The humour improved this week after I managed to finally get a winner with Parramatta at Laytown on Thursday.

Galway Plate hero Bob Lingo took full advantage of a massively favourable mark over flights when taking the McSweeney Arms Hotel Handicap Hurdle at Killarney last night.

Despite ongoing issues with the weather, it’s been a good week and the highlight for the stable was our apprentice, Charlie Elliott, riding his first winner, aboard Bendzoldan at Leopardstown on Thursday night.

You would have to call it a pretty good week with three winners before racing at Downpatrick last night.

It has been incredibly quiet for me of late as the ground is terrible and it means that I am not able to get the horses out that I want to, both over jumps and on the flat.

THAT was mission accomplished at Cheltenham yesterday for Steps To Freedom and I was delighted. He took the journey no problem, travelled well during the race, jumped super and did the job on his first experience of a unique track even though the ground was softer than you’d think.

THE tempo of the national hunt season is really picking up for me this weekend as we say goodbye to a successful flat campaign.

TONY McCOY, a welcome visitor to Listowel this afternoon, can guide Worldly Wise to success in the C and F Tooling Maiden Hurdle.

THE forecast for the next week starting tomorrow is that it will be very unsettled so we’re adopting a wait-and-see policy before deciding what to do with Dragon Pulse.

I’M glad to be looking back on a great week with five winners from last Saturday up to the first race at Killarney last night but there was one event put a dampener on it, when I was fined for looking after the welfare of my horse.