I was so desperately saddened to learn that dear old Bob’s Worth suffered a freak accident in the field and is unfortunately no longer with us.

He was such a wonderful person and one of the most admirable horses I have trained; he really was. There aren’t many horses who can win three different races at three consecutive Cheltenham Festivals, culminating in the Gold Cup, not to mention a Ladbrokes Trophy (Hennessy Gold Cup), Lexus Chase and many other races along the way. He was such a fun horse who gave his owners, which was headed up by my great pal Kimbo (Malcolm Kimmins), so many thrills throughout his career and he had the biggest of hearts.

He was never flashy in anything he did, whether it was on a racecourse or along the Faringdon Road, but he always got the job done and never made a fuss about it. I purchased him as a store horse off Barry Geraghty at Doncaster and while we thought he’d be ‘alright’ we couldn’t imagine in our wildest dreams what he’d go on to do.

He retired about five years ago and went back to Charlie and Tracey Vigors, which is where he always went every summer, and their son, Harry, used to ride him out every morning before school and probably during his lunch break as well!

There is absolutely no doubt that Bob will be sincerely missed by every single person who was associated with him and it’s such a shame that we will no longer be able to pop over and see him to give him a good ole Pat and some carrots. He was held with so much affection by all of us and was quite simply part of our family. May he rest in peace.

ASCOT

1:45

Fils D’oudairies (Nico De Boinville)

He arrives here having previously been with Joseph O’Brien (in the same ownership) where unfortunately the fences got in the way on quite a few occasions so he’s back over hurdles here and hopefully it will work the oracle because his work has been very good and he’s extremely unexposed over timber. Two and a half around Ascot will be perfect and I rate his chance quite highly. 

3:35 G1 Clarence House Chase

Shishkin (Nico De Boinville)

I’m pleased to say that everything has gone to plan since the Desert Orchid Chase so it made perfect sense to come here because he was so well. We did have the option of the Game Spirit but this is at the right time and while it’s a proper match up, I’m very happy with where we are with him and he goes there at the top of his game. Of course Energumene is going to be a very tough nut to crack, and there is absolutely nothing between them whatsoever, so it really is a case of ‘may the best horse win’. He’s schooled and worked well at home since Kempton and there’s nothing else I can add that you don’t already know yourself. As long as he keeps straight over his fences and the ground isn’t too tacky after all the frost we’ve had, let’s hope he remains undefeated which will set him up nicely for a crack at the Champion Chase. It’s a proper horse race and so it should be! 

HAYDOCK

1:25 G2 Novices’ Hurdle

Jonbon (Aidan Coleman)

Many people have crabbed him because he hasn’t won a truly run race but there’s nothing he can do about that and if you look at the fractions when he won at Ascot last time, he must have been going pretty quick because he put plenty of daylight between him and the chasing pack and ended up winning easily. He has a great turn of foot and is very uncomplicated which is what you want in a racehorse like him and everything has gone very well at home since December. He used to be quite buzzy at home but is much more relaxed now and that seems to be the case on the track as well. 

TAUNTON

2:08

Lilly Pedlar (Adrian Heskin)

It’s fair to say she arrives here with a few questions to answer but she has experience over fences and I think the step back down to this trip will be in her favour. She worked well the other day and would have a decent each way shout. 

2:43

Burrows Edge (Nathan Brennan)

He hasn’t really taken to fences so we’re switching back to hurdles and Nathan’s claim is an obvious plus. Hopefully this will be a nice confidence boosting run and we can then get his career back on track.

Swapped is our only runner at Lingfield on Sunday in the Bumper at 12:50. He had a nice little practice over course and distance last time, which is a big plus at a track like this, but I must admit this looks a very, very good Bumper. He is a smart horse and in normal circumstances I’d be keen on his chance but if he can finish in the money I’ll be very happy because whatever wins it will turn out to be a decent animal.