The trainer and Betway ambassador provides an update on the 10-year-old and bids a fond farewell to Channel 4 racing...
Sire De Grugy seems fine
First thing is that I can report that Sire De Grugy seems none the worse for his spill at Kempton yesterday.
It was just one of those things. A clumsy mistake where he just got a bit low and then the laws of gravity took over.
It was pretty nerve-wracking stuff watching him run loose from the stands, but luckily he pulled himself up with the others at the end in one piece.
In fact, Jamie seems to have come out of the whole thing a lot worse as he got a nasty kick.
The plan is now to see how Sire De Grugy is in a couple of days and then it will hopefully be all systems go for the Clarence House at Ascot.
Hopefully we will get a bit of rain before then and the conditions will be much more favourable than they were at Kempton.
I said before yesterday’s race that I thought it would have been tough for the horse to beat Special Tiara on those terms without the ground in his favour.
Ar Mad will head straight to Ascot
I had been considering running Ar Mad somewhere else before the Clarence House, but the plan is that he will go straight there and hopefully join Sire De Grugy.
He seems in really good form and I am delighted with him.
Ascot will tell us whether or not he is a Betway Queen Mother Champion Chase horse or whether the time is right to step him up in trip.
Traffic Fluide will resume normal exercise on Monday
Traffic Fluide is also well and will resume normal exercise next Monday.
The plan with him has always been to try and get him back for the Game Spirit at Newbury, and that remains his objective.
I suppose we will just need to see how he gets on in the coming weeks as plans can always change.
Goodbye Channel 4
Finally, I just wanted to say how sad I was to see the curtain come down on Channel 4 racing yesterday.
In all honesty, I think they have done a fantastic job and I genuinely think that ITV have a really tough act to follow.
