2009 TOTE TEN TO FOLLOW PICKS AND SUGGESTIONS

It's time again for the Tote Ten To Follow competition and we have a very interesting list of 400 horses to select from. There are a few must-have horses listed in there and we'll let you know the 5 bankers that you're going to need in there as well as 5 others that could be the make-or-break difference between you and winning your ten to follow pool. The five essential horses that you'll need in your Tote Ten To Follow selection are: Kauto Star, Denman, Binocular, Big Buck's and Master Minded. Kauto Star and Denman are both going to have a right go at the Cheltenham Gold Cup again this year, barring any outside interference. I don't think I need to wax lyrical on the benefits of having those two in your barn.Master Minded is another Paul Nicholls selection but you simply can't argue with his record. His form since January 5 is 1-1-1-2-1-1-1-1 and those results come in high-profile Grade 1 races. The six year-old bay gelding is exactly where he wants to be and is poised for a bumper year. Binocular was very lightly-raced last year and I expect him and Tony McCoy to storm back onto the scene in late 2009. This is a progressive horse, only 5 years old, with great connections and some very solid victories. With a couple smart entries, he could very easily be one of your main money winners. My 5 essential selections skew heavily towards French horses while my 5 wildcards are tilted towards Irish-bred runners. . My five other choices include Tricky Trickster, Punchestowns, Hurricane Fly, Madison Du Berlais and Celestial Halo. The Nigel Twiston-Davies-trained Tricky Trickster is a lightly-raced gelding who put in some very solid runs last season and will be enjoying a step up in class throughout the bulk of this year. He came second to the impressive Ping Pong Sivola at last year's Cheltenham Festival and I expect him to come storming out of the gates this year and hit a few more races than he did in previous seasons. Punchestowns will be competing at the Grade 1 level all year and he was bested twice by Big Buck's last season out. I think Mrs Judy Wilson's charge will be pointed towards higher-end races and should continue the partnership with BJ Geraghty. Hurricane Fly only had one real outing in 2009 when he won the Evening Herald Champion Novice Hurdle at Punchestown in late April. I expect this to be a festival horse this year and I also expect to see Ruby Walsh on top on a regular basis.Celestial Halo has been an each-way terror for me for quite a while up until his disappointing 11th in the Aintree Hurdle at the Grand National Festival. He put in some very admirable 2nd place finishes last year to the likes of Punjabi and Binocular, and I expect Paul Nicholls and Co. to build on those solid performances. This is a progressive horse who will be targeted at high-profile Grade 1 action. Finally, we have Madison Du Berlais, an aging French runner who can still mix it up with the best of them. The David Pipe-trained gelding won the totesport Bowl last year and also pipped Denman to win the Grade 2 Levy Board Chase. This is the wildest of my wildcards as I expect him to compete with the crème de la crème.