Tote – Scoop 6

Playing the Tote Ten To Follow competition is easy and requires participants to register a team of ten horses who they think will collect the most points throughout the season from a scoring formula that accounts for a number of factors such as the type of race, the odds and where the horse finishes in the race among other factors.

Choosing ten horses won’t be easy given the starting list counts more than 500 horses in the overall pool but it might pay to stick with those likely to contest the bigger races throughout the season and those with likely Cheltenham Festival or Aintree aspirations as races at these meetings are likely to offer up plenty of points for your Tote Ten to Follow Stable.

Entries close 11am on Saturday 13th November 2021.

Tote Ten to Follow Bonus Races & Points

Part of the scoring system of the Tote Ten To Follow falls on the bonus races – the biggest jumps races of the season – where there is extra points up for grabs and there are 21 Bonus races in all in the competition that are worth keeping a close eye on throughout the season.

In order of calendar date the bonus races are as follows:

• Betfair Chase (Haydock)
• Ladbrokes Trophy (Newbury)
• Tingle Creek Chase (Sandown)
• King George VI Chase (Kempton)
• Welsh Grand National (Chepstow)
• Savills Chase (Leopardstown)
• Irish Champion Hurdle (Leopardstown)
• Irish Gold Cup (Leopardstown)
• Betfair Hurdle (Newbury)
• Arkle Chase (Cheltenham)
• Champion Hurdle (Cheltenham)
• Queen Mother Champion Chase (Cheltenham)
• Festival Chase (Cheltenham)
• Stayers’ Hurdle (Cheltenham)
• Ryanair Chase (Cheltenham)
• Gold Cup (Cheltenham)
• Betway Bowl (Aintree)
• Aintree Hurdle (Aintree)
• Melling Chase (Aintree)
• Liverpool Stayers’ Hurdle (Aintree)
• Grand National (Aintree)

The key to victory on the Tote Ten to Follow may well lie in selecting those horses who are likely to take in one or more of the bonus races during their campaign.

There will be a ‘transfer window’ during the course of the competition with participants able to change up to two selections from their stable in the week leading up to the Cheltenham Festival which could be a godsend in getting rid of underachievers or those who have been injured in the lead up to the big spring Festivals.

When does Tote Ten to Follow start?

The Tote Ten To Follow gets underway on Saturday 13th November and stables must be finalised and submitted no later than 11am on the morning of 13th November. Prior to the commencement of the first day of the competition players can make unlimited changes to their line-up.

The competition runs until the last race of the Aintree Grand National Festival so there’s plenty of opportunities for collecting big points!

What can I win?

Entries cost £5 per stable and there’s no limit to how many stables a person can enter although those only playing the free game are limited to one entry only. There will be a guaranteed minimum total prize pool of £100,000 with prizes available for the top 500 places at the end of the competition while monthly prizes will also be awarded throughout the course of the competition.

For full details of the competition, scoring and prizes see here.

Tote Ten to Follow Tips

MINELLA INDO (Henry De Bromhead)

2021 Cheltenham Gold Cup winner who looked in need of the run in the recent Ladbrokes Champion Chase and will be a lot sharper as the season progresses. Expect him to feature in the top three mile contests in Ireland although his trainer hasn’t ruled out the King George VI Chase ahead of a defence of his Gold Cup crown.

HONEYSUCKLE (Henry De Bromhead)

Unbeaten over hurdles and the Irish star continues to prove doubters wrong with a record that now stands at a perfect twelve over hurdles including the 2021 Champion Hurdle where she annihilated oppostion before following up at Punchestown.

The Sulamani filly is likey to follow a similar path to that she traversed last season and she’ll surely amass an impressive points total making her a stable must-have.

BOB OLINGER (Henry De Bromhead)

Suffered his only defeat over hurdles at Gowran Park on debut back in November last year but he’s a perfect three from three since which includes a hugely impressive victory at Cheltenham over Gaillard Du Mesnil in the Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle where he cruised clear.

Jumping soundly and barely coming off the bit he looks a serious recruit this term to the chasing game and he should do well switching to the larger obstacles.

APPRECIATE IT (Willie Mullins) 

Unbeaten over hurdles since meeting with defeat in the 2020 Champion Bumper behind Ferny Hollow and there’s much more to come from the Jeremy gelding as he steps out of novice company this term.

He’s been nothing short of imperious in chalking up his four victories over hurdles, latterly demolishing Ballyadam by more than twenty lengths in the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle when last seen back in March and it will be interesting to see which way the master of Closutton goes with him – either keep him over hurdles as a possible Champion Hurdle candidate or send him chasing for which he should excel given he looks every inch a chaser.

Whichever way he goes he should pay his way.

ENERGUMENE (Willie Mullins)

A hugely exciting talent last season in Ireland although we were robbed of a potential showdown with Shishkin when Willie Mullins’ charge suffered a late injury and there are still debates raging whether he’d have downed Nicky Henderson’s latest chasing star had he arrived sound at Cheltenham.

We’ll likely have to wait to find out but the Denham Red gelding will surely be one to keep onside in this campaign.

KLASSICAL DREAM (Willie Mullins)

Looked the next superstar to roll off the Mullins conveyor belt of talent when sluicing to 2019 Supreme Novices’ Hurdle glory and readily followed up to maintain his unbeaten record at Punchestown although the following campaign was a write-off with just two starts where he only beat two rivals in those outings.

Mullins’ patience and perseverance with him has reaped dividends though and he was an impressive winner when stepped up to three miles at Punchestown in April and he could be set to take high order in the staying division this campaign.

FRODON (Paul Nicholls)

A stalwart of the Paul Nicholls camp who will be a regular in the big contests this term where he’ll surely continue to pay his way and the Nickname gelding appears to be getting even better with age given his reappearance victory in Ireland recently.

The Ditcheat star won three times from five starts last term which included victory in the King George VI Chase at Kempton and finishing with a deefat of Mister Fisher in the Oaksey Chase and he’s picked up where he left off with a Down Royal victory in October.

Expect him to be contesting some of the biggest races in the calendar and the tough and genuine performer looks set for another successful season.

MONMIRAL (Paul Nicholls)

Did nothing wrong over hurdles last term, winning all four starts following his move from fRance culminating in an impressive victory over Adagio at Aintree in the Grade One 4YO Juvenile Hurdle. 

That was a solid performance to beat the Triumph Hurdle runner-up although the Pipe runner did make a horlicks of the second last which all but sealed his defeat. However there was still plenty in the tank of Paul Nicholls’ charge that the mistake may not have made much difference to the result.

The Ditcheat runner should prove a valuable addition to any stable this term.

MY DROGO (Dan Skelton)

Outstanding novice hurdler last term who won all four starts in the wake of a debut defeat in a Cheltenham bumper, culminating in a ten lengths’ victory over Minella Drama at Aintree in the Grade One Mersey Novices’ Hurdle.

The Milan gelding has the scope to make his mark over fences this term where he looks every inch a chaser and he’s come a long way since that bumper defeat where he was sent off at a huge 50/1! 

His trainer thinks the world of him as a potential future Gold Cup horse and he is a hugely exciting chase prospect this term.

BUZZ (Nicky Henderson)

The Motivator gelding could be one to keep on the right side of this term given he showed plenty of progressive form in recent seasons following a move to Seven Barrows from Hughie Morrison’s yard. 

He raced five times over hurdles last term, winning at Ascot before finishing runner-up and fifth in successive Grade Three contests at Ascot and rounded off his season when beaten into second by Abacadabras at Aintree in the Aintree  Hurdle.

Nicky Henderson’s charge won the Cesarewitch on the flat back in October and he is open to progress over hurdles so he could make his mark in some of the Graded handicap hurdles throughout the season.

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