ALTHOUGH my luck wasn’t in at Cheltenham last weekend, I was delighted to see Ian Popham finally get the rub of the green when winning the Paddy Power Gold Cup aboard Annacotty.

A couple of years back Ian looked to have such a promising career ahead but has been plagued by injury and bad luck. Just when he was coming back something else would happen and it must have been what felt like a never ending nightmare for him. He has shown great courage and determination to get back, so to win the big one at Cheltenham with a strong ride was great to see. Hopefully he can have a clear run of things now and get the chance to fulfil his potential.