It was nice to have a winner at Ffos Las on Saturday, even though I didn’t manage to win back-to-back Welsh Champion Hurdles.

I flagged The New One as the one we all had to beat in last week’s blog. He’s a fantastic horse and it was a privilege for me to ride him at Cheltenham last December.

Ffos Las on Saturday

I was pleased with Woolstone One in the mares’ hurdle on her first start for Emma Lavelle. She had some decent bumper form and handled the soft ground really well.

I’m not sure what the plan is with her, but she should keep progressing on soft ground and hopefully has a good winter to look forward to.

It was too soft for Ozzie The Oscar in the Welsh Champion Hurdle. I was quite happy with him turning in, but the ground found him out towards the end.

He could stay over hurdles or go novice chasing. We’ll definitely be trying to find some nicer ground, though.

The New One put up another of his gutsy performances and it’s not easy to win a handicap off a mark of 160.

He’s one of the best British hurdlers around and I’m sure they’ll target similar races to last season.

Zac Baker did really well and was understandably thrilled. It’s great for a young jockey to get such a big win for his boss in a decent contest like that.

Bramble Brook was a little disappointing in the handicap chase. He travelled well, but was struggling from three out and the ground might have been a bit soft for him.

That said, there are no real excuses and he’s still looking for his first win.

I would advise you all to keep a close eye on Al Dancer – he seemed like a really nice type.

He was beaten by a horse who had experience in point-to-points and I’d be very surprised if he doesn’t go and win his bumper.

I didn’t have a ride in the beginners’ chase but I was impressed with West Approach. He did well on his first start over fences and I’m sure he’ll have bigger and better targets later on in the season.

Kempton on Sunday

There wasn’t much to report from my three rides at Kempton on Sunday.

Paul Webber’s New Agenda ran a nice race in the Listed hurdle, but he wasn’t quite good enough to match Amour De Nuit.

Braavos did the same at Stratford. He travelled nicely and then stopped quite quickly. We’ll check him out with the vets, he needs a good MOT and might be better on a stiffer track than Kempton.

Upbeat Cobbler seems in the grip of the handicapper and is another who would probably want a slightly slower, more testing track.

What the meeting showed is that Paul Nicholls has his horses in really good form. Even though he says he can’t win the trainer’s title, he’ll be making his presence felt and won’t be giving up easily.

This week

I’m looking forward to Sternrubin having his first start over fences at Exeter on Tuesday.

He’s always been a very good horse and tries hard. Going right-handed will help him, but he doesn’t face an easy task with Yanworth in there.

It’s always a pleasure to be back at Cheltenham again and I’ll update you on my Saturday rides on Friday.

Aidan O’Brien

To equal the Group One record is an amazing achievement and there are plenty of chances for him to break the record before the end of the year. I’m sure he’ll be running a few at Doncaster on Saturday in the Racing Post Trophy.

He’s a brilliant trainer and the breeding programme that Coolmore have built up is second to none and the envy of the world.

I’d like to congratulate Aidan and all the connections who have been involved in making history.