The horses are ready and there is plenty of good action all around the country. We have Ascot on Saturday, lots of racing on Boxing Day, and then into the new year with Cheltenham, so it’s all hands on deck.

We do tweak our routine slightly to make sure everyone gets a good amount of time to enjoy the festive period.

Everyone will come in and ride out on Sunday, and then we can hopefully give them a day off on Christmas Day.

We’ve got our Christmas party on Sunday evening, which is a good opportunity to celebrate a year in which we’ve had some nice winners. Hopefully there’ll be a few more to come.

Ishkara Lady made a very nice winning start at Plumpton on Monday. You never expect them to go and win on debut. You go there to find out, so to go and win by 15 lengths was very exciting.

And then we had Delila Du Sueil at Exeter on Thursday.

She won on her first start for over a year having come over from France, and will hopefully work out to be a nice recruit to the chasing ranks.

Ascot on Saturday

Hell’s Kitchen  and Overtown Express  both line up in the 2m2f handicap chase (13:50).

We took Hell’s Kitchen out of Cheltenham last Saturday as the rain didn’t arrive in time, but he looks set to get his preferred conditions here.

It’s been 12 months since he last won, on Boxing Day at Kempton, and we haven’t seen an awful lot from him since then, so we’re on a bit of a retrieval mission.

Overtown Express is making his seasonal reappearance and will relish conditions.

He’s always been a horse that goes well fresh, which he proved by winning on his return at Newbury this time last year, and he could run a big race off top-weight.

He’s just 3lbs higher than when winning at Newbury and I think he can definitely be competitive.

If The Cap Fits will take on the mighty Buveur D’Air in the Christmas Hurdle (14:30) at Kempton on Boxing Day, while Momella is going for the mares’ handicap hurdle (13:55) the day after, so Unowhatimeanharry  is flying the flag for us in the JLT Hurdle (14:25) on Saturday.

He has run in the last two renewals of the race, winning it in 2016 and then finishing third last year.

He may now be a 10-year-old but he’s an awful lot better than he was 12 months ago. He retains plenty of ability and that all-important winning spirit, which is all you can ask for.

It was great to get him back to winning ways on the last day at Newbury, and though he’s going to have to step up again here, the slow ground is a real positive and the cheekpieces, which worked well last time, stay on.

Call Me Lord is the unknown quantity. He’s stepping up to three miles for the first time and it’s his first run of the season, but that shouldn’t be a problem for the all-conquering Nicky Henderson yard.

Agrapart will relish conditions, while I think this race has been the focus for connections of Sam Spinner, so he could bounce back.

The Last Samuri  makes his debut for us in the Silver Cup (15:00). He’s 10, and hasn’t won for a few years, but I’m very happy with what he’s showed us at home.

We swerved Aintree two weeks ago and took him for a racecourse gallop instead, which should have him spot on for this.

He still retains plenty of ability, though tomorrow will be a tough ask carrying top-weight on slow ground.

We’re going there to find out a bit more about him, but he’s certainly ready for the race and hopefully he can be competitive.

Thomas Patrick is an interesting runner after being well-backed but not firing at Newbury, and as you’d expect with a valuable three-mile handicap chase at Ascot on a Saturday, it’s going to be hugely competitive.

Acting Lass was a potential runner in this race but we’ve decided to keep him back for Cheltenham on New Year’s Day, which I’ll provide an update on nearer the time.

Jolly’s Cracked It  is going for the big handicap (15:35) that he won three years ago.

I must say, it does feel like quite a long time ago now and it was just great to have him back in the winners’ enclosure at Ascot last time.

He’s come out of the race really well.

The handicapper was clearly quite impressed with the performance and he’s up 9lbs, but he’s shown before that he can carry the weight and the slower ground will suit.

He’d have to put in a career best, but Noel Fehily was very pleased with the way he made a winning return after over 700 days off the track and we’re hoping he could step up again.

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