Paul Nicholls has won the RSA Worcester Novices’ Chase at Newbury with a few reasonable staying types and Just A Par looked another from the same mould.

Even the sunniest dispositions have been challenged by the wet summer. Put yourself in the place of a farmer managing livestock or crops; record rainfall, below normal temperatures, and low sunshine levels have made every day a challenge.

A PUNTER remarked at Leopardstown on Sunday: “we’re going to have a terrible Cheltenham.”