Your guide to the jumps guides – part 1: point-to-point recruits
In the first of a two-part feature on guides to the new jumps season, Doug Campbell reviews a book on point-to-pointers who could make their mark on the NH scene. In part two, we’ll be looking at other guides to the winter game.
In part two, Mike Deasy looks at the 2019/20 jump racing annuals http://wp.me/p8e3Dl-2NI
The Point To Point Recruits 2019/20 – Jodie Standing
When deciding on purchasing a book for the new National Hunt season, not everyone’s budget will stretch to the £75 for what is often referred to as the jumps “Bible” – Timeform’s Chasers & Hurdlers annual.
However, there are other publications available to assist those with limited funds. Timeform’s own Horses To Follow being one, as well as other established books such as Mark Howard’s One Jump Ahead, Paul Ferguson’s Jumpers To Follow and John Morris’s Jumping Prospects.
Just last year, another book came to the assistance of punters and racegoers alike in their ongoing battle with the bookmakers – namely The Point To Point Recruits.
The book concentrates, as the title suggests, on young horses that will be racing under rules for the first time. The Pointing fields of the UK and Ireland have long been a source for unearthing talent for the years ahead, although I imagine that the majority of punters would not be as clued up as they could be.
This is where Jodie and her publication comes in very handy. The 2018 debut saw 77 lightly raced individuals featured, with roughly a page on each indicating her views and reasons for the inclusion of the horse.
The book certainly didn’t disappoint, with many winners being found – including the likes of Bright Forecast, Envoi Allen, Malone Road, Mega Yates and The Glancing Queen to name just a few.
The 2019/20 edition is now available to purchase (both hard copy or PDF version) and is a little beefier, with 94 horses being featured this time around in 116-pages, once again giving Jodie’s insight and hopes and expectations for The Recruits.
Also highlighted are a selection of 25 of the horses, whom the author considers of ‘star potential’, quite possibly being capable of going quite far in the winter game over the coming years.
Jodie Standing may not be a household name to the average follower of the sport. However, she is considered a very good judge of horse flesh – particularly by the regulars on the Northern National Hunt circuit – and she has an uncanny knack of spotting the future potential of individuals in the embryo stage of their careers.
She has also worked alongside Marten and Rebecca Julian for around a decade now, assisting with other publications such as Dark Horses, and the Weekend Card.
Her second edition of The Point To Point Recruits is a must buy as far as I am concerned, and can only prove to be a massive help to those that don’t follow the Pointing scene religiously. It comes with a 5-star recommendation from me.
The Point To Point Recruits 2019/20 by Jodie Standing, Marten Julian, £10 book, £15 book and PDF download
