Gavin Sheehan and Bryony Frost were brilliant at Cheltenham – while this top jockey has worse dress sense than me!

RHYTHM and comfort zone are two factors in jumps racing which are never recognised enough by us punters.

Over jumps, horses that get into a rhythm often get into a comfort zone, and indirectly get their opponents out of one.

PAGavin Sheehan gave Fugitif a great ride on Saturday at Cheltenham[/caption]

That’s what happened in Saturday’s Virgin Bet December Gold Cup at Cheltenham, in which Fugitif denied Il Ridoto by a narrow margin.

Both the first two were given perfect rides by their jockeys, with Bryony Frost getting a great tune out of Il Ridoto and Gavin Sheehan doing all that us Fugitif supporters wanted on the victor.

Basic analysis clearly told all of us that Il Ridoto was going hard – too hard – in the early half of the race as he was harassed by Frero Banbou. But there’s much more to it all than that.

So how is it possible Il Ridoto ends up second and Frero Banbou third? That boils down to comfort zones.

There were plenty in the race that should have been able to close in. But what actually happened is the front two got most of their rivals out of sync, and they started making mistakes in trying to keep up.

Essentially, in the end most of the field was too tired to do what we would normally expect, and Fugitif probably should have won more easily than he did.

I’d suggest it showed just how difficult Fugitif is to win on, and I wouldn’t be thinking about him in a similar race next time even though he was my Nap of the weekend in the paper Saturday.

Gavin Sheehan worked wonders on the winner. He’s in great form this term and showing everyone what he can do. He might be the pin-up boy of the jumps weighing room, but Sheehan has the ability to match his charm.

Sam Twiston-Davies also has charm, and you rarely he find him without a smile on his face when you meet him at the racecourse.

Most read in Horse Racing

TEMPLEGATE TIPS

I had a 29-1 treble on Monday and Tuesday’s NAP looks a natural for fences

BREADWINNER

I turned £2.50 into £29k but my girlfriend’s celebrating after promise I made

WATER JUMP

Racecourse in ‘stunning’ location becomes home for swans after track is flooded

‘JOKE’

Sour end to iconic jockey’s career as ‘fun police’ fine him for winning final race

ALL CHANGE

Big swings in King George market after Gordon Elliott triggers panic

FIVER FLUTTER

This 4-1 pick ran in a hot Cheltenham bumper and makes debut for new trainer

But I know that Twiston-Davies is incredibly competitive. He wants to be battling with Sean Bowen and Harry Cobden for the jockeys’ championship and gets frustrated when his talents are not noted.

This column has noted them for a long time, and he was brilliant on Broadway Boy in the fabulous and unique Favourite From The Sun Now Daily Handicap Chase.

I loved seeing a novice put it up to the established chasers like Protektorat, and Broadway Boy’s head carriage was a joy as he stretched for the line.

It was a terrific ride from Twiston-Davies for his old man Nigel, and brother Willie Twiston-Davies is also very much part of this story as he does much of the work at home.

That said, surely any horse in the Twisty yard will think twice of winning if seeing Sam and Willie the next morning in a dressing gown and onesie is their surprise the next morning. Even by my dressing standards Sam has smashed the pink pyjama look here!

The Twiston-Davies brothers showed off their PJs with Broadway Boy!

Speaking of jockeys, Harry Cobden was just piling on the pressure to Sean Bowen before the latter banged in a treble at Southwell on Sunday.

Olly Murphy is proving the key handler for Bowen, and while the pair had disappointment with Thunder Rock at Cheltenham they also enjoyed a decent victory via Go Dante.

Cobden’s issue in closing in is that he relies on his boss Paul Nicholls banging winners in at the major fixtures, while Bowen can run riot on the quieter days.

It means we are all set for a good battle between the pair. For me Bowen has built up a big enough lead to hold on – he’s 30-odd in front at the time of writing – but it could still get interesting. Both are fine ambassadors.

This is, of course, the final Monday Yeeehaaa before Christmas. I hope you all enjoy the festive fun and gear up for all the coverage in the Favourite Boxing Day.

Are team are ready to sort out the big race for you and after Truckers Lodge and Fugitif I’m hoping for another big-race success. Yeeehaaa!

FREE BETS – GET THE BEST SIGN UP DEALS AND RACING OFFERS

Commercial content notice: Taking one of the bookmaker offers featured in this article may result in a payment to The Sun. 18+. T&Cs apply. Begambleaware.org

Remember to gamble responsibly

A responsible gambler is someone who:

Establishes time and monetary limits before playingOnly gambles with money they can afford to loseNever chases their lossesDoesn’t gamble if they’re upset, angry or depressedGamcare – www.gamcare.org.ukGamble Aware – www.begambleaware.org