Saturday at Haydock

The speed of the race didn’t quite suit Whatmore in the novices’ hurdle and a few others had a bit more toe than him at the finish.

We will look to step him up to two and a half miles for his next run and I’d be hopeful that would bring about a good amount of improvement.

Russe Blanc was travelling OK before he made his mistake. It was very hard work on that ground and he just got a bit tight at a few fences and that’s what cost him.

Verni felt really good three out but he stopped pretty quickly and it was very testing ground.

Thankfully, he has come out of the race fine and should improve for the run. I wouldn’t be giving up on him.

Elsewhere, you had to be impressed by Bristol De Mai’s victory in the Betfair Chase. He showed that, when he has conditions in his favour, he is a seriously talented horse.

Despite losing by 57 lengths, I wouldn’t give up on Cue Card. The ground was very sticky at Haydock and it looked as if he found it really hard work.

I don’t think it was a bad run and I would expect to see him perform better when he has conditions more in his favour later on in the season.

Defi Du Seuil at Ascot

All of us were a bit shocked at Defi Du Seuil’s performance on Saturday in all honesty. He had been in great form at home and we were hopeful of a big run.

There is nothing amiss with him and I’m sure there will be better days ahead. A lot of Philip’s [Hobbs] horses have improved bucket loads for their first run and hopefully he will too.

Sunday at Uttoxeter

After a frustrating few days after injuring my hip, it was great to get back in the swing of things with three winners at Uttoxeter on Sunday.

On the way to the course, I thought Woolstone One was my best chance of a winner. However, she was beaten by a better horse on the day.

She will probably be stepped up to two and a half miles and that should suit her much better.

Pennywell loved the conditions at Uttoxeter and won nicely. Fingers crossed she can build on the performance as the season goes on.

Krackatoa King was definitely one who benefited from his first run at Wetherby.

He is a real mud lover and jumped and travelled really well throughout the race. He’s a big horse and it was a gusty display.

I thought Ice Cool Champs was really impressive. The step up in trip suited him well and he really enjoyed the testing conditions.

He stayed on strongly and having won a point-to-point in the past, there is every chance he could go chasing now.

Samcro

Over in Ireland, Samcro was incredibly impressive and looks a horse with a bright future. He is in the right hands and is doing his talking on the course.

Josephine Gordon

Finally, a big congratulations to Josephine Gordon who brought up her 100^th winner over the weekend.

It’s always one of my biggest goals each season and considering she only lost her claim last year, it’s a very impressive achievement.