THERE seemed to be more than the usual number of upsets over the course of the festive period this year, and near the top of the list was the 16/1 victory of Simply Ned in the Paddy’s Rewards Club Chase on the second day of the Leopardstown meeting (day one and St Stephen’s day action in Britain having been dealt with in last week’s Time Will Tell).

Perhaps that is harsh on a horse who also won the race 12 months earlier, though only after the intervention of the stewards, but this latest win did look extremely unlikely for much of the way, with the runner-up Footpad trading at 1.01 and Simply Ned at the equivalent of 169/1 in running.