DOUBLE HANDFUL FOX NORTON

IHAVE little sympathy for the ante-post punters who backed Douvan for today’s Tingle Creek. The seven-year-old, who hasn’t been spotted on a course since suffering an injury when a short-priced favourite for last season’s Queen Mother Champion Chase, was never going to be a shoo-in anyway against an in-form

Besides, pretty much the same thing happened in last year’s Tingle Creek with Willie Mullins’ hotpot backed in from 5-1 to 4-7, only for the Irish champion jump trainer to not declare him at the final declaration stage.

They say to make a mistake is forgivable, to keep making the same mistakes and expecting different results is madness.

It is a shame that Douvan isn’t running because now the juice has been well and truly squeezed out of Fox Norton’s price and I fully expected Colin Tizzard’s sevenyear-old to beat him anyway.

Fortunately I snapped up some of the

FOX NORTON.

11-8 earlier in the week. I mention this only to sound more smug than usual. I will probably go back in for anything around the 4-7 mark.

Fox Norton looks like a rock-solid banker to make it three Grade 1 wins. He seems a different class to his six rivals and the only problem I’ll be having is picking one of them for the straight forecast.

Nothing in the field can compare to Fox Norton’s form — a close second in the Queen Mother Champion Chase followed by classy victories at Aintree and Punchestown. A comfortable win in November’s Shloer Chase at Cheltenham means he has tasted success in six of his last eight races and finished runner-up in the other two.

Paul Nicholls famously won this race six years in succession but I don’t fancy He’s decent enough over the obstacles but looks fragile when the going gets tough.

I’ll be having a few quid on to be best of the rest in the straight forecast at a decent price.

Politologue. Valentino 2.55 SANDOWN Sir