The Open meeting - my highs and lows  Colin keen to show he can ride a rocking horse |
For me the real high was Imperial Commander - who is trained by Nigel Twiston-Davies - winning the Paddy Power Gold Cup. Now I don't want to say I told you so but... I told you so! My advice was to get on it at 10/1 and oh boy I got that one right; Mrs Tipster said it was about time, too. That tip won £900 for the BBC Children in Need appeal thanks to a free charity bet with the sponsors - whoopee! The Open meeting always throws up horses that win at the Festival in March and I have got three for you to add to your shortlists. Paul Nicholls' Tatenen will now go for the Arkle and I think he will win it, the Nick Williams trained Diamond Harry took to running at Cheltenham like a duck to water and then there's Nicky Henderson's Aigle D'or - who knows which race he will go for, it could be the Champion Hurdle but his loveable owner JP McManus also has Binocular who could be targeting the same race. He is unlikely to have both horses in the same race, so it's a case of wait and see but - unlike so many owners and trainers - JP is good at saying where his horses are running. As for the low points, oh boy what a Friday we had - I have never heard a Cheltenham crowd boo before and it was horrible. When the big screen showed a replay of the cross country race it looked like the stewards had got it wrong big time, and not for the first time that day. Earlier jockey Jason McKeown, having dropped his whip, snatched a replacement from another jockey to help him win a race - he got a two-day ban, but the horse kept the race. I do not understand how that works, do you? I know the stewards at Cheltenham generally do a great job, but you are not able to talk to any of them and they are not approachable, so red faces all round. As for the cross country race, well, Cheltenham are putting an extra marker on the course after Davy Russell took Dix Villez on a legal shortcut way from the racing line, so that should not happen again.
Boylesports International meeting, Friday 12th - Saturday 13th December  | It has got to be Imperial Commander for me, but he is the 3/1 favourite at the moment, so my advice is to wait and back him on the day |
Last year's meeting saw four horses in action that went on to win at the 2008 Festival, so keep your eyes open on day one, especially for the cross country race which could be fun. On day two the big hurdle race, the boylesports.com International, is going to be a cracker - all the top two-milers will be there and not only because it is a £200,000 race, but because the sponsors are also offering a £200,000 bonus for any horse who wins this and wins the Champion Hurdle. As for the Boylesports Gold Cup, it has got to be Imperial Commander for me, but he is the 3/1 favourite at the moment, so my advice is to wait and back him on the day.
Trainers' horses to follow for the season update We got off to a good start in October with Jonjo O'Neill's Wichita Lineman winning at Chepstow and the Philip Hobbs trained Ring the Boss winning at Cheltenham. Quws Law who is trained by Lucinda Russell won for us at Ayr, Lucinda said he has come out of his race well and he will be in action again soon. Shorearces is another who won first time out and his trainer Brendan Powell tells me that he is fine and going for Tolworth Hurdle at Sandown in January. I am sorry to report that John O'Shea's Kanpai is out for the season, while Charlie Swan's Glenstal Abbey will not run until May after a setback in his training. I was beginning to think it was something to do with my tips, but Charlie Longsdon's pair Otage De Brion and Songe are both well, while Perdur is going well at Christian Von Der Recke's yard in Germany - whoopee! Quicuyo and Rays Rock (Peter Monteith) have both run and hopefully they will win soon.
Gloucestershire trainers championship 2008-09 handicap:
Season runs 17/10/2008 - 17/04/2009 | Tainer | | Wins | | Chelt wins | | 25-1 wins | | Points per win | | Points |
| Nigel Twiston-Davies | | 26 | | 5 | | 0 | | 15 | | 465 |
| Giles Smyly | | 1 | | 0 | | 1 | | 100 | | 200 |
| Jonjo O'Neill | | 12 | | 1 | | 0 | | 10 | | 130 |
| Charlie Longsdon | | 1 | | 0 | | 0 | | 60 | | 60 |
| Richard Phillips | | 1 | | 0 | | 0 | | 40 | | 40 |
A trainer's points per win handicap is based on the number of horses he or she has in training. They score points for each win, with double points on offer for winners at Cheltenham and at odds of 25/1 or longer. Nigel Twiston-Davies has been awesome so far, Tom and Giles have done well. As for Jonjo, he always does all right! There have only been six weeks of the competition so far, so come on all you Gloucestershire trainers, let's get some winners.
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