Riches can be found up the Creek

Young William bagged us the easiest portion of profit we shall ever make when breaking all records to land the No1 slot in the charts, but I doubt the Pop Idol will be spending any of his fortune at the Cheltenham Festival next week.

This column had of course backed the winner of the ITV talent contest to have a No1 single some time this year at 1-2 with Paddy Power.

Three days at the Prestbury Park track for the Festival is enough to excite you more than a rendezvous with Cat Deeley and, in Frenchman's Creek, we have a real Trojan horse to go to war with in the William Hill National Hunt Handicap Chase on Tuesday.

Relatively unexposed over fences, this eight-year-old has already shown he handles the track well with a win there last November and he remains in prime form following a good place behind Moor Lane in the Great Yorkshire Chase.

The ground on that occasion was a touch too soft, but granted better conditions he looks an each-way player at the 12-1 generally available.

The Cheltenham Gold Cup brings us another chance to fleece the bookmakers and I am convinced that Behrajan will not be out of the first three.