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Latest Profit & Loss Figures
I thought we were unfortunate to record a loss on Grand National week, but week-ending Sunday, 19 April, despite four winning days on the week, produced a loss of just £1.23, and I felt that was rather fortunate with Pleasington's 15/2 Friday success and Market House (3/1 Sunday) both snatching victory from the jaws of defeat.
The main damage was done on Wednesday with five losers producing a six-point loss (one recommended each-way), although Saturday was also disappointing.
Having suggested Convergent was one of my horses to follow for the flat season and then not recommending him in the John Porter was hard to swallow.
Latest Profit & Loss for the week ending Sunday, 19 April 2026
- Cumulative profit since August 1, 2022: +£1,551.34
- Week ending Sunday, 19 April: -£1.23
- April 2026 to date: +£4.82
- Year 2026 to date: +£161.13
- 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, 25 April
1:45pm Sandown - Minella Yoga & Kadastral
Four-year-olds, who receive 8lbs from their elders, have won three of the last five renewals of the valuable novice handicap hurdle. I have backed two in the race. One trained by 14-time champion trainer Paul Nicholls, the juvenile MINELLA YOGA, and the other KADASTRAL in the care of his former assistant and this season's record-breaking champion trainer Dan Skelton.
Minella Yoga has won three of his four starts over hurdles, his sole reverse coming in a Cheltenham Grade 2 on soft ground back in January. He missed both major spring Festivals to wait for this valuable prize, although he did land an egg and spoon race at Taunton earlier in the month, for which the handicapper raised him 4lbs.
Minella Yoga did beat Act Of Innocence – runner-up in the Turners' Novice Hurdle at Cheltenham last month – at Newbury in December and is an exciting prospect. He remains potentially well treated from a mark of 132.
Kadastral did not look to get home over 2m4f at Uttoxeter on soft ground on Midlands National Day, although connections suggested it was the soft ground. His Bumper win came on good ground, his sole hurdles success on good to soft, and I thought he travelled like a class act at Uttoxeter until two out.
Circumstances dictate that I must write this Thursday evening. The 7/1 Minella Yoga and 4/1 Kadastral, with the sponsors, looked more than fair.
Recommendations: Minella Yoga - 7/1 with bet365 & Kadastral - 9/2 with bet365
2:55pm Sandown - Thistle Ask (Nap)
It will be some sight watching THISTLE ASK (Nap) and Solness go head-to-head on the lead in the Grade 1 Bet365 2m Celebration Chase with Jonbon, JPR One and Mirabad stalking and hoping the two leaders cut their own throats.
Preference is for Thistle Ask, who must go right-handed, has been laid out for the race and will relish the ground. I thought he was outstayed by Jonbon over an additional furlong on good to soft ground – certainly not soft - in the Victor Chandler Chase at Ascot when last seen back in January.
The winning time will be no more than 3min 50secs this afternoon, whilst it was around fifteen seconds more at Ascot, and that will suit Thistle Ask, whose fast, fluent jumping has seen him rise 45lbs in the weights since joining Dan Skelton. If he won this Grade 1 prize, it would almost be symbolic of what has been a quite extraordinary season for the yard.
Solness had a hard race at Aintree and may prefer to go left-handed, but he will probably be carried out on his shield again. Jonbon has won this race twice previously, but he looks in need of further these days. I did not like the way connections pulled out Fact To File from the Ryanair last month to give Jonbon a better chance of a Festival winner.
It will be interesting to see what the racing media say to Willie Mullins and J P McManus when Fact To File rocks up in the Punchestown Gold Cup on similar ground next week.
Recommendation: Thistle Ask (Nap) - 2/1 with Coral
3:30pm Sandown - Transmission (Each-Way)
Havaila heads the market for the bet365 Gold Cup – a moderate renewal – and a repeat of his Plumpton win last time over today's 3m4f+ trip will make him very hard to beat, given he tanked his way around and could be called the winner throughout the final circuit.
Last year's winner, Resplendent Grey, must have every chance of following up despite being 10lbs higher in the weights this afternoon. He never took to the first-time blinkers in the Ultima last time, and Olly Murphy reverts to cheekpieces this afternoon.
Rock My Way finished in front of Resplendent Grey, In D'Or and TRANSMISSION (Each-Way) in last year's NH Chase at the Cheltenham Festival, and he ran a cracker when second in the Midlands National last time. That form has already been franked, but Joe Tizzzard's last three runners – yes, only a small sample size – have run very poorly, and I backed Transmission for the corresponding race twelve months ago and have supported him again.
I couldn't believe my ears when I heard Transmission was a late withdrawal on account of the ground in the corresponding race last year, as I am convinced, he wants a staying trip, going right-handed on decent ground. He got such conditions at Musselburgh when beating Rock My Way in a first-time visor from an 8lbs lower mark in February and ran well at Plumpton behind Havaila last time.
He was given an excellent ride at Plumpton by talented 7lbs claimer Harry Atkins, but was never a threat to Havaila. Racing clockwise will suit, and he gets the each way vote at 16/1 across the board four places.
Recommendation: Transmission (Each-Way) - 16/1 with bet365 (4 places)
5:15pm Sandown - Gnomon (Each-Way)
Dan Skelton's Listentoyourheart failed to stay 3m at Kelso last time and would be a fitting conclusion to the 2025/26 jumps season as he drops back in distance in the concluding 2m4f novices' handicap hurdle.
The vote, however, goes to the Toby Lawes-trained GNOMON (Each-Way), who had the option of the 2m handicap on the card, but connections have opted for the additional half mile on this good ground.
The selection is a dual flat winner over 1m6f – currently rated 85 – and got off the mark over hurdles at the fourth attempt when beating Wednesday's fortunate Ludlow winner The Egyptian Ginge (rated 115) by a length-and-a-half without coming off the bridle.
The selection looks fairly treated from a rating of 120, although it should be noted that the stable saddle two and Kevin Brogan – who has ridden the selection on all four starts – is aboard Surrey Lord, who is more exposed than his stablemate but is another to consider in a terrific end to a Skelton-dominated Jumps season.
Recommendation: Gnomon (Each-Way) - 5/1 with bet365 (4 places)
6:15pm Doncaster - Naga
NAGA looked a filly on the rise when landing her last two starts as a three-year-old, and she can make a winning return stepped up to 10f for the first time by John & Thady Gosden.
The filly is by Dubawi out of a mare who won up to 12f, and she looked as if she was ready for an additional couple of furlongs at Newmarket last time out, for which she has been raised 5lbs. The yard has made a terrific start to the season, and the four-year-old is two from three since handicapping, with the reverse coming on soft ground.
The three-year-old Golden Muse has won two of her three starts and makes her handicap debut from a mark of eighty, which looks fair. She scored over 12f at Southwell last time and is likely to make the running dropping back down in distance this evening for Marco Botti.
The classic generation receive 17 lbs from their elders at this time of the season, and Naga will do well to give the three-year-olds weight and a beating, but I think she is potentially a 90+ filly over this trip, and she gets the vote in a valuable and fascinating fillies' handicap.
Recommendation: Naga - 11/4 with bet365
*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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