Saint poised to deliver

As has become fairly traditional for me at this stage, Willie has left me on the side-lines the weekend before Cheltenham. I asked him during the week if he wanted me to ride something the weekend and he looked at me as if I had three heads, so that was the end of that conversation. Horse-wise, Cheltenham preparations have gone as well as we could have hoped. Schooling has gone well, the work has gone well, and we’re happy with all the horses going to Cheltenham. I don’t know if that’s good or bad. They’re either all flying or all going as bad as each other, but we’ll find out next week.

There has been a lot of pressure on in the last week, but if the preparation doesn’t go right you have no chance come the big day. I hope the forecast is right, and it keeps raining as I’ve always been of the belief that National Hunt racing is a winter sport and is safest played out in winter conditions.