EVEN with the weather playing havoc with fixtures, and in the immediate aftermath of a glut of high-class racing post-Christmas, there was plenty to catch our attention as 2025 got underway.

Not every card staged a bumper, but those that did produced a variety of winners. Top of the pops was a listed bumper success for Henrietta Knight, and it came with a four-year-old who is related to one of the best chasers of recent seasons, though he is sadly on the easy list for the foreseeable future. The horse in question is Fastorslow (Saint Des Saints), and his dam is a half-sister to the dam of the Knight-trained Precious Metal.