/ Robin Keck / 11 November 2009 / Leave a comment

Our man's been in the sun of southern California but has returned to focus on the UK jumps season with his goal of breaking through £1,000 profit barrier still very much on

"Frankie was as much fun as you'd hope, but seemed a little surprised that after my first three riding lessons I was offering him little tips/guidance on the rising trot. I suspect the joy of irony isn’t any bigger in Italy than the US. I couldn’t talk to him too long though as Amanda Holden walked in and a man has to prioritise."

Just back from the Breeders' Cup feeling a little disappointed none of my stables to follow had an entry. I'd love to see Zenyatta take on one of James Lambe's promising novice chasers in a hurdle/chase/long sprint handicap but that event is only a sparkle in a marketing man's eye at this stage...it is America though so anything is possible.

Ironically, the highlight of the trip was huddled around a laptop in a Beverley Hills hotel at 4:55am listening to my syndicate's horse 'Coole River' getting back up in the Maiden Hurdle at Down Royal on Saturday. We seem to have got lucky again and our trainer Jessica Harrington continues to walk on water. 'Coole' was bought using the profit generated from our previous horse 'Gemini Lucy' and we seem to have another tough one with a touch of class. NB: If anyone ever doubted the need for betting exchanges please take a look at the industry versus Betfair SP comparison via the Betfair results page for that race. It's truly shocking.

Forgive me the name drop but I had the great pleasure of slurring some words with Mr Frankie Dettori on the evening of the Classic. He was as much fun as you'd hope, but seemed a little surprised that after my first three riding lessons I was offering him little tips/guidance on the rising trot. I suspect the joy of irony isn't any bigger in Italy than the US. I couldn't talk to him too long though as Amanda Holden walked in and a man has to prioritise.

Enough of my rare brush with glamour and back to the cooler reality of our early jumps season. I'm reporting back on two weeks of results and thanks to James Hetherton I've clawed a bit back for this column's PNL. King in Waiting, River Logic and Simple Jim have obliged over the last two weeks from only eight stable runners with respective BSP's of [4.9], [26.64] and [6.64]. His King's Counsel at Market Rasen also came second at BSP [129.61] although crying over near misses is a fools game.

It's time for some pruning though and James Lambe, Nigel Tinkler and Alan Fleming are now cut. Sarah Humphrey and Lee Smyth will remain on the hot list with Hetherton and will be joined by Charlie Longsdon whose runners are consistently above par. Philip Hobbs enters the cold list although I'm a little concerned the market has already identified his weaker form.

I have seven weeks to go to reach my £1,000 New Year target and am not giving up.

Total Starting Bank = £250.00
Closing Bank after Week 22 = £558.57
Week 23 and 24 Result = +£58.95
Closing Bank = £617.52

Tags: Amanda Holden, Breeders' Cup, Coole River, Frankie Dettori, James Hetherton, Jessica Harrington