The Final Flight Jumps Guide

25/10/16

I have already given my Ten to Follow for the season in the Horses To Follow section and now is the time of the year that many racing enthusiasts start to embark on the annual jumps season previews. Later this week I will focus on ten forgotten horses that could be flying under the radar for the upcoming campaign having missed all or the vast majority of the previous season and give a round up of the various stable tours so far picking out the highlights.

Not unlike many of the horses featured in THE FINAL FLIGHT JUMPS GUIDE 2016/2017, the second edition of this particular horses to follow publication has very much come on for the run after a promising debut and is now set fair to join the likes of similar books from long-standing authors Mark Howard (One Jump Ahead), John Morris (Jumping Prospects) and Paul Ferguson (Jumpers To Follow) as required reading ahead of the NH season.

From a personal perspective, I find that these books are best used to get me in the mood for the upcoming action and also to act as an important reminder of last season and particularly the lightly-raced novices (which is much needed after a season following the Flat) more than trying to make a profit out of following their headline horses and, to that end, the author Grant Copson with assistance from Lee Lewis, has certainly achieved that goal. Published a few weeks ago, this 114-page guide is significantly tighter than a year ago so much easier on the eye and split into various segments.

The main thrust of the publication, as with similar guides, is giving a page to their Top 40 Prospects for the season where the author’s passion and enthusiasm shines through as you would expect from a young man whose name we will hearing a lot more in the years to come.

Without giving the game away too much I won’t list many but the likes of Ballyoptic, Robin Roe and Cloudy Dream are three that have got off to a great start from his Top 40 Prospects section. A more ambitious chapter is a look at 20 handicappers to keep on side over the coming months (one of which I fancy to win a valuable pot this weekend) and we are also guided through a number of young horses to watch out for that went through the sales ring in addition to bloodstock agent, Tom Malone, giving a rundown of stock that he bought to sell on for the coming season.

The Racing Post Weekender paddock columnist, Ken Pitterson, has also offered a selection of horses to follow judged on their physical potential in addition to Richard Johnson, Tom Scudamore, Derek O’Connor and Lizzie Kelly listing their main hopes for the season. There is also a chapter on NH Sires and a Q & A session with various pundits including yours truly.

The Final Flight Jumps Guide is priced at £9.99 and available through www.thefinalflightpubications.co.uk/home