In his exclusive column, the National Hunt jockey and Betway ambassador also discusses Tom Marquand's nomination and Sam Twiston-Davies
Last week’s rides
It was fantastic to win the big handicap on Saturday with Village Vic.
Both he and Champagne West were very good and it was a great result for the yard.
There was a mixture of joy and relief for me personally that I picked the right one.
There wasn’t much between them but, like I said last week, Village Vic just had the race fitness and low weight on his side.
You really need to travel at Cheltenham and I was delighted with the way he jumped and travelled. He got into a great rhythm and really put the others under pressure.
We’ve always thought a lot of Village Vic and it was nice that he showed it on the track.
Champagne West has always been very exciting and he could develop into a Grade One performer. He’d need to win a handicap to get into a race like the Ryanair, though.
I’m just praying they don’t clash again as it would be another very hard decision.
Cheltenian ran fine in the International, but the ground was very sticky on the hurdles course and that didn’t really suit.
He has the option to go back over fences, but I’d have thought he’ll be targeted at some of the big handicap hurdles over the next few months.
Peace And Co was obviously very fresh and keen. There was nothing Daryl [Jacob] could have done about it. Better ground and a faster run race will suit him.
You’d be foolish to rule him out of the Champion Hurdle. As good as Old Guard was on Saturday, Peace And Co is still the most interesting British-trained horse for the race in my book.
West Approach ran a really nice race in the Albert Bartlett Trial. He’s a very babyish novice hurdler and all he’s going to do is improve throughout the season.
His half-brother is Thistlecrack and he was a massive improver last season, so you’d hope this one can do the same thing.
Rons Dream ran well in the closing mares’ handicap hurdle. She’d won over three miles at the previous meeting and there’s a handicap for her at Cheltenham on New Year’s Day.
She’s a mare that’s on song and there’s more to come from her.
I had a long drive up the M6 to Carlisle on Sunday, but the treble certainly made it worth it.
Pineau De Re was the obvious highlight and he owed me that one because he beat me in the Grand National when I was second on Balthazar King.
It was great to get a win on him. He’s no speed machine but he felt really well. He’s obviously no spring chicken, but I see no reason why he can’t go back to Aintree.
He could still run a big race in the Pertemps Final prior to that.
With him and Tullamore Dew winning, it underlines how good the veteran chase series is. It’s definitely one of the better initiatives from the BHA.
There seem to be a lot more older horses keeping their form and it’s great for British racing that horses can carry on and have a long career racing.
Sam Twiston-Davies
I saw what happened to Sam Twiston-Davies on Sunday and I know he’ll have been kicking himself.
It was just one of those horrible things. Last year I took the wrong course at Exeter and could only blame myself.
In fairness to Sam, the horse jinked and you can’t be expecting something like that – it was completely out of the blue.
All Sam wants to do is ride winners. It was good of him to come out and say sorry, but it was a freak incident and he’ll be more upset than anyone else about it.
It’s frustrating when people abuse jockeys for something they didn’t mean to do. We all make mistakes and no-one wants to fall off a horse.
This week
Hopefully Sausalito Sunrise will run in the Graduation Chase at Newbury on Wednesday. He’s one we’re really looking forward to and we’re hoping there’s plenty more to come.
Races like this give young horses a chance to get some more experience before they step up against more seasoned professionals.
Tom Marquand
I’d like to wish Tom Marquand the very best of luck on Sunday in the BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year.
Fair play to him, he’s done amazingly well to even get nominated for something like that and it’s great for racing.
