I’M heading to Scotland today for an afternoon at Kelso – and judging from the weather on the way up it’s going to be more like a swimming gala.
It was rain, rain and then more rain all journey, so I think we all know what the going will be like.
I’m there for a couple of rides, and while it’s a fair old journey, you go where you think you’re more likely to ride a winner or two. Fingers crossed.
Both of mine today are trained by Paul Nicholls, and both of them look to have decent chances.
First up I’m on Moabit (2.12), who’s having his second go back over fences, and his fourth in all. He’s won on heavy before, so the going shouldn’t bother him.
He ran a tidy enough race back from over a year off a couple of weeks ago and Paul is confident he will have come forward from that.
Then I’m on Calva D’Auge (2.45) who goes for the Grade 2 hurdle in great form after winning his last two.
He’s got some nice form in the book, and even though it’s a competitive looking race, I’d hope he will go close.
Ruth Jefferson’s Clondaw Caitlin, who gets the mares’ allowance, looks like the biggest danger, but touch wood he’ll be good enough.
Obviously thoughts are beginning to turn to Cheltenham, and I saw they were betting on whether the Festival would actually be on, because of the coronavirus.
A few of us were chatting about it in the weighing room, and the overwhelming opinion amongst the jockeys was that we’d be amazed if it got called off.
I can understand why things like the Ireland-Italy rugby has been postponed, but I’m sure Cheltenham have procedures and checks in place and we will be okay to run.
The excitement grows the closer it gets to the Festival, and I can’t wait for Riders Onthe Storm in the Ryanair.
I’ll have bits and pieces throughout the week, but he looks to be far and away my best chance of a winner. But we all know how tough it is, and you get a lot more disappointments than celebrations.
Like most of the jockeys, I enjoy watching other sports, and I’ve caught a bit of the European football this week.
I watched Manchester United on Thursday, which was decent, but a lot of the lads around here are Liverpool supporters, so they’re loving it at the moment.
Let’s hope I have as good a time of it at the Festival…and get in the mood with a couple of winners at Kelso today.
