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Monday 13th March

We head to Cheltenham in top form after a double at Sandown including a tremendous success by Iceo in the Betfair Imperial Cup.

With Larchmont Lass breaking her duck with a determined victory in the Listed Mares’ EBF bumper and Quel Destin only just beaten in a valuable novice handicap Chase we had plenty to celebrate.
Iceo has bounced back brilliantly after missing the best part of a year with an injury that had us baffled for three weeks when he was on and off lame soon after running in the Dovecote Hurdle at Kempton last February. Just to make sure my head lad Clifford Baker organised an Xray of his front legs which revealed a hairline fracture down the front of his cannon bone. He then required surgery which involved using several screws to repair the damage.

We gave him plenty of time to heal and didn’t rush him when he returned into training so I was a bit surprised at how well he ran on his comeback at Sandown in January. The moment he passed the post in third place I told his owner Chris Giles that I’d aim him at the Imperial Cup in the hope that the ground would be soft enough for him. Once the rain arrived I was quite bullish about his chance because he’d improved tonnes in the past few weeks.
Harry Cobden gave Iceo a lovely patient ride but still felt he got to the front too soon. But he kept on willingly late on for a well deserved victory by three and three quarter lengths.
While Iceo is in the County Hurdle at Cheltenham I’d say he is unlikely to run there as he had a hard enough race on Saturday. I’ll try and find one more race for him this season provided there is cut in the ground which is so important to him.
Chris would certainly love to run Iceo the Scottish Champion Hurdle if the going is soft enough. Long term he will be an exciting novice for fences next season.
I was thrilled with the success of Larchmont Lass on the most testing ground she has encountered. She has progressed with each race and dug deep with the help of a determined ride by Harry. She will not run again this season, has already schooled over hurdles, and will tackle mares’ novice hurdles next season.
Quel Destin relished the conditions at Sandown, set out to make all the running and was only just caught on the flat by Hudson De Grugy who was in receipt of almost a stone.
All roads now lead to Cheltenham where we will have around sixteen runners through the week. They are all in good shape after they worked nicely on Saturday morning and our strike continues to hover at around 30%.
We’ve made a fast start to March, the horses look fabulous and we couldn’t be happier with their preparation ahead of the Festival where we will have three runners on Tuesday including the highly progressive Tahmuras in the Supreme Hurdle.
Then we will be busy with chances each day leading up to the Gold Cup on Friday in which I have high hopes for Bravemansgame who looks amazing in his coat.
A day later on Saturday we will be sending some interesting runners to Kempton and Uttoxeter.
For the latest news on all our Cheltenham contenders please check out my Betfair column which this week will go live soon after declaration time each day.

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Monday 6th March

We have made a sparkling start to March with six winners from twelve runners. It’s highly encouraging to see our horses in top form as the countdown to the Cheltenham Festival continues and I couldn’t be happier with the way things are going.

A treble at Wincanton on Wednesday set us up nicely for the week with Outlaw Peter and Toothless winning tidily before Magic Saint capped a great day by giving my 17 year old daughter Olive her first triumph under rules in the Hunter Chase.
She is full of enthusiasm, getting tidier with experience, already quite strong, is improving all the time and has some nice horses which I am pleased to provide for her to ride.
Magic Saint has had a few issues including surgery on a joint last year and we have had to mind him. He loved the better ground at Wincanton and got into a great rhythm with Olive who is equally at home eventing or race riding and is already good at both disciplines.
She should have a lovely experience on Magic Saint in the Foxhunters’ at Aintree in April which was always the plan. In the meantime it is up to me to to keep him in one piece until then because he is fragile.
On Thursday it was the turn of the free going Matterhorn to shine with a clear cut victory from the front in a novice hurdle at Taunton. We gave him a wind op after he struggled in heavy ground late last year at Sandown and he was in total command from start to finish. While it wasn’t a strong race he looked a high-class prospect and I loved the way he attacked his hurdles which left me thinking he will make a cracking chaser in due course.
I didn’t want to run him before March because I’ve already got my eye on the Persian War Hurdle for him at Chepstow early in October.
I will discuss with Johnny where we go next .
Flash Collonges and Seeyouinmydreams then completed a rewarding four days for Team Ditcheat with a double at Newbury on Saturday.
I feared Flash Collonges was on a stiff enough mark but he kept on strongly to land the Jacky Upton Trophy. I bought him because he comes from the same family as our Grand National winner Neptune Collonges and he is a real old fashioned staying chaser who will gallop all day.
We bought Seeyouinmydreams after she won a Point-to-Point in Ireland on her debut by fifteen lengths last April. Harry Cobden has never sat on her at home and said afterwards that on the way to the start he thought she would win because she felt so good. Who knows what she beat but she was seriously impressive as she drew well clear for a stylish success.
On Tuesday Broken Halo bids to complete the military double in the Grand Military Gold Cup at Sandown.
Further ahead we will have plenty of entries at Sandown on Saturday including Hugos New Horse, Twin Power and Henri The Second in the EBF Final while we have Iceo, Samarrive and Holetown Hero for the Imperial Cup.
Larchmont Lass is an intended starter in the Listed Mares’ bumper and Quel Destin, and Cap Du Mathan will all be entered for the £50,000 Betfair Novice Handicap Chase.
For the latest news on all my runners on Saturday please be sure to check out my Betfair column which goes live early on Friday afternoon.

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Monday 27th February

A treble on Saturday took the prize money earned by our horses this season past £2.5 million.

For Team Ditcheat to reach that total more than two weeks before Cheltenham is rare and so encouraging as we enter the final two months of what has been a brilliant campaign. The most pleasing aspect is that we have a lovely bunch of young prospects to keep up the momentum in the next few years.
Solo and Rubaud were outstanding in winning Grade 2 races at Kempton with Harry Cobden excelling on both while Ioupy Collonges was successful in a maiden hurdle at Chepstow.
Harry controlled the pace of the Pendil Novice Chase from the front on Solo who I thought might just need the run after having his palate re-cauterised in the first week in January. We had to take things easy with him for most of the month before stepping up his training.
Solo was very good over a course and distance that plays to his strengths and is really fulfilling the promise he has always shown. They say trainers are creatures of habit and that is definitely the case in the Pendil as Solo was my seventh winner of the race in the past eleven years and 13th in all !
Initially we were toying with the idea of aiming him next at handicaps at Sandown or Kempton but now after discussions with Johnny we have decided to keep him fresh for the Grade 1 Manifesto Novice Chase at Aintree over two and a half miles.
Rubaud is also on course for Aintree after his stylish front running victory in the Dovecote Novice Hurdle which he dominated from start to finish in a first time hood. He is a big, scopey horse who is going to be a lovely chaser next season.
More immediately he will tackle the Grade 1 Top Novice Hurdle over two miles on the Friday of the Grand National meeting in April.
I was also pleased with the performance of Rare Middleton in the Adonis Juvenile Hurdle. He was travelling beautifully until hampered by a faller at the last flight down the far side which put him on the back foot. With a clear run he would have finished a fair bit closer but he does need to sharpen up his jumping.
He is a proper horse, will only improve with experience and we might give him another outing in a small race in a fortnight’s time before a crack at the Grade 1 Anniversary four year old hurdle at Liverpool.
Frodon did best of our trio in the Coral Trophy Handicap Chase which was run at a frantic pace. Bryony Frost said the leaders set off quicker than in the King George and Frodon was flat out the whole way before keeping on willingly to finish third.
He is on course for the bet365 Chase at Sandown and I’m hopeful that he can be even sharper for that challenge as Kempton came a bit soon for him after the Cotswold Chase at Cheltenham.
He will be joined in the bet365 Chase by Enrilo who ran a bit better on Saturday. He is still a work in progress and needs to get his confidence back so I’ll try to find a small race for him en route to Sandown.
The big disappointment on Saturday was Saint Calvados who I expected to run a big race in the Coral Trophy. But he ran no race at all and there are no excuses because he just didn’t fire. I think Saint Calvados wants fast ground and riding positively and that’s what we’ll do when he returns to Sandown in a bid to repeat his success in the Oaksey Chase.
Also on Saturday it was good to see Ben Bromley win at Chepstow on Ioupy Collonges, one of the Million In Mind horses which are organised so well by Ben’s dad Anthony Bromley. The horse is another lovely chasing prospect for next season and was given a cracking ride by Ben. Talking about young jockeys poor Freddie Gingell broke his collarbone in a fall at Taunton on Tuesday . Hopefully he will be back soon.
We plan to have a few runners at Wincanton and Taunton in midweek but with fast ground a concern we might be relatively quiet at the weekend though we should have a couple of entries at Newbury and try to add to our fine record in in the Greatwood Gold Cup.
For all the latest news in all my Saturday runners please do turn to my Betfair column which goes live early on Friday afternoon.

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