Today is when all lovers of jump racing enter the pupa stage. We hereby issue a warning to all known associates that, for the next 12 days, we will be unavailable for social engagements or even coherent communication on any subject. You may want to see No Country For Old Men or discuss the relative merits of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. We do not. We have far better things to do.

Do not mistake immobility for inaction. Inside our protective cocoon, we are moving fast. It started a fortnight ago when the fields for the championship races at the Cheltenham Festival took more coherent shape. Since then, we have been researching, reassessing and reflecting. We are reaching tentative conclusions.

The process accelerated last Saturday when the first bookmaker announced the non-runner, no-bet concession for the meeting. The safeguard of getting your stake back if your selection does not line up in your chosen race is a powerful catalyst to feverish activity. Our work only becomes more frenzied today when the weights for the handicap races are announced.

Bet365, Betfred, Betdirect, Better, Boylesports and Paddy Power are all offering non-runner, no bet for all Festival races. Stan James offer that concession in grade one races only. It is prudent to note the absence of Ladbrokes, Hills, Coral and the Tote in that line-up.

Opportunities for multiple entries for the same horse have increased since the Festival was expanded from three to four days in 2005. With less than a fortnight to go, many horses prominently positioned in the ante-post betting still have their feet in more than one camp. At least punters with the advance funds or credit now have the chance to cover all options.

Leg Spinner is a prime contender for such attentions. Tony Martin, his trainer, can upset an ante-post market by the mere presence of his name. This horse has four Cheltenham entries and is already what the Americans would call the “wise guy” selection for this year's Festival.

“His target depends on the weight he gets, what horses look likely to run and the availability of jockeys,” Martin said. “That said, the Coral Cup is the obvious one for him. His alternative would be the Albert Bartlett Novices' Hurdle. He's entered on the all-weather at Dundalk on Friday, but it's more likely I'll gallop him at a racecourse this weekend.”

Other imponderables include Mossbank and Tamarinbleu, respectively entered in the totesport Gold Cup and the Seasons Holidays Queen Mother Champion Chase as well as the Ryanair Chase. The trainers of both are determinedly keeping their options open, although you might think that Michael Hourigan blinked before David Pipe.

“I don't know, but I need to make the right decision,” Hourigan said. “The Gold Cup is on my mind: it looks a match and might cut up. Mossbank is owned by the sponsors of the Ryanair. They have not had a runner in their race yet and would like one. It's a grade one now. I'd say it's the more likely.”

“We won't decide yet,” Pipe said. “It depends on the ground - if it was more testing, we'd think about the Champion Chase - and the latest news. Look at Jack The Giant missing the Ryanair. Unfortunately, there will be more non-runners like him and that can change the outlook of races. I'd rather win the Ryanair than finish second in the Champion Chase.”

So it is left to punters to make their own decisions about a horse's requirements, which is always the best rule anyway. For me, concession time was the signal to back Sentry Duty, one of Nicky Henderson's army of good reasons to dissuade Mick Fitzgerald from ever retiring. I've backed him for the Anglo Irish Bank Supreme Novices' Hurdle, not the more stamina-sapping option of the Ballymore Properties Novices' Hurdle.

But that's just one opinion. As my phone rings out and my e-mails go unanswered, I suspect I'll have many more when emerging blinking into the light on Tuesday week.