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Monday 16th January

Pic D’Orhy’s thumping victory at Kempton on Saturday was the highlight of a week which began with four winners on Monday at Taunton that brought up our century of winners for the twenty first season .

We were hoping to reach that milestone by the end of 2022 until racing was frozen off for ten days shortly before Christmas.
It’s encouraging that horses remain in top form with a strike rate of 30% and have already earned close on £2 million for their owners and not sure we have ever done that before 1st febuary .
Pic D’Orhy is one of many to shine this season. He has loads of ability, continues to improve, and brought up his hat-trick for the campaign by dominating the Grade 2 Silviniaco Conti Chase from start to finish.
While I was a bit worried about the testing conditions for him at Kempton, it is not a stiff track and his jumping was brilliant as he bolted in by fifteen lengths. He will go next for the Grade 2 Betfair Ascot Chase on February 18.
Red Risk ran a blinder too, in the Lanzarote Hurdle before being chinned on the line by West Balboa in a tight finish. He was given a great ride by our talented and ever improving young conditional Freddie Gingell.
Harry Cobden reported that Outlaw Peter hated the ground at Kempton which saw only four horses finish in the Lanzarote. We will keep him fresh for further targets in the spring.
Two more of our runners finished second on Saturday and would probably have preferred drier ground conditions with Makin’yourmindup narrowly failing to bring up a hat-trick over hurdles at Kempton.
At Warwick Complete Unknown didn’t quite stay three miles in the Grade 2 Novice Chase and will drop back in trip next time while Knowsley Road was far from disgraced in finishing third in the Grade 2 Ballymore Novice Hurdle.
Threeunderthrufive travelled and jumped well for a long way in the marathon Classic Chase but he was giving weight all round and twelve stone on his back began to tell after jumping the second last. He is likely to go for the Ultima Handicap Chase at Cheltenham which is sponsored by his owners. Further ahead he could have a crack at the Scottish Grand National or the bet365 Gold Cup.
We won with some nice young prospects at Taunton on Monday including the four year olds Afadil and Rare Middleton who will both have an entry in the Triumph Hurdle. Afadil enjoys soft ground and could go for the Victor Ludorum Hurdle at Haydock on February 18 and Rare Middleton probably heads to Kempton for the Adonis Hurdle seven days later. Iliko D’Olivate looks nice a nice prospect and might go for the listed novice hurdle at Exeter feb 12th .
We will have some interesting entries this coming weekend at Haydock, Taunton and Ascot. Frodon goes for Taunton’s biggest race of the year the Portman Cup which we have won for the past three years with Yala Enki, and Stage Star is on course for the Grade 2 Novice Chase at Haydock and Toothless for the grade 2 novices hurdle .
For the latest news on my runners on Saturday please do turn to my Betfair column which goes live the previous afternoon.

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Monday 9th January

We started the New Year as we ended the old one with another impressive Grade 1 success.

Conditions at Sandown were attritional for the Tolworth Hurdle but Tahmuras handled them comfortably as he cruised through the race before stretching clear on the flat for a ready victory. He is green but talented, travelled so well and his jumping was very good, too, until he made mistakes at the last two flights of hurdles. He has also shown he acts well on better ground.
Harry Cobden didn’t want to fire Tahmuras at the second last flight because he didn’t want to be in front too soon on that deep ground. He still won with plenty in hand as he quickened away from his rivals and we can sharpen up his jumping.
I’d say it is almost certain that Tahmuras goes for the Supreme at Cheltenham. He fits the profile for the race and it wouldn’t make any sense for him to be taking on another of our young stars Hermes Allen in the Ballymore. He is in the same mould as our other winners Noland (Tolworth Winner ) and Al Ferof , both strong stayers.
Iceo ran a highly promising race in finishing second in a competitive handicap at Sandown on his return from a little fracture that required surgery. He’d been off for a while, just needed the outing, will improve plenty for it and could be an interesting contender for the Betfair Hurdle in a month’s time.
Stage Star gave us a fine start to the week with a decisive victory over fences at Plumpton. It was good to see him back on track after a below par run at Newbury. I don’t think he was right that day but he seemed much brighter in himself at Plumpton where he went round the parade ring with a spring in his step.
He jumped very well, was always in command and won with plenty in hand. We have the option of taking him Warwick for a quite valuable race on Saturday or waiting for an extremely valuable one at Lingfield in a fortnight.
Stage Star will have an entry for both the Turners and Brown Advisory Chases at the Cheltenham Festival and if we get him right he will go for one of them.
We are closing fast on a century of winners and need only three more to reach three figures. We still have about twenty horses to run who haven’t yet had their mid winter vaccinations and with a bit of luck we might even achieve that landmark at Taunton where we have several decent chances today (Monday).
Then we will again be busy at the weekend with runners at Warwick and Kempton where Pic D’Orhy runs in the Silviniaco Conti Chase and both Outlaw Peter and Red Risk are pencilled in for the Lanzarote Hurdle.
Horses likely to head to Warwick include Threeunderthrufive in the £100,000 Classic Handicap Chase and Knowsley Road in the Grade 2 Leamington Novices Hurdle while either Stage Star or Complete Unknown run in the Grade 2 Hampton Novice Chase.
For all the latest news on my Saturday runners do pease check out my Betfair column which goes live early on Friday afternoon.

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Monday 2nd January

Bravemansgame and Hermes Allen were the star turns during a highly rewarding festive period for Team Ditcheat.

The fine run continued with four winners on New Year’s Day which took our score to the season to 95.
Bravemansgame was brilliant in winning the Grade 1 King George VI Chase at Kempton on Boxing Day. He certainly silenced all the doubters who questioned whether he would get the trip or was good enough .
On a personal note I was thrilled to win the race for the thirteenth time. It’s a great race that suits the type of horses we train.
Bravemansgame’s jumping was spring-heeled as always and he would surely have won by further but for L’Homme Presse jumping left in front of him for much of the race.
Frodon ran a blinder, too, from the front to finish third and goes next for the Portman Cup at Taunton or the Denman chase at Newbury. But Hitman was pulled up after a bad mistake at half-way. We will give him a break before dropping him back in trip and making more use of him.
Bravemansgame was so fresh and well the next day you wouldn’t have known he’d had a race. He is going to get better and better as he gets stronger with maturity. The challenge now is to have him in the same shape on Gold Cup day in March as he was going to Kempton and if the ground is not too bad he will have a real live chance.
The crucial thing is that he looks fabulous and hasn’t melted like last winter. He will have a quiet month now and then we will start to build him up so that he is spot on for Cheltenham.
McFabulous didn’t jump with his usual fluency and struggled on the tiring ground in the closing stages of the Kauto Star but he still finished second. We know he wants drier conditions and will keep him for the spring.
Gelino Bello was going oh so well in the same race until an unlucky fall when he was a little bit unsighted. His next target will be the Reynoldstown Chase at Ascot in February.
On December 27th Tarras Wood kept the scoreboard ticking over with a pleasing win in the bumper at Wetherby while several others finished in the money including Dixon Cove, who was just touched off in the Grade 2 Finale Hurdle at Chepstow, and Dolos who finished third in the Desert Orchid Chase at Kempton.
On Friday Timeforatune and Fame and Fun maintained our fine form with a double at Taunton.
A day later I thought Hermes Allen was awesome in winning the Grade 1 Challow Hurdle in tremendous style in testing ground at Newbury on New Year’s Eve.
While I was worried about the conditions we didn’t know he wouldn’t handle them so he had to run. He travelled beautifully the whole way, jumping fluently, won with any amount in hand and goes straight to the Ballymore Hurdle at Cheltenham.
Hermes Allen has loads of scope and is a different horse now to the one that wasn’t showing much at all in his homework in the autumn. He has improved no end mentally and physically. What a prospect to go novice chasing next season.
We enjoyed doubles at Exeter and Fakenham on New Year’s Day with Irish Hill winning the most valuable race ever held at the Norfolk track. Top marks to David Hunter and his executive for putting on such serious prize money and bonuses. I can think of a few racecourses who could learn from their go-ahead attitude.
Around 75% of our horses are on the easy list at the moment after their mid winter flu jabs but we will still be quite busy through the week starting at Plumpton today, while Tahmuras goes for the Tolworth Hurdle at Sandown on Saturday.
For the latest news on my Saturday runners please be sure to turn to my Betfair column which goes live on Friday afternoon.

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