The cold snap put an end to our hopes at Cheltenham and Hereford on Saturday and unfortunately the outlook for racing this week is far from encouraging.

It was a big blow to lose the Cheltenham card where we were hoping for a big day with perfect ground and ideal races for our team of horses.
It is not known yet if any of the feature races at Cheltenham will be re-arranged. But if the International Hurdle is lost I doubt that the horses who missed out will be queuing up to take on Constitution Hill in the Christmas Hurdle at Kempton.
With meetings off left, right and centre it is impossible to make any firm plans in the days ahead. But if temperatures do improve by the weekend then we will be sending a strong team to Ascot on Friday and Saturday.
Last week Rubaud won nicely for the second time this season at Taunton on Thursday. He is an exciting prospect for the future and jumps so well I can’t wait to see him over fences next season.
Rubaud is in the Grade 2 Kennel Gate Novice Hurdle at Ascot on Friday along with Lallygag but with serious concerns about the meeting taking place he is more likely to run at Kempton on Boxing Day.
On Friday Le Chiffre d’Or took our score for the season to 82 with an easy success on his debut over fences at Doncaster. On his first start since a breathing operation he won with his head in his chest.
With our horses remaining in sparkling form with a strike rate of 33% the current disruption to racing is seriously frustrating for team Ditcheat. Here’s hoping the thaw starts sooner rather than later.