Fifteen points ahead and showing no signs of taking their foot off the gas.
Arctic
The dust has settled on another dramatic Cheltenham Festival.
Up until 4.45pm on Thursday it was shaping up as another vintage renewal, despite the desperately cold weather; the executive did an incredible job to get the racing going on Tuesday in arctic conditions and I thought the atmosphere might suffer in the freezing temperatures. Not a bit of it.
There seemed to be a siege mentality amongst the crowd and people flooded outside to give the usual roar ahead of the Supreme Novices Hurdle and what followed was three days of great racing and brilliant stories.
However, JT McNamara's fall in the Kim Muir on Thursday afternoon changed everything; I happened to be in the weighing room as news spread about his fall and will never forget the reaction and concern of his colleagues.
The jockeys handled the situation on Gold Cup Day with real class and sensitivity and JP McManus summed the situation up when he said he wanted to be happy winning races but couldn't be, and felt guilty for just being at the races.
Check out the latest Sky Bet racing odds
This from the man who ensured that McNamara's family were flown over to England at the earliest possible opportunity to be with John Thomas. A typical McManus gesture. The thoughts of the racing world continue to be with McNamara and his family.
I was wrong to oppose Hurricane Fly in the Champion Hurdle on Tuesday. It was a fine performance from a true champion but I still don't think he beat a vintage crop of hurdlers.
However, there are stars queuing up on the horizon after a quality Supreme, a stunning display from Our Conor in the Triumph and The New One winning a vintage renewal of the Neptune.
I think we'll be looking back at that race as one of the strongest in recent years and would be amazed if Rule The World, Pont Alexandre, Tarquin de Seuil and Chatterbox aren't all winning top races next season.
Special
Regular readers will know that I've been saying for a while that The New One was a bit special and
8/1 with Sky Bet is tempting on him winning next year's Champion Hurdle.
However, there are dangers galore as Our Conor (4/1 favourite for 2014 Champion Hurdle) looked like a freak in the Triumph Hurdle, while I can easily see My Tent Or Yours going close despite his defeat in the Supreme.
AP McCoy still has complete faith in the horse and we've seen how Nicky Henderson improved Binocular, Sprinter Sacre and Darlan after placing in the Festival opener. My Tent Or Yours (7/1) should be a good thing in a speed test like the Christmas Hurdle at Kempton but it's too early to write him off as a flat track bully.
Hurricane Fly is 11/2 to retain his title as a 10-year-old but just like the chasing division this year, I fully expect the young brigade to come to the fore. However, second-season chasers dominated the Gold Cup with Bobs Worth now top of the chasing tree and he will be very hard to knock off his perch.
Bobs Worth is the perfect Cheltenham Gold Cup horse. There's nothing flashy about him but he's a horse just made for this race. When he gets his head down it's hard to imagine any horse out-battling him up the famous hill. He's 3/1 to retain his crown and unlike the hurdling division, there look few superstars in the novice ranks that look capable of mounting a challenge.
It was alarming how superior the Irish staying novices were over their British counterparts. Boston Bob would have won the RSA in impressive fashion and
Sky Bet's 20/1 looks big for 2014 but I can't see myself deserting Bobs Worth next year.
After victories for Hurricane Fly, Simonsig, Quevega, Sprinter Sacre, At Fishers Cross and Bobs Worth, Sky Bet must have been thankful for the handicaps, which were fiendishly difficult and threw up numerous big price winners.
The one horse I will definitely be backing at Aintree is Emma Lavelle's Claret Cloak. I fancied him strongly for the County Hurdle but the rain scuppered his chance on Friday. He still travelled like a good horse and is one to keep in mind when we finally get some good ground.
