I HAD a tough choice between John Ferguson’s Galizzi and Devilment in the Ladbroke - one of the big handicap hurdles of the season at Ascot today.

They are at opposite ends of the handicap and that’s why ultimately I sided with Galizzi.

He is somewhat of an unknown quantity. He could be very well-handicapped or he could be at his limit. It’s difficult to get a handle on his ability.

He also won’t have raced on anything as soft as this before. I am not saying he won’t like it, but it’s another question mark.

He ran beyond expectations last time when chasing home A Hare Breath. I made sure he didn’t have an easy time of it, so he will have learnt a fair bit. Hopefully there will be some improvement to come and he can exploit that light weight.

Devilment has an awful lot of weight and to win off top-weight would be Champion Hurdle form. It therefore makes complete sense for Alex Ferguson to take 7lb off and he’ll have more behind him than in front of him.

LONG WALK

Aqalim gave himself an impossible task when fourth behind Thistlecrack in the Long Distance Hurdle at Newbury last time. He is a lovely horse, but a real character and we soon found ourselves too far off the pace.

He made 15 lengths up on the run-in and was nearly second. We’ll probably be off the bridle after half a mile and the worry is we could be too far behind early on. That said, he has a good win ratio and he could reach the frame in the JLT Long Walk Hurdle at a nice price. He’s got talent, he just needs to harness it properly.

Another one with real talent is Venetia Williams’ Marcilhac, who runs in the BGC Partners Handicap Chase. He’s a lovely, big horse who we really like. He’s only run three times for us and got beaten a short-head by the useful Carole’s Destrier on his last start for us back in March 2014.

He is coming back off a 644-day lay-off, so the priority is that he enjoys himself but that’s not to say he can’t overcome that kind of absence and, as I say, we do like him.

SIDELINES

Katenko is also returning from a lengthy spell on the sidelines. He won a couple of nice races in the early part of 2013 - and then very nearly died after suffering two bouts of colic, He then got injured at Ascot last November so he’s been in the wars.

He’s showing his old zest at home and we hope that he can replicate that on the track. We want him to enjoy himself. The Sodexo Silver Cup is a £100,000 race so it’s a very competitive starting point and we’re not expecting miracles.

I schooled Horizontal Speed at David Dennis’ this week and he seems in great heart. He has some good form in the book - he wasn’t beaten far when fourth at the Cheltenham Festival - and David’s horses are running well. He’s run well at this level before and has a chance in the GL Events Owen Brown Graduation Chase.

I kick off with Kap Jazz in the Foundation Developments Ltd Novices’ Handicap Hurdle. He broke his maiden at Wincanton last time and is improving with every run. He is learning his job all the time. While this is a step up in grade, he might well be up to it.

SAM STYLE

My good mate Sam Twiston-Davies has been in the news after he had been unseated a couple of times. He since said he would review his style and it made front page news.

If it had happened to me I would have written it all off as one of those things and moved on, but Sam is always very open and incredibly honest with everyone, including the media. That said, I am sure he didn’t expect his comments to make such an impact.

If Sam is going to have to reinvent his style, then there’s no hope for any of us. He’s a top-class rider, who had a couple of moments to forget, but they will soon be a distant memory. You saw on Old Guard a week ago just what a talented jockey he is.

Finally, Happy Christmas to everyone. Be lucky.