Chasers & Hurdlers 2015/16

The 1,024-page ‘Chasers & Hurdlers’ annual is Paul Nicholls’ favourite book. He describes it as ‘a byword for quality and enduring high standards’, words that could be applied to the champion trainer himself. His battle with Ireland’s dominant trainer Willie Mullins before landing his tenth British trainers’ championship was one of the stories of an outstanding season that is covered completely, in full detail, in the latest Timeform masterwork.

‘Chasers & Hurdlers’ records all the historic moments from a truly vintage season, including Richard Johnson’s uniquely-popular and long-awaited first jockeys’ championship. As always, though, the emphasis in the Timeform Annual is on the horses themselves, with each of the 9,000 jumpers who ran in Britain treated as a subject on its own, the entries running from a few lines on some of the lesser lights to multi-page essays on the top horses. As well as being a permanent record, and a source of entertaining reading, ‘Chasers & Hurdlers’ is also designed to be of practical value in winner-finding. Look up any horse and you have a unique insight in just a few seconds into its form – measured by the all-important Timeform rating - and its racing character, including its distance and going requirements. Timeform ratings and analysis are unrivalled for their accuracy and they make ‘Chasers & Hurdlers’ a must for any punter with ambitions to make their racing pay! 

The latest jumps season shares with 2004/05 the distinction of featuring four horses rated above 180 on the Timeform scale, Don Cossack, Cue Card, Vautour and the brilliant novice chaser Douvan (Sprinter Sacre, whose resurgence was a revelation, was only 1 lb off becoming a fifth).  The essay on the Willie Mullins-trained Douvan, whom ‘Chasers & Hurdlers’ predicts will join the sport’s ‘immortals’, harks back to the marvellous 1965/66 season when Arkle, Flyingbolt, Mill House and Dunkirk – names that still resonate fifty years on – were at their peak. That select group, which produced some unforgettable performances, feature strongly in the essay on Douvan, while Sprinter Sacre’s essay has more on Mill House and others who have featured in similar comebacks.

The accolade of Timeform Horse of the Year was awarded to Don Cossack, one of the best Cheltenham Gold Cup winners in history, but the latest season produced half a dozen stars who would have been worthy winners of the award in any normal year. The Champion Hurdle winner Annie Power showed herself to be among the greatest jumping mares of all time; Cue Card won one of the best King George V1 Chases ever staged; some of Douvan’s performances were sensational, both visually and ‘on the clock’; Don Cossack has now won ten of his last eleven completed starts; Sprinter Sacre staged probably the most popular racing comeback ever; and Thistlecrack carried all before him in the staying hurdling division. Vautour might have been a candidate too had he contested the Gold Cup rather than the less competitive Ryanair Chase in which he gave his third successive breathtaking performance at the Festival. The 2015/16 season really was the one that had everything, and there’s no better way of reliving all the great moments than with a copy of the lavishly-illustrated ‘Chasers & Hurdlers’.

The book also examines the wider issues in the sport – and, as usual, it doesn’t pull its punches! There is a call for greater vigilance by the stewards whom ‘Chasers & Hurdlers’ says ‘all too often seem blind – or turn a blind eye - to non-triers’, the essay on Anibale Fly calling for ‘strict control and harsh penalties for offenders’. There is also a call for the turf authorities to put a stop to races being run in atrocious conditions like some of those encountered in the latest season - one of the wettest on record. The essay on L’Ami Serge describes some of the racing that took place as a ‘terrible advertisement for the game’ and warns that, if the issue became the subject of a concerted campaign on social media, it could turn into a public relations disaster. 

‘Chasers & Hurdlers’ has something for everyone, whether you’re the champion trainer or a keen amateur who follows the game as a hobby. Whatever your angle on racing, ‘Chasers & Hurdlers’ represents great value and is a book that you really must have.

Order now at timeform.com

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