No sign of the regulars, so who will challenge Gemirande in the New Year's Day feature handicap at Cheltenham?

A complete lack of horses younger than eight in this race may be explained by the date, as all racehorses aged a year overnight. Yet looking at this race's recent history, that has been no barrier to younger horses taking the prize.

Four of the last nine winners have been celebrating their seventh birthday. Shakem Up'arry last year became the first veteran winner since 2007. None of this year's nine are younger than eight.

Age is an indicator, but not the signal itself. This race, in common with most handicaps, goes to the least exposed horses. Runners in this race such as Lisnamult Lad (five chase runs), Springwell Bay (three chase runs) and Colonel Harry (morning favourite for the Coral Gold Cup last time) make this a worthy Premier handicap. They just happen to be a little older than average for horses with their profile.