Higgs on Horses is back from his hols and ready to go...

IN my book, it’s been a good old-fashioned English Summer!

You know - haymaking, cider and cheese with the warm glow added to the camera lens.

You are there already; yes, it’s ‘The Darling Buds of May’... Ok! Ok! for those of you who know me it is probably more like ‘The Last Of The Summer Wine’, whatever - IT’S NOVEMBER AND WE NEED RAIN.

That’s me shouting, by the way!

There are plenty of horses waiting to run but the trainers will not risk them on quick ground.

Watch out for when it does turn up as there will be some pretty competitive racing around.

It has been a Flat Season where honours have been shared.

Silvestre De Sousa was crowned Champion jockey again and Mark Johnston broke the number of British ‘all-time’ winners record, with win number 4,194 - just confirming, that’s a lot!

The horse which broke the record was ridden by a certain Frankie Dettori who remains on top of his game; the ride he gave Enable in the Arc was among his best ever.

That leads me to the trainer; is there anyone more engaging in a TV interview than John Gosden?

The information he passes on is invaluable, always succinct (unlike me!), oh and don’t ever forget he is one of the all-time great trainers!

The Frankie/John/Enable roadshow travels to America this weekend - ignore it at your peril!

As in previous years, I will be supplying a Higgs On Horses to follow list.

Last year we made a profit at Cheltenham and Aintree and a small profit overall; over the years we haven’t done badly, so it shouldn’t get you into too much trouble.

It is always sheer torture for your scribe but, for some reason, I enjoy it.

I will start the list off this year with Paisley Park, who won at Aintree on Sunday.

He still ran as though he needed the experience, is highly regarded by connections and was on our HTF list last season.

He stays on and there looks a perfect race for him at Haydock on Betfair Chase day.

A couple to note in the H on H camp this year are the Taunton Racecourse Owners Club horse At Its Own Expense.

He is trained by Philip Hobbs and we still have a couple of places available. It is great fun and if you fancy joining the party please feel free to contact me at businessclub@tauntonracecourse.co.uk - it may not be as expensive as you think!

The other of interest is Norse Light; he is in the David Dennis Racing Club and won three times for them last season.

There is a race for him at Exeter on November 6 which he won last year, so fingers crossed for a repeat.

So, there endeth the first H on H of the season. Hopes are high, the coffers are plentiful and I, for one, cannot wait for the season to unfold.

I will leave you with one last thought: it is only 131 days to the start of the Festival - hopefully, it will have rained by then!