SINCE I began riding, I have never missed a Punchestown Festival through injury.

I’D be telling lies if I didn’t admit that the last week has been a strange one. To go from being absolutely flat out to doing literally nothing has been difficult.

IT’S Grand National Day again and last year proved, with a 100-1 winner, that the National is the National whatever way you look at it. You can take form, ground, jockeys, trainers and whatever else you like but, at the end of the day, it’s the National and anything can win it.

A RIGHT bit of fun organising to get to Haydock for my solitary ride this afternoon. (My sister and agent) Jennifer was wondering why she was struggling to get me into Manchester until it dawned that there’s a pretty important Premier League game at Old Trafford at lunchtime (I’ll take the draw for United by the way, more than happy with a point).

IN THIS game, we move forward so quickly, we hardly take time to properly examine what’s gone before.

GLANCING back at the week at Cheltenham, you would have to accept there were two very big disappointments for me, Kauto Star in the Gold Cup yesterday and Master Minded in the Champion Chase.

SO this is it, the highlight of the entire week and the only real question to be answered at Cheltenham today is whether I can win a third Gold Cup on Kauto Star.

WELL, Master Minded certainly fluffed his lines yesterday and was never going to win the Champion Chase.

I’M as confident as I can be heading into a Grade 1 that Master Minded will have all the answers in the Queen Mother Champion Chase today.

I HEADED for Cheltenham on Sunday night and then had a relaxing enough day yesterday.