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We are going to be flat out for the rest of the season following a typically slow start to the year once all the horses had their mid winter flu jabs at the start of January

We are ready to press on now and are likely to have runners every day this week before a hectic weekend with multiple entries at Musselburgh on both days in addition to Sandown on Saturday and Taunton on Sunday.

Horses who could make the trip to Scotland in search of better ground include Southfield Stone in the novice Chase, Scaramanga or Miranda in the Scottish Champion Hurdle and Wonderful Charm who is more likely to start in the four mile Chase than the hunter Chase in which we could enter Southfield Vic.

Those heading to Sandown should include Grand Sancy in for the Scilly Isles Chase, Dan McGrue who goes for the valuable handicap hurdle and Dolos who runs in the race he won twelve months ago.

Then on Sunday we will be sending a strong group of horses to Taunton. Things are certainly going to be very busy for Team Ditcheat for the next three months.

For all the latest news on my weekend runners please be sure to turn to my Betfair column which goes live at 5pm on Friday.

With almost all of our horses on the easy list after their winter flu jabs the few that we have run in the past twelve days have been in sparkling form.

Mick Pastor won in style at Ludlow on January 8, he settled much better on his second start for us and looks a decent prospect.

Saint Xavier then scored easily over hurdles at Kempton on the Saturday before Frodon completed a fine afternoon for the yard with a typically spirited victory from the front in the Grade 2 Silviniaco Conti Chase.

I was thrilled to see Frodon bounce back after a couple of runs at Aintree and Haydock when things didn’t go his way. We rode him wrong at Haydock and discovered afterwards that he was suffering from grade four stomach ulcers which responded well to treatment. I was confident of a much better showing at Kempton from Frodon dropping back to two and a half miles given that he is rated 7lbs higher than the favourite Top Notch. Bryony Frost was positive from the off, the horse was clearly enjoying himself and they came home a length and a quarter clear of Keepers Hill.

I’m sure there is plenty of improvement to come from Frodon who is better going left handed and he will head again to Cheltenham where he will have entries in the Ryanair Chase and the Gold Cup.

Saint Xavier, meanwhile, is on course for the Randox Health Grand National in which he should give his enthusiastic owner rider David Maxwell a great spin.

A week later it was the turn of Yala Enki to shine in the valuable Portman Cup Chase over three and a half miles at Taunton. Top marks to the course executive for putting on a £50,000 prize on their biggest day of the year.

The race conditions were ideal for Yala Enki who was the top rated of the six runners, he jumps well, relishes heavy ground, stays all day and is a relentless galloper. Bryony had him up there the whole way and they saw off all challengers before landing a commanding triumph by five and a half lengths from Rock The Kasbah. Marathon trips are just the ticket for Yala Enki who will be entered in the Grand National.

We will be fairly quiet again this week. Then it will be a case of cracking on full tilt for the last three months of the season from February 1st.

Please remember to check on the latest news on my weekend runners by turning to my Betfair column which goes live at five on Friday afternoon.

The fluent success of Cat Tiger at Plumpton on Saturday brought up a half century of winners for the season for Team Ditcheat.

It followed a pleasing double at Sandown 24 hours earlier by Silver Forever and Mercy Mercy Me.

The grey mare Silver Forever continues to shine. She won the Listed Unibet Mares’ Hurdle with authority, relishes the prevailing very soft ground and will return to the Esher track in five weeks time for the Grade 2 Jane Seymour Hurdle.

Mercy Mercy Me jumped very well and stayed on stoutly in first time cheek pieces to land a qualifier for the Challenger Middle Distance series. He could run next in a novice handicap at Cheltenham on Trials day.

At Wincanton I was really pleased with the way Southfield Harvest pushed the winner Hurricane Harvey all the way on his hurdles debut. I wasn’t sure he would enjoy the testing conditions but he seemed to handle them fine and there is definitely more to come from him.

On New Year’s Day Sir Psycho put up an awesome performance at Exeter in beating Bullionaire, rated 136, by thirty one lengths in the novice handicap hurdle. While the winning distance might be flattering, he is improving rapidly and could go for the juvenile hurdle at Cheltenham on trials day.

We will be much quieter than usual over the next fortnight after giving 120 of our horses their mid winter flu jab in midweek. Those that ran at the weekend will be vaccinated today (monday).
They are all having a little break though we are keeping them ticking over with one canter a day before everything will be back to normal in a fortnight and it will be all systems go for the rest of the season.

Two who haven’t had their flu jabs yet are Frodon and Pic D’Orhy who are set to run at Kempton at the weekend. Frodon is entered in the Silviniaco Conti Chase and Pic D’Orhy in the Lanzarote Hurdle.

Our regular weekly bulletin will return in a fortnight.