Jump racing's Mr Consistency all set for another glorious season

Jump racing's Mr Consistency was his habitually consistent self last season, achieving the annual objective of a century of winners and a million pounds in prize-money with plenty to spare and taking his time-honoured place in the top five of the table.

More of the same? No-one would bet a penny against it, although the reliable final-day finesse of Menorah will be absent following that star's retirement. There is a new star now, the Champion Hurdle prospect Defi Du Seuil, whose unbeaten progress towards Cheltenham glory last season turned, in the words of Hobbs himself, a decent season into a great one.

The four-year-old will form the arrowpoint of the cavalry charge this season, backed up by high-class handicappers Garde La Victoire, Rock The Kasbah and Village Vic, together with his likely replacement Gumball, who has yet to bite off more than he can chew in juvenile company. Behind these are a multitude of promising young horses – Hobbs's Sandhill yard being in a phase of first growth, with novices and bumper prospects aplenty, including the intriguing Jerrysback, Perform, Robbin' Hannon and Wait For Me.