Diary - Monday 10th March 2008

Stratford is always a fantastic way to start off Cheltenham week, it is probably the best days racing at the track in the whole year. I am sure some of the Irish boys will be feeling a bit ill if they came over on the ferry, who would have wanted to have been on a boat during last night?! We have not had as much rain as anticipated and the wind seems to have dropped so we can be hopeful of a good days racing. Once again through the generosity of John and Anne Poynton who sponsor a race at Stratford today, Urban Warrior was not our first choice to run in the race but unfortunately Kickahead was just not at his best today. With our three other runners Fredo, Its Blue chip and Terminate all in good form it would be great to have a winner today.

We are not busy at Cheltenham this week, Bambi De Lorme will run in the Grand Annual on Friday. He is in good form but is not well suited by the current wet conditions he must have genuine good ground to be seen at his best. Michael Murphy our Conditional Jockey will take the ride. Tagula Blue is a likely runner in the Coral Cup on Wednesday, he will appreciate the rain at the venue. Jockey plans are yet to be finalised. Callisto Moon ran a blinder to finish fifth in the Imperial Cup on Saturday it is a small possibility he will make the line up for the Fred Winter on Tuesday although rain would be against him. This weeks meeting is a must for National Hunt enthusiasts and whether you are at the track or watching on your television I hope you enjoy the spectacle as much as we will.