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Latest Profit & Loss Figures
Five winning days produced a healthy profit of +£11.50 for the week ending Sunday, 5 April.
March 2026 ended with a significant profit of +£50.17.
We threw a couple of points away on Saturday with a poor each-way recommendation and bumped into a well-backed Christian Williams gamble at Bangor-on-Dee midweek when we had a double-figure priced second. That said, another good week.
Latest Profit & Loss for the week ending Sunday, 5 April, 2026
- Cumulative profit since August 1, 2022: +£1,557.92
- Week ending Sunday, 5 April: +£10.37
- April 2026 to date: +£11.40
- March 2026 ended: +£50.17
- Year 2026 to date: +£167.71
- Year 2025 ended: +£312.73
- Year 2024 ended: +£364.90
- Year 2023 ended: +£469.27
- Period 1/8/22-31/12/22 ended: +£243.31
(All figures to a £1 level stake)
Charlie McCann’s Tips - Saturday, 11 April
For all its recent modifications the Grand National remains the best and most famous horserace in the world. We again have a race to savour this afternoon. There is up to 5mm of rain forecast overnight and the hope is that the executive do not see fit to water overnight given the forecast.
The opening Grade 1 Maghull Novices' Chase looks at the mercy of Salvator Mundi – a Grade 1 winning novice hurdler at this meeting last season and the forecast good or good to soft ground is ideal. He showed next to nothing in his first chase starts but bolted up – at 1/7 – at Thurles last time over 2m2f. He could be a class apart, but he jumps out to his right and at 5/4 I can watch him win.
1:20pm Aintree - Hold The Serve & Kaka’s Cousin
Supremely West has been raised 9lbs for landing a long-term gamble in the Pertemps Final at Cheltenham last month and must have every chance of following up given he looked the winner from a long way out last month. He had been hiding his light under a bushel since qualifying for the Pertemps back in October and his revised mark still gives him every chance.
HOLD THE SERVE has been my fancy for the race since landing his hat-trick at Kempton last time when he dotted up over 2m5f from a 7lbs lower mark. He had Dan Skelton's Royal Infantry over 3l back in second so the Skelton yard should know where they stand with Hold The Serve, but I thought the latter looked one to follow last time although he does have stamina to prove on his first start over three miles although the grey did win his sole point at the distance.
I have also thrown a couple of quid on KAKA'S COUSIN – another novice trying the trip for the first time – who finished fourth in the EBF Final 2m4f Handicap Hurdle at Sandown on heavy ground which he would have hated.
His 2m3f Catterick maiden hurdle success came on good ground, and he promises to be well suited by the trip. He is one to note over fences next term but his current mark of 128 looks fair.
Recommendations: Hold The Serve - 6/1 with bet365 & Kaka’s Cousin - 14/1 with Paddy Power
1:55pm Aintree - Bossman Jack (Nap)
I'm sure Harry Skelton would like his ride back on BOSSMAN JACK (Nap) in the Turners' Novice Hurdle at Cheltenham last month when he was held up out the back and kept wide in a race where it paid to race prominently.
The selection was in the process of running a terrific race when ploughing through the last and he did well to stay on in sixth one place behind stablemate Soldier Reeves who reopposes and finished best of all having flew home from the last.
Dan Skelton does not have the best of records at Aintree in recent years, but he saddled the Mares' Bumper winner on the opening day, and The New Lion ran a good race in defeat in the Aintree Hurdle. The worry is that Bossman Jack will get too far back in the initial stages, not because he can't go the gallop, but he was ridden cold at Cheltenham, and I'm not convinced they are the best tactics on the Mildmay course.
Gordon Elliot had his string in sparkling form on the opening day, and he has won the last four renewals of this Grade 1 contest and his Ballyfad was kicked down at the start before the Turners but was only beaten 7l. He raced nearer the pace and had a ground saving trip, however, and it is hard to see him reverse the form with the selection.
Recommendation: Bossman Jack (Nap) - 5/2 with bet365
2:30pm Aintree - Cruz Control (Each-Way)
CRUZ CONTROL (Each-Way) has won the last two renewals, and he is only 1lb higher than when scoring by 5l here twelve months ago. All ground comes alike and he is still only nine years of age.
You can put a line through his two runs so far this term as this has likely been the plan since he crossed the line twelve months ago. Trainer Tom Lacey could hardly be in better form with his last three runners all striking gold.
The market is headed by the Skelton-trained Mr Hope Street who promises to be well served by the step back up to 3m1f. After just three chase starts, he is unexposed as a chaser and this looks to have been the long-term plan, but he is a best price of 3/1, and he is priced up more on potential than form.
Brave Fortune needs good ground and has only had two starts for Joseph O'Brien who is another trainer in cracking form. His three-quarter length second over 2m5f at Thurles when last seen back in January is nothing special but this step back up in distance will suit and he has long been on my radar for a valuable 3m chase this spring. I just favour the reigning champ in his hat-trick bid.
Just as I was finishing the copy Myretown was pulled out on Friday morning and Cruz Control has gone from 13/2 to 11/2.
Recommendations: Cruz Control (Each-Way) - 6/1 with bet365 (5 places)
I backed Honesty Policy in the Stayers' Hurdle, and he drifted like a barge (SP 11/1) but ran well although appearing a non-stayer.
I want to support him again on a track he won his Grade 1 at this meeting last year, but I cannot recommend him as market leader with stamina to prove.
4:00pm Aintree - Panic Attack (Each-Way) & Gorgeous Tom (Each-Way)
I am writing this before the Topham, but I thought the National fences looked smaller than ever in Thursday's Foxhunters and I'm not convinced that you need to be a great jumper to win the great race anymore. What you need is to be well handicapped with a touch of class and the stamina reserves for this 4m2f trip.
The shortlist seems longer than ever this year with previous winner I Am Maximus,Grangeclare West, Jagwar, and Iroko high up on that fictious list, but in the end my two against the field are the mare PANIC ATTACK and GORGEOUS TOM.
Panic Attack has been a revelation this term winning the Paddy Power Gold Cup and Ladbrokes Trophy (or is it Coral?) and looked in need of a step back up in distance when third at Cheltenham over an extended 2m4f in the Mares' Chase last time.
A fast fluent jumper she is bidding to become the first mare to win the race since 1951 (Nickel Coin), but she remains at the right end of the handicap and, if she stays, she looks sure to run a big race. A National win would put the icing on a terrific campaign for the Dan Skelton yard.
Gorgeous Tom is 11lbs better off with Panic Attack for the eleven lengths he was behind the winner at Newbury, and he is one of two Henry De Bromhead horses (also Monty's Star) who look to have been laid out for the race. The dam of Gorgeous Tom is a half-sister to National runner up Cappa Bleu, and the hope is that his stamina stretches to this test.
He will relish the ground; trainer Henry De Bromhead knows what it takes to land the great race and he has only had the one start over an inadequate trip since the Ladbrokes Trophy. He has never won beyond two-and-a-half miles over fences, so the trends and stats gurus will say he has zero chance but, in a wide open renewal, I am swimming against the tide with a mare and one who has not won at three miles, let alone four-and-a-quarter!
Recommendations: Panic Attack (Each-Way) - 17/2 with Unibet (6 places) & Gorgeous Tom (Each-Way) - 25/1 with bet365 (6 places)
My nap of the day would be Double Digits in the2m handicap hurdle, but he needs good ground and there is significant rain forecast overnight at Newcastle. I will monitor times for the opening races at Gosforth Park rather than the official description, but on good ground he is considered worthy of nap material.
*Betting odds correct at the time of publication. All odds are subject to changes.
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Charlie McCann’s Horses to Follow
Last updated, Monday, 30 March
Anniversary (Four-year-old trained by Ralph Beckett)
Blindedbythelights has form figures since winning at Newbury in June 2023 of 2-2-4-2-2-2-2, and his handicap mark has risen from sixty-eight to a mark in the early nineties, given that he finished second at Kempton from a mark of eighty-eight in the Queen’s Prize at the end of March.
His profile hardly strikes you as being one to have onside going forward, but he is lightly raced for one of his age, and I have always thought there was more to come from the flashy gelding.
He was very well supported at Kempton, however, whereas Anniversary was weak in the market with blinkers reapplied by Ralph Beckett, and the jury is still out as to whether he truly stays two miles.
The stable’s inmates ran well in defeat on the opening weekend of the turf season, and this four-year-old has not won since beating the subsequent Goodwood Cup/St Leger winner Scandinavia at Newmarket on his racecourse debut as a juvenile.
There is a 1m6f handicap at Newmarket on the Sunday of the Guineas weekend at the beginning of May and that would strike me as a suitable target for the gelded son of Sea The Moon who may have races such as the Copper Horse Stakes at Royal Ascot as a mid-summer target although he would have to win to get into the race as the bottom weight was rated ninety-five last year.
At the time of writing, Anniversary is rated ninety-one, but you would imagine he will be eased at least 1lb for his Kempton run. He will need to win to sneak into the bottom of the handicap if the Royal meeting is a realistic target.
Blue Bolt (Three-year-old filly trained by Andrew Balding)
Blue Bolt was beaten more than 5L on her racecourse debut over 7f at Southwell on debut but she has looked a different proposition on turf, with that experience under her belt, winning both starts over a mile at Windsor and Newbury.
Her latest success in a valuable Novice under Colin Keane suggested she was ready for a step up in grade and she holds an entry in the listed Coral Distaff on Eclipse Day at Sandown.
Her Group 1 entry Matron Stakes at Leopardstown in September suggests connections are taking it slowly slowly with this daughter of Blue Point - no entry in next week’s Falmouth Stakes - but I am convinced she is at least up to listed level.
Keane was jockey up on the filly as soon as the entries were announced and both turf wins have been gained on good or faster ground. There is a possibility of a shower on Wednesday morning, but the forecast is set fair for the rest of the week.
Gunship (Three-year-old trained by James Ferguson)
Gunship was not guaranteed on breeding to appreciate the step up to a mile-and-a-half at Royal Ascot and so it proved with the dual tapeta winner fading from two out in the King George V Stakes.
It is possible that the Sea The Stars colt will always be a better horse on the all-weather, but he travelled as well as anything save winner Merchant at the Royal meeting. We will know more about his long-term prospects after his next start which is likely to be at Newmarket on the Friday of their July Cup meeting.
That bet365 sponsored contest is one of the hottest three-year-old 10f handicaps of the season and he needs ten to come out to be guaranteed a run, but he remains a colt with plenty more to come, and his next start should tell us whether his best days lie solely on an artificial surface.
The form of his previous three quarters of a length defeat of War Hawk at Newmarket has been franked by the runner up who has since won at Chester and Epsom. He would meet Gunship on 6lbs worse terms if they both faced the starter on the July course.
Midnight Tango (Two-year-old trained by Ed Walker)
Midnight Tango really ought to have won the listed Empress Stakes at Newmarket (July) at the end of June when Kieran Shoemark tried to come from last to first on the wrong side of the track. She passed six of her seven rivals in the last couple of furlongs, and I wonder if the jockey will consider it one that got away.
She has only got a modest Hamilton success to her name, but she is held in some regard by Ed Walker, and she is up to at least listed class. It would be no surprise if she landed a Group race between now and the end of the season with something like the Lowther at York’s Ebor meeting under consideration.
Charles Darwin (Two-year-old trained by Aidan O’Brien)
The “lads” at Ballydoyle nominated Albert Einstein as their Coventry horse over 6f at Royal Ascot after making it two out of two in the Marble Stakes at the Curragh. That left Charles Darwin as their Norfolk representative after his fluent Naas win at the minimum trip.
When Albert Einstein was a late defector ahead of the Coventry, connections gave Gstaad the green light to run on the opening day and left Charles Darwin in the Norfolk rather than “upgrade” him to the Coventry which is widely considered the premier juvenile race of the meeting.
Gstaad duly bolted up by 3l in the Coventry while Charles Darwin landed Thursday’s Norfolk by more than 2l hitting the line hard and giving every impression he would relish another furlong. Aidan O’Brien, it would appear, already has the three best juvenile colts in Europe and it will be fascinating to see how connections keep them apart.
If there is a batting order at present, you feel the yard consider 1) Albert Einstein 2) Charles Darwin and 3) Gstaad. Charles Darwin has the physique of a four-year-old let alone a two-year-old and a crack at the Group 1 Nunthorpe over 5f at York in August was muted given the weight-for-age allowance juveniles receive against their elders.
I would prefer the son of No Nay Never to step back up to six furlongs next time, but you get the impression that Albert Einstein will dictate and be campaigned as the yard’s number one until results say otherwise.
As a half-brother to the yard’s dual Group1 winning juvenile Blackbeard, Charles Darwin is not guaranteed to train on next term, but I am convinced he will win at the top table between now and the end of the season.
Aeronautic (Four-year-old trained by Joseph O’Brien)
The lightly- raced Aeronautic finished fifth in the 1m6f Copper Horse Stakes on the opening day of Royal Ascot for Joseph O’Brien who endured such a frustrating week.
The stable had four winners in Ireland on Saturday, and most of their Ascot team ran terrific races in defeat with six finishing in the first four of their respective races.
Aeronautic was no match for French Master at Ascot but ran a cracking race on the quickest ground he has encountered to date. He was beaten less than 4l in the Copper Horse over that mile-and-three-quarter trip and I wonder if connections will consider dropping him back in distance at some time given how well he travelled on that occasion.
After just six career starts the son of Gleneagles has a big race in him between now and the end of the season. The Ebor and Melbourne Cup were races connections may have had in mind for the gelding had he won at Ascot, but I am still convinced there is a big pot to be had with the gelding this term and he won’t go up the weights for finishing fifth.
Classic Encounter (Three-year-old trained by George Boughey)
Classic Encounter was weak in the market, then backed near the off at Newcastle on his first start for George Boughey and belated seasonal reappearance.
He was squeezed out at the start of that hot Novice contest before making good late headway into a never nearer fifth over a mile.
That should have blown the cobwebs away, and I expect him to be more forcefully ridden next time. He will get further than a mile and looks the type to win a maiden/novice on turf in the short turn while he may be eased a couple of pounds from his mark of 82.
He is very much one to keep onside in the months ahead.
Charming Whisper (Three-year-old trained by Charlie McBride)
I appreciate you can go skint backing horses who have been unlucky, but I feel Charming Whisper should have won his last four races for Newmarket handler Charlie McBride.
A winner of two-mile handicaps from marks of 72 and 74 in June, the gelding has met trouble in-running from his last couple of starts over the Bunbury Mile and at Brighton - not convinced he was in love with the track - and I feel he is more than capable of defying his current rating of 80.
A stiff mile on good or faster ground are his optimum conditions, and he is one to keep on the right side of in the short term.
Ride The Thunder (Two-year-old trained by Roger Varian)
He cost 400,000 gns as a yearling and went into my tracker when recovering £1700 of his purchase price when finishing second in a Doncaster Novice to God Of War - had previous experience - on debut over seven furlongs.
I appreciate that the Varian yard lacks consistency, but I will be disappointed if this inmate does not go one better next time. The step up to a mile is likely to suit going forward, although 7f looks his trip in the short term.
Jagwar (Five-year-old trained by Oliver Greenall & Josh Guerriero)
Jagwar ran with the choke out at Uttoxeter in their competitive 2m 4f handicap hurdle last weekend and a blunder two out put paid to his chance. He was beaten 10L at the line, but he travelled like a well-handicapped horse for much of the race and the hope is that he will eventually cut out the jumping issues that have blunted his progression to this point. He was dropped 1lb to a mark of 118 by the handicapper after Uttoxeter.
Better ground should suit this spring and I wonder if he might be worth a try back at the minimum trip. The conditional jockeys’ event at Aintree might enter calculations at next month’s National meeting.
Frederick Daly (7lb Claimer)
It is rare to be as impressed with a jockey, especially one who arguably won by too far, having his first ride under rules. Still, I was blown away by the quiet style of amateur Daly, who rode Golden Shot to win the amateur riders’ event at Ffos Las on Monday for Sir Mark Prescott. As Ian Bishop might have said: “Frederick Daly - remember the name”.
The 16-year-old was as polished in his postrace interview with Sky Sports Racing as he was in the saddle, and he suggested that he would spend little time as an amateur and would soon be turning professional.
His 7lb claim is likely to prove very popular when that happens. However, you get the impression that his father, who I remember as a former assistant trainer in Newmarket, and Sir Mark Prescott will manage his progression diligently as he works through his claim.
It might be daft to draw such conclusions after just the one ride, and he never had to get serious on the 29L winner, but there was just something about his style that suggested he was no ordinary amateur jockey. I, for one, will be monitoring his progress and will take note to see if other trainers book the jockey for similar contests in the short term.
Royal Rhyme (Three-year-old trained by Karl Burke)
Goodwood was largely a disappointment, with the rain putting a dampener on proceedings on and off the track. The week was summed up when the last three races were abandoned on the Saturday as the rain returned in spades.
On the track, the highlights were the continued brilliance of Paddington in the Sussex Stakes on Wednesday, but he must play second fiddle to Royal Rhyme, who showed himself to be a Group horse when running away with what is invariably a competitive three-year-old handicap.
The handicapper has seen fit to raise him 13lbs to a mark of 108 for his six-and-a-half length romp, while his winning time was three seconds quicker than that clocked by Al Husn in the Group 1 Nassau Stakes later in the card. His record on soft ground reads played three won three, with those successes coming by an aggregate of 12 lengths.
He remains one to keep on side granted soft ground this autumn. His stablemate Triple Time, likely to reappear at Deauville on Sunday, did us a huge favour when landing the Queen Anne at Royal Ascot at 33/1. Royal Rhyme is currently the same price for the Champion Stakes with Ladbrokes and Coral at Newmarket in October. Granted soft ground, he certainly won’t be that price if he faces the starter.
About Charlie McCann
Seven years as talkSPORT racing correspondent/tipster who recently spent over a decade as Director Of PR/Communications for a couple of leading igaming operators.
Failed cricketer - I regularly bore people, myself included, with the story about how I caught Imran Khan when 12th Man for Lancashire v Sussex as a youth - former National League Basketball player - once scored 72 points in a game - and lifelong and long-suffering Everton supporter.
Many of my old friends - and I mean old - would tell you I was a better footballer than a cricketer - but cricket was my first love.
Horse racing has long been my passion - ironic as I’ll never pass the vet again as my sports injuries have come back to bite - with my specialism handicap chases over jumps and 1m+ handicaps on the level.
I have met many of the great and good in the game and consider myself to have been very fortunate. Please always bet within your means and never chase your losses.
Be Lucky.
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