Ben Linfoot Festival Diary: Dawn of the Webb

Getting up early and heading to a newsagent’s in Cheltenham for a Racing Post bang smack in the middle of the Festival can be hard work, but you are usually rewarded with a surreal sight or two.

Bright and early on Ladbrokes World Hurdle day morning, I saw a man with his shirt, tie and jacket on, but no trousers, walking around town with red and white balloons and he didn’t really look out of place.

It looked a bit like a scene from Shaun Of The Dead and amongst it all was former Premier League referee Howard Webb, a jaded Howard Webb, who still had time for many of the not so fresh-faced race-goers who felt obliged to walk up to him and tell him that he was Howard Webb. Wonder if he’s backing The Game Changer?