Had a fabulous day at Cheltenham on Tuesday. We actually left home early enough.to get breakfast at the Hollow Bottom in Guiting Power whilst reading the Racing Post in the sunshine, then had a picnic in the car park, watched some fantastic racing and then had supper at The Plough at Ford. Perfect.
We are going again tomorrow but sadly without a runner as Popaway has been balloted out. Such a shame as she is at the top of her game and loves Cheltenham, She won't have another chance as she is 12 now. In my opinion I don't think Phil Smith, the handicapper, who knows nothing about pointing or Hunter chasing should be in charge of who gets into the Foxhunters. He only goes on handicap marks and if a horse has come up through the point to point ranks then it is never going to have a mark high enough to qualify. The race was intended for pointers and not for the professionally trained horse. They have plenty of other opportunities which we don't. It would be great if they took the point to point form into consideration and not some historical handicap mark. Anyway, that said, we can now enjoy tomorrow without feeling sick with nerves  Lets hope the right horse wins....