Hot To Trot: Now is the time to Look At George

Charlie Longsdon (Click trainer’s name to view a full list of entries)

Last season saw Charlie Longsdon record his lowest tally of winners (44) since the 2010/11 campaign, and the Oxfordshire handler also has plenty of work to do this time round if he is to get back to his usual high standards. Nevertheless, Longsdon can console himself with the fact that the yard has often endured a slight lull in the deepest depths of winter - as the above graph shows - before going to enjoy a particularly productive time of things in February/March, and he will be hoping that that trend comes to pass again in the second half of this month, starting at Wetherby on Tuesday.

Longsdon could run as many as three in the novices' hurdle, with Peter's Portrait perhaps the most interesting of them; he was bought for £37,000 after winning an Irish point on his debut in October, and is described on the trainer's website as 'one to watch for the future'. Other notable entries for Longsdon in the coming days include the more seasoned campaigners Dandridge and Ballydine. The former stopped very quickly on his debut for the stable at Warwick in October, but he was a useful chaser on his day for Arthur Moore and has fallen to a very lenient mark if returning to anything like his best later on the Wetherby card, while Ballydine will also be of definite interest if taking up his entry in the Eider Chase at Newcastle next Saturday. He stayed on stoutly when third in the Peter Marsh Chase at Haydock last time, producing a career best in the process, and could have even more to offer when stepping up further in trip.

Neil Mulholland

In a similar vein, the 104 winners that Neil Mulholland clocked in 2016/17 would appear well out of reach this term, with only 34 wins to his name at the time of writing, but he is another trainer whose horses have often run themselves into some form at this time of year. One of his best chances of getting the ball rolling in the coming days could also come at Wetherby on Tuesday, when Frau Georgia runs in the concluding bumper. A half-sister to the fairly useful hurdler Casper King, she shaped promisingly when second on her debut at Warwick last month, looking to have all moves covered only to succumb to the Flat-bred winner's change of pace. That form is already amongst the best on offer looking at the early entries for this race, and she may yet prove capable of better with the initial experience under her belt.

Also worth a mention is Presenting Lucina, who is entered in the concluding mares' handicap hurdle at Taunton on Tuesday, a race in which Mulholland is currenly responsible for five of the 31 entries. She went into the notebook when sixth on her handicap debut earlier this month, having stuck to the inner in a race in which all those that finished ahead of her raced considerably wider; that represented her best effort yet, and the handicapper appears to have taken a chance by dropping her 3 lb in the weights. Meanwhile, Mulholland could run both Kansas City Chief and Walt in one of the feature races at Kempton next Saturday, the 888Sport Handicap Chase. However, the former only ran at Sandown on Friday, so may be a doubtful runner, while Walt is seemingly fully exposed after 10 starts over fences and has sometimes been held back by his attitude - it should be pointed out, though, that similar comments applied to Pilgrims Bay before he won the race for Mulholland in that record-breaking 2016/17 campaign.

Tom George

Tom George has endured a frustrating few months with some of his stable stars, not least last season's top novice hurdlers Black Op and Summerville Boy; the former has had to revert to hurdles after failing to convince with his jumping in two starts over fences, while Summerville Boy was below his best in his first two starts of the current campaign, and was later found to have been suffering from a stress facture in a hind leg. That being said, the pair are reported to be on course for some big targets in the spring, and it would be folly to totally discount them given their trainer's fine record of getting his horses to peak at this time of year.

George has plenty to keep him occupied in the meantime, though, and he is likely to have particularly high hopes of adding to his tally with Doctor Dex this week; he holds a choice of engagements at Doncaster on Wednesday and will command respect in whichever race he lines up in, with the form of his Wetherby win last month working out well (second and third have both won since). Finally, stable stalwart Double Shuffle could line up in the aforementioned the 888Sport Handicap Chase at Kempton, but, in terms of a betting proposition, it could pay to look to the future with Now Look At Me instead. He has quickly developed into a useful prospect in bumpers, despite still looking a bit rough around the edges, and a penalty might not be enough to stop him in the finale on Wednesday's card at Doncaster, a race that George won with none other than Black Op in 2017.