A lot has been written and said in the press about the current crop of National Hunt jockeys and the possibility of Sean Bowen breaking some of A. P. McCoy’s records in the future.

The overall standard of jockeys is solid, but if I had to choose the best at the moment, I would side with Harry Cobden. He is a very natural horseman and has improved significantly over the last couple of seasons.

Sean Bowen is also a talented rider who performs consistently well and likely benefits from having no major weight issues, as he is not particularly tall.

With regard to whether he will break any of McCoy’s records, I have my doubts. A. P. McCoy was a one-off. He managed to avoid injury most of the time and rode plenty of winners when he possibly shouldn’t have been riding, as he had been injured but still somehow passed the doctor.

The medical side is very strict now, if you have any slight injuries, you normally get stood down for a few days.

Among the current crop of jockeys, Harry Skelton is a decent rider, but in my opinion he often gives his horses too much to do. He frequently sits at the rear or adopts a hold-up tactic, which makes his style feel a bit one-dimensional. A few others, Brian Hughes is still a very good jockey, then you have several who are decent riders, some who are riding very good horses, and are what I would call competent riders.

Nico de Boinville would fall into that category. Many of the Nicky Henderson rides are “point and steer” jobs!

I was talking to Declan Murphy recently about the riders from our era compared with today’s jockeys. He shared the same view: in the 1980s and 1990s there were some exceptionally good jump jockeys. The best I think I rode against was John Francome — a brilliant rider, always very calm in the weighing room, almost as if he didn’t care, though of course he did. Richard Dunwoody was another outstanding jockey, followed by several others such as Peter Scudamore, Hywel Davies, Graham McCourt, Steve Smith Eccles, Chris Grant, Jamie Osborne, Graham Bradley, and Declan himself, who was unfortunately injured in his prime.

Looking at the racing today in France. At Auteuil, where the going will be very soft, some strong Graded races over hurdles and fences. The racing has an early start at 10.20 am, the first race could go the way of the likely favourite Choeur De Grive, who was not quite up to Grade 2 class last time and will be more suited to today’s race. This is a step down in class, and a previous win in October at this track was in a Class 2 hurdle, was a decent effort.

La Delirante 12.40 has strong credentials in the Grade 3 hurdle, she is a winner at this venue previously and was a pleasing second on her latest start, when beating one of today’s rivals Clarte Du Sourire into third that day at this racecourse in mid-November.

At Huntingdon in the UK, I thought Djelo could win again in the race he won last year the Sky Bet Peterborough Chase (Grade 2) at 3.00pm. He acts well on a right-handed track and won on his seasonal return in early November.

More soon.

Reflecting on the racing today at Sandown. The most impressive winner was No Drama This End in the 1.45 Grade 2 Novices Hurdle. He came back on the bridle after jumping the second last flight and sauntered home on the run from the last flight to win eased down. He looks like a bright prospect going forward and could be a future Cheltenham candidate in March.

Good card’s tomorrow. I hope Jonbon can win again at Sandown in the Tingle Creek Chase ( Grade 1) at 3.00. He loves the track and can give a much better effort than his latest start at Cheltenham 22 days ago when second behind L’Eau Du Sud , who re-opposes tomorrow and has a live chance.

More soon.

A good winner for my followers yesterday: Ciel De Paris landed the 12:55 at Deauville. He returned at 5/1, which was a very decent price.

At Salon-Provence today, I like French Colorado in the 12:27. He ran well in a much stronger race last time out at Saint-Cloud (Gr.3) and was previously second over this track and trip in a Class 2 in September. He should have too much for his rivals, and at around 10/3 he represents good value.

In the 1:47 handicap, Askari carries top weight but was only narrowly beaten into second at Fontainebleau on November 3rd. He remains lightly raced with more improvement to come, and at 7/2 he looks appealing.

Looking at the Deauville card. I do like Ciel De Paris each way in the 12.55 race. He should be suited by the slight drop back in trip today and is well drawn.

Vertbois 3.50 has been running well over a mile mostly of late, the step up to just over 9 furlongs should not pose too many issues and he will be hard to beat.

More soon.

Good to get a winner at Auteuil the other day, Mamaland scored with authority, having been heavily supported in the betting form 11/2 into around 5/2.

Some good racing in France today at Deauville. I will do an update later with a possible horse worth backing, no prices available at the moment.

At Newcastle 4.00, I do think the current second favourite Zoustar Dreams will take beating, she is around 7/4 with most firms. She drops back in trip after a decent effort over 6 furlongs at Southwell last time out, and should have the speed to cope. The Newcastle minimum trip is on the rise throughout, so the stiff track should be ideal.

More around 11.30am today.

Good competitive racing at Auteuil today. The meeting starts at 11.13am with a Class 3 chase. Secret D’Etat is short odds around evens to follow up on his win at Durtal at the start of this month over fences. He had been off the track for over two years before that win and is a former Listed hurdle winner at this track in 2023. He faces an improving mare in Kind Lovely, who is a live threat.

Mamaland in the 11.48 race is a bit of value at around 11/2 and can run a big race on only her second start. She stayed on strongly on debut at Clairefontaine when making her debut in late August. She is a big unit and has been given time since that effort.

Kill Pass has won both starts, on the flat and over hurdles at Compiegne late in October. He looks like a smart operator who can get the hat-trick of wins. He runs in the 12.58 race over hurdles.

More soon.

Good racing today at the meetings at Ascot and Haydock. It was good to see Grey Dawning win, well ridden by Harry Skelton ! He must have read my blog recently, as he was in the perfect place at all times, and oozed confidence going to the last fence.

I managed to find a winner in France today with Mondialito D’Huez , who was heavily supported from around evens into 8/15. He remains unbeaten and will likely now go over hurdles.

It was sad to see il Est Francais get pulled up three fences out at Ascot in the 1.30 race. He has a history of breaking blood vessels in the past and it will be interesting to see if that was the case again today.

I will put something on tomorrow morning worth looking at in France, at the meeting at Auteuil.

An early start to racing in France today. At Lyon Parilly in the 9.40 race, which has a small field of six lining up, Mangos, reverts to hurdles after success over fences at Auteuil on November 5th. He is a winner over hurdles on debut and he should be able to get the job done again back over the smaller obstacles.

Mondialto D’huez will try to remain unbeaten in the 11.00 race at Fontainebleau and should be too smart for his rivals. He has a couple of live threats in Match Amical and the Christophe Soumillon mount Mabriska, both of them are also unbeaten.

At Ascot in the 1.30 race, which is a Grade 2 event, Il Est Francais will try to take the prize back to France. He will likely be ridden positively by regular rider James Reveley and could be hard to catch if allowed to set his own fractions from the front.

JPR One would be my pick in the 3.15 race, which is a competitive handicap chase. He has cheekpieces for the first time and will be ridden by the excellent Brendan Powell.

More soon.

Reflecting on today’s racing at Ascot, I felt the final race at 3:45 featured a couple of disappointing rides from Harry Skelton and Sam Twiston-Davies on Hitintheheadlines and Saint Jeannais, the first and second favourites. Both were held up at the rear despite a very sedate pace—the slowest time of the day.

The winner, The Walk, and the runner-up, Double The Dance, were well positioned throughout and were given plenty of leeway when the latter quickened from the front with about four furlongs to run.

I think Brendan Powell is riding extremely well at the moment, and Joe Tizzard, who trained the winner, has his horses in excellent form. Powell is strong in a finish and makes very few errors.

Harry Skelton is known for riding from the rear on many of his mounts. It seems clear that his brother Dan prefers his horses to be ridden patiently, a style that doesn’t necessarily suit every horse.

Good cards tomorrow in the UK and France. I will try to give a couple of selections worth looking at in the morning.