Friday 11th November 2016

It’s the first day of the Cheltenham 3-day open meeting, there’s some excellent racing on offer and plenty of smart horses making seasonal debuts. The going is still quick for this time of the year, that quick in-fact the cross country race has been abandoned.

It will be interesting to see how Barters Hill gets on over a fence for the first time. Trainer Ben Pauling must have his horse fully fit or close if he’s to make a winning debut. The majority of his rivals have run already this season and will be sharp. I’m looking forward to the race.

It’s a good day of racing at Cheltenham but a watching brief for me.

Over at Newcastle in the 12:30, I know the Nicky Richards horse Bestiarius "oods of 2-1" is held in some regard. Bestiarius won his bumper when trained by Keith Reveley and has been working very well at his new home. I’ve no idea if he’s fit enough for today whilst a longer trip might be required, either way Bestiarius is a horse for the notebook.