert Bartlett and if he transfers his ability over to the larger obstacles and progresses as expected, he ought to develop into a high-class horse over fences.

Shishkin did extremely well to win what looked a decent renewal of the Supreme last season and is built to be a chaser.

He reminds me of Altior, and we all know what his stablemate has achieved over fences.

Providing things go to plan this season, I can see him being sent off a short price for the Arkle, and vibes are positive from the Seven Barrows team that Shishkin is the real deal.

It will take a good one to lower his colours over the next few months and he will undoubtedly run in at least one Grade One before the Festival, and also head to Aintree in April.

Probably the most surprising selection out of the ten, but the Ladbrokes Trophy, which The Conditional finished second in last year, is a bonus race and I think he is capable of going one better this year.

He ended last season producing a career best to win the Ultima at the Cheltenham Festival, and was still described as a “baby” by his trainer afterwards, so I expect there will be further improvement from him again this year.

The £200,000 contest at Newbury on November 28 has been the plan since his victory at the Festival, and there’s a possibility he could develop into a Grand National contender.