WITH so much focus centred around the Cheltenham Festival, where better than to start my diary.

A team of 35 horses were readied to run over the four days. Tuesday was a slow day with only five runners, following the blow that Old Guard was ruled out of the Champion Hurdle. We had a luckless afternoon until the final race of the day, when Bouvreuil ran a fine race in the Novice Handicap Chase.