Well, it was quite a Cheltenham Trials Day, with three West Country successes.
The day started with a win for the Anthony Honeyball team with Jordans Cross.
I felt he was unlucky to fall when challenging at the last fence at the track in November and he made amends here, winning in the final stride.
This was followed by Donnacha taking the Grade 3 Premier Chase for Nigel Hawke, much to the delight of his owner, Marilyn Martin.
He is her only horse in training, and to win at the headquarters of National Hunt racing gave them all a day to remember.
The last race of the day was run in the gathering gloom; however, that did not stop Kripticjim landing the prize for Joe Tizzard, Brendan Powell, and owners Brocade Racing, who have some lovely horses running for them this season.
It turned out to be quite a Saturday for Anthony Honeyball, as he also took the Great Yorkshire Chase at Doncaster with the improving Dartmoor Pirate.
Rex Dingle was on board here and the pair are well worth following when they team up.
The weather is playing havoc once more.
It was only a couple of weeks ago that Taunton were irrigating for their 8th January meeting, and now, as I speak, Exeter has abandoned this week’s racing and the ground is heavy practically everywhere with plenty of inspections planned.
Some sad news from Cheltenham was the injury to Sir Gino.
The prognosis is that he should make a full recovery from the pelvic injury he sustained, but it has thrown the Champion Hurdle wide open.
Surely Lossiemouth must now take the opportunity and go for this race, as opposed to the Mares’ race in March.
I like the look of Ballyburn, he may not run in it, but if you can get some of the 33/1 no-runner-no-bet for the race, grab it, as he will surely be shorter if he turns up. It's a long shot Yes, but he is a very talented individual who didn't take to chasing and Mullins has made an entry for him in the Irish Champion Hurdle, which suggests he may be thinking of going down this route.
Plenty of pointers will come out of Ireland this weekend, with the Dublin Racing Festival taking centre stage.
I was at Chepstow earlier this week and was chatting to the connections of Haiti Couleurs, who travel over to take on Ireland’s best in the Irish Gold Cup.
I thought it was a tremendous performance from both horse and jockey in the Welsh National and they have secured Sean Bowen again.
The ground will be heavy this time around, but they do not see that as a problem, so good luck to them.
For my one to follow this week, Rebecca Curtis introduced a lovely grey under the same ownership in the bumper at Chepstow by the name of Keltype.
He will go on to much better things, will need patience and is a long-term entry for our ‘little black book’.
Closer to home, Taunton race on Tuesday, with six races commencing at 1.40 pm.
It is sure to be an excellent day and if you fancy going along, tickets are available at www.tauntonracecourse.co.uk, as well as on the day at the gate.
A free courtesy coach service has been arranged for the day.
It will depart from outside Platform 5 of Taunton Railway Station 90 minutes before the first race and return half an hour after the start of the last.
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