While we had an enjoyable Christmas, it was an even better Boxing Day and I couldn’t begin this week without making reference to our fantastic haul of five winners on 26^th December!  A nap hand from only eighteen runners across four meetings, including a Grade One success is the stuff of fairytales and better than I could possibly have hoped for.

Once again Dynaste (pictured above) was electrifying in landing the Grade One Feltham Novices’ Chase at Kempton in emphatic fashion from Hadrian’s Approach, following-up the victory of Grands Crus in the race twelve months earlier.  He jumped and travelled impeccably and put the race to bed with a prodigious leap at the fourth last fence.  Any concerns about him jumping left-handed proved unfounded and he will probably have one more run now before the Cheltenham Festival in March.  His target there is still to be decided – he is versatile with regard to trip so it could be the RSA over three miles or the Jewson over 2m4f, while at this stage it is highly unlikely that he will even receive an entry for the Gold Cup.

On the same card an hour later I was thrilled by the performance of Grands Crus to finish third in the feature King George VI Chase behind Long Run and Captain Chris.  He had been pleasing me with his progress following his wind operation after his disappointing effort in the Paddy Power although it is often difficult to know if you truly have them back to their best until they reappear on the racecourse.  The race itself turned into a really dour slog and he stayed on well to claim third place.  He showed much more of his old zest here and will improve a bit for the outing so there is every reason to be optimistic for the remainder of the season.  He will be entered for the Gold Cup and Ryanair Chase at the Cheltenham Festival, while I will discuss with the owners whether it is worth giving him a speculative entry in the World Hurdle in the absence of Big Buck’s.  Congratulations to the connections of the winner, Long Run it was an excellent performance under a determined ride from Sam Waley-Cohen – I am sure they will continue to be major contenders come the Gold Cup in March.

Also on Boxing Day we enjoyed successes courtesy of Home Run and Close House at Wincanton, while Too Generous was impressive in landing her first hurdle success under Mikey Ennis at Fontwell and Top Gamble looked a very promising type in routing the bumper field at Ffos Las for course owner Dai Walters.

Our excellent form carried over to the weekend at Taunton where despite the torrential rain, a massive crowd of around five thousand were in attendance.    Home Run coped with conditions very well to record his fourth success in three weeks under amateur jockey Michael Heard, who was winning his first race under rules…hopefully it will be the first of many.  Home Run will be kept busy while he is in such good form and makes the trip up to Musselburgh tomorrow (Tuesday) where he will compete under a double penalty.

Also successful at Taunton was No Secrets (pictured right) who was reverting to fences on his second start for us.  Tom Scudamore conjured a great response from him in the home straight to deny long-time leader Fine Parchment close home to win with a bit in hand.  This was a fine staying performance on such testing going and being lightly raced there is the chance of further improvement, especially under less demanding conditions.

We will have a handful of runners up north this week with a couple of days racing at Musselburgh on Tuesday and Friday bookending a two day fixture at Ayr.  The big meeting however comes on Saturday when the rescheduled Welsh Grand National meeting takes place at Chepstow.  This has given us a little extra time with Cheltenham Grade 3 chase winner Master Overseer who was scratched from the original entries; however the extra week means that the race now falls nicely into his training regime and he will go there under just a 4lbs penalty for that success.  He will be joined by Sona Sasta who at the latest acceptance stage, scrapes in at the foot of the weights.  With the defection of original topweight Tidal Bay following his great success in the Lexus Chase the weights will take a big hike.

With twenty winners in December, this was our best monthly total since my first season with a licence in 2006/7.  We have 55 winners on the board so far this term and I hope to carry this momentum into 2013.  Wishing you all a happy and prosperous New Year from everyone at Pond House.