Reve De Sivola

I was really sad to hear about Reve De Sivola passing away at Kelso on Saturday. He’s been a massive part of Nick and Jane Williams’ lives for a long time and you have to feel for everyone involved with the horse.

The main thing is to remember him for all those great wins and his toughness. There aren’t many horses that can stay at the top level for such a long time.

He was a fantastic horse with a great attitude. You have to be very good to win three Long Walk Hurdles.

I’ve been lucky enough to ride some very good staying hurdlers over the years. They need to have class, but it’s their attitude that makes them win those races.

He was in a similar mould to Mighty Man and Anzum. They all had the right attitude and Reve De Sivola was definitely one of the best staying hurdlers I’ve ever ridden.

Copper Kay back to form

I was really pleased with Copper Kay in the mares’ final. She ran very well and was trying to concede 6lbs to the winner who had won a Listed bumper in Ireland earlier in the season.

There were no excuses, she was just beaten by a better one on the day.

Fingers crossed she’ll stay in training next year and we’ll see her in all the good mares’ races next season.

More immediately there’s a handicap at Cheltenham next month that could suit her.

It was great to see her jump and travel well, I’m sure she’s now back to her best.

Rest of Newbury

The ground really dried out on Saturday which was a massive help for Imperial Presence.

He had a wind operation over the winter and that seems to have done the trick. He put it all together and ran his best race for a long time.

We thought he was an exciting prospect earlier in his career, so hopefully he can now really fulfil his potential.

You’ll only see him when the ground is decent, but there should be plenty of races that will suit him this spring. He won’t have a problem stepping up slightly in trip.

Gala Ball also ran well. The blinkers definitely sharpened him up and this was a much better performance than last time.

He showed that he stays two and a half miles and he handled the better ground well.

Philip Hobbs' horses ran well over the weekend which bodes well for the big spring festivals.

Ten Sixty got the job done on Friday. He has the ability but is a bit of a slow learner. It was nice to see the penny drop and hopefully he’s got plenty of room for progression now.

Incredible Arrogate

They were racing for peanuts out in Dubai.

Arrogate was hugely impressive in the Dubai World Cup. To have as bad a start as that and still win, he must be incredibly talented and is surely unbeatable on dirt.

It was good to see Jack Hobbs win for the UK. It’s such an international event now, with winners coming from all over the world.

Such bad luck for Tommy Dowling

Tommy Dowling had a nasty fall at Newbury on Friday, fracturing one of his vertebrae.

He broke his back at Fontwell last year and he’s desperately unlucky to do it again less than a year later.

When you’re only getting going, an injury like that is very hard to take. He’s a really nice young lad and I’d like to wish him a speedy recovery.

Hoping to get Philip’s clean sweep

The only course in Britain that Philip hasn’t had a winner is Sedgefield, but we’re hoping to give him the clean sweep on Wednesday.

I’m due to ride Little Miss Poet who got turned over at Exeter last time but had previously won well at Market Rasen. She should have a good chance.

Defi Du Seuil

Philip has confirmed that Defi Du Seuil will head to Aintree next week for the juvenile hurdle. He has come out of the race really well and has been a model of consistency all season.

He’s a very tough horse and should be hard to beat. I’m sure Barry Geraghty will be looking forward to getting back on him again.