Maidens in Waiting winner Spirit Dancer (3/1)

It was great to see Paul Hanagan ride his first winner since returning from serious injury. The former dual champion jockey returned less than a fortnight ago and he was seen at his best as he steered Spirit Dancer to victory in the ten furlongs maiden at Ripon on Monday. Featured in the Maidens In Waiting section in Ahead On The Flat, the son of Frankel had shaped well on his reappearance at Wolverhampton earlier this month and confirmed the promise with an all the way win at the Garden racecourse. A three and a half lengths winner, Richard Fahey's charge was rated 76 beforehand and, given the fact he copes well with easy ground, he looks a horse to keep an eye on during the Autumn. It wouldn't be a surprise if his connections have something in mind at Ayr's Western meeting next month. A big scopey colt, he looks the sort to make an even better four year old. Spirit Dancer is part owned by Sir Alex Ferguson, so it is ironic he was ridden to victory by a big Liverpool fan. The Top 40 Prospects in AOTF haven't been in great form in recent weeks but 12 of the 17 horses covered in the Maidens In Waiting section have won this summer.

I am continuing to work on One Jump Ahead and, just to let previous subscribers know, I will be sending out full details of the book and the Updates once I have taken it to the printers in around ten days. The plan is to publish OJA around the third week of September - I am finalising a few more interviews and will keep readers informed on here. I am particularly excited about the French horses which have been purchased by the top stables in Britain and Ireland. There could be tremendous strength in depth in this season's juvenile hurdles, if the new recruits are anything to go by.