On the whole, I had a pretty good weekend. It’s always a bit frustrating to have a few seconds but riding three winners usually makes up for it!

My aim is to be champion jockey again and so the most important thing is to keep the winners coming in.

There are plenty of good horses that will be running over the upcoming busy period and hopefully they can all run well and keep things moving in the right direction.

Newbury on Saturday

Thomas Patrick did really well from the front in the handicap chase.

We were a bit disappointed with him at Exeter, but he came back with a cut that day which probably meant he didn’t give his true running.

He jumped really well on Saturday and I’d like to think there is plenty more to come.

He’s definitely one to note for next season. There are lots of valuable staying chases that would really suit him, maybe something like the Welsh National.

He’s just a six-year-old so you’ve got to pretty hopeful that he can improve again and we’ve got plenty of exciting days left to look forward to with him.

Tom Lacey’s horses are in flying form and he is trainer going places.

I was happy with the way Petticoat Tails ran on in the mares’ finale.

The experience will have been really good for her and I’d like to think she’ll improve as a result of it.

She’s likely to run again this season on better ground which will hopefully be more to her liking.

Kayf Adventure is a horse going the right way. He showed signs on Saturday that he will be back winning again soon.

He likes soft ground, so if the bad weather continues, there’s a valuable handicap at Ayr next month which we could look at.

I think Article Fifty ran into a pretty smart sort of Nicky Henderson’s, but I was happy with the way the horse ran.

He’s definitely one for the notebook for next season.

Imperial Presence ran a nice ran on his first run back. We’ll see the best of him on better ground over the next few months, so hopefully he can get a win on the board before the end of the season.

Carlisle on Sunday

Pc Dixon ran nicely on Sunday. Unfortunately the ground dried out a bit more than would have been ideal for him.

In contrast, Pearl Of The West enjoyed the better ground.

She’s a mare that’s going the right way and it was well worth the small dinner I had to have the night before!

Apache Jack was another who really enjoyed the better ground we got at Carlisle. He was stepping down in grade which makes a big difference to these horses.

If he can run to a similar level of form again under a penalty, he would be one to keep on the right side of.

Minella Mystics wasn’t beaten by much. He’s a nice bumper horse for John McConnell to have.

I expect he ran into another smart type of Stuart Crawford’s and both should make into nice horses in the future.

This week

I’m looking forward to getting back on Westend Story at Hereford on Tuesday. He seems in good form at home and should have a strong chance in the race.

It also looks like I’ll be riding The Last Bridge for my mum on Wednesday at Warwick. He’s won his last two at Market Rasen, so let’s hope he turns up in similar form.

He’s really suited to these long distance staying chases and any rain would be a big help to him.

Few days off

I’m banned from Saturday so the family and I are off skiing in France. 

It’s obviously very frustrating to be off, but it will be nice to get away and enjoy some time with the kids on the slopes.