Irish Pointers winner Mega Yeats (7/1)

Well done to Declan Phelan who highlighted Mega Yeats (7/1) in his Irish Pointers section in One Jump Ahead (page 142). Bought for £60,000 having won her only start 'between the flags' in Ireland, the four year old made all the running in the concluding mares' bumper which rounded off a terrific card at Carlisle on Thursday. A three and a half lengths winner, Ruth Jefferson has a nice prospect on her hands and it will be interesting to see if she heads to Cheltenham next month for a Listed mares' bumper.

The two miles one novice hurdle at the Cumbrian venue has been won by the likes of Recession Proof in the past and both divisions appeared to have some strength in depth. Nigel Twiston-Davies won the first division with Good Boy Bobby, while stablemate Al Dancer's scooped the second. The pair had strong bumper form last season and I was particularly impressed with the latter. Fourth in the Grade 2 bumper at Aintree's Grand National meeting, he produced two very good jumps at the final couple of flights before staying on too strongly for the highly regarded Windsor Avenue. It is only a matter of time before the third home First Account makes his mark. A winning pointer for Colin Bowe, he was beaten less than six lengths on his Rules debut for Donald McCain. An extra half a mile wouldn't go amiss for the gelded son of Malinas.

Idilico (11/8) was selected as a horse to watch out for in the York Ebor Update having been bought at the Arqana Sale in France for €46,000 in July. A ten furlongs winner on the level, he joined Ian Williams and the Lawman gelding made a successful start to his jumping career in the juvenile hurdle at Uttoxeter on Wednesday. Despite an indifferent round of jumping, especially at the final flight, he proved far too good for the opposition winning by a hard held six lengths. His hurdling technqiue needs working on but there is no mistaking the fact he possesses plenty of ability. In fairness, he lacks experience having only raced four times on the Flat prior to his sale. His owner Andrew Dick has been responsible for some useful horses over the years, including Weird Al, and he may have unearthed another decent sort.

Overall, it was a decent day for One Jump Ahead with Just A Sting (9/2) and Mia's Storm (4/1) scoring for Harry Fry and Alan King respectively at Uttoxeter.