Hot To Trot: de Bromhead in good form

Jumps Trainer: Henry de Bromhead (click name to see all entries)

Henry de Bromhead has his horses in good form at present, although that won’t have been much comfort after the fatal injury of Identity Thief last weekend. He will perhaps best be remembered for his scintillating success in the Stayers Hurdle (Liverpool) at Aintree in 2017/18, shown below.

Identity Thief storms to the Ryanair Stayers' Hurdle at @AintreeRaces

The Grand National up next LIVE on @ITV pic.twitter.com/zW67L5HgCi

— ITV Racing (@itvracing) April 14, 2018

The Co. Waterford handler may have been cheered slightly by the performance of Honeysuckle at Fairyhouse last Wednesday, though, the four-year-old filly impressing when making a successful debut over hurdles; she’s sure to progress and win more races. The fellow Kenneth Alexander-owned Sinoria is due to make her debut at Thurles on Thursday, and should be noted for any market support. She cost £130,000 at the Cheltenham sales in March and is a half-sister to Minella Rocco, amongst others.

One of the highest-rated horses in the yard, Valseur Lido, is also entered at Thurles. Last seen finishing down the field in the Galway Plate, the nine-year-old is a former Grade 1 winner and could prove to be the (top) class act if lining up in the listed contest.

Flat Trainer: Simon Crisford

Simon Crisford is enjoying an excellent end to the year, as the red line on the graph below clearly illustrates.

He’s saddled four winners already this month, including at 8/1 and 13/2, and it’s worth considering all of this runners in the near future.

Bobby K wasn’t able to reward backers when second at Nottingham at the end of last month, but he produced a narrow career-best that day and looks to have leading claims at Lingfield on Tuesday. He shaped well without being seen to best effect, running out of steam late on having done a lot of running to get into contention from a poor position, and can return to the winner’s enclosure.

Timeform ‘Horse In Focus’ Eden Gardens caught the eye of our reporters when fifth at Lingfield last time, and he looks one to pay close attention to at Kempton on Wednesday, especially if there is a positive jockey booking. Elsewhere on the same card, Red Mist has run fair races since winning at Ripon in August, and he impressed (with a six-length win) on his last visit to the Sunbury-on-Thames venue.

Under the Radar: Tom Lacey

Thomas Patrick may have met with defeat at Sandown last weekend, but his gallant effort in defeat suggested that he is still very much one to follow this season, which is handy, because he’s a key member of Timeform’s Fifty To Follow, which is available here.

He’s a great advert for the training skills of Tom Lacey, one of jumps racing’s most up-and-coming trainers. Lacey has his horses in good form at present, as the graph above shows, and he also has a 31% strike-rate at Chepstow, returning a level stakes profit of +65.50.

He has two entries at the Welsh venue on Wednesday, namely Dorking Cock and He’s A Goer. The first-named shaped with some promise on his hurdling debut but couldn’t repeat that at Aintree last time, however this easier company should see him show a bit more before he goes handicapping (qualified after this run). He’s A Goer races in the silks of Thomas Patrick’s owner David Kellett, and he seemed to improve on his Warwick win when second under a penalty at Wetherby last time. Over at Warwick on the same afternoon, the stoutly-bred Lady Cylla is entered in the closing bumper; whatever she does here she will likely improve on when granted a stiffer test of stamina.