ump racing needs its limited number of stars to keep turning up, so Tuesday brought some important news when Philip Hobbs announced that nothing seriously wrong has been found with Defi Du Seuil. You’ll recall that the star two-miler was thoroughly disappointing in the Shloer at Cheltenham last month, eventually being pulled up after starting as the 6-5 favourite. “He’s had plenty of tests since he ran. Nothing has come to light,” Hobbs told Nick Luck’s podcast. “He seems in good form, so I imagine we’ll be aiming towards the Clarence House.” Personally, I’m inclined to accept Defi’s flop as being at least partly influenced by stable form. The Hobbs yard is doing just fine now but had its worst October by number of winners since 1995. Defi may just not have been ready for the Shloer in mid-November, on rain-softened ground. It’s encouraging to think of him in the Clarence House at Ascot next month, not just because he won the race last season. We can hope for a serious mid-season clash, as the same race was named as Politologue’s target on Monday. “He is in the form of his life and the plan now is to head to the Clarence House,” Paul Nicholls was quoted as saying of his grey, who recently added the Tingle Creek to his Champion Chase victory. “You wouldn’t know he had a race last week. He was bouncing. We will just tick him over now and tune him up for Ascot now we know what we are doing with him.” Defi versus Politologue in the middle of January would go some way to allaying all those fears we’ve been hearing, that nothing matters except the Cheltenham Festival these days. Such fears are natural but overplayed, in my view. Having a strong focal point to the season is better than the alternative, as Flat racing would attest. Hobbs has more immediate concerns, as he must prepare Thyme Hill for Saturday’s Grade One, the Long Walk Hurdle, for which his horse is favourite after beating Paisley Park at Newbury last month. “Everything has gone particularly well since Newbury,” Hobbs said. “He’s been very healthy, very well and, most importantly, he worked well this morning. Richard Johnson schools him on Thursday morning and, all being all right, we’ll be there on Saturday. I don’t see any reason that the testing track and the very soft ground should be a problem.” Wednesday’s best bets Hobbs could get on the scoresheet at Newbury, where he fields St Barts (1.10) in the novice handicap chase. A winning pointer and two from four over hurdles, he looked right at home when switched to fences at Exeter and may well have won, had he not been thoroughly mucked about by a rival jumping across him in the straight. There was no shame in being pipped by Ofalltheginjoints, even though the winner regressed next time. St Barts jumped left at times, suggesting this track should be a better fit, thought 15-8 is not exactly generous. He is one of seven convincing favourites on the Newbury card, so it could be a slow day for the layers. Some risk attaches to Admiral’s Secret (1.55), who has refused to start more than once, including the last time he visited Ludlow, where he goes today. But he has also won there and was consistently good after Alan Johns got the ride last seaason. The 7-1 is not bad in a race in which every runner has at least one question to answer. Later, Broken Quest (3.05) is the latest ex-David Dennis horse to line up for Tom Symonds, which has become a useful system. He has a long absence to overcome and is only 9-2 but his 2018 form gives him a clear chance.