Punchestown Fri, 30th Apr, 2021  Gaillard Du Mesnil He was sloppy at the last down the back. For a four runner race there was a lot going on. All’s well that ends well. That was a very good performance and I think he’s going to be a nice horse next year. There is a good possibility that he’ll jump fences next season and that might help him to settle as well. He’s too busy during a race, but once he learns to relax, he’ll give a lot more.

Aintree Thu, 8th Apr, 2021  Monmiral The owners weren’t keen on Cheltenham. Although usually the Triumph is a cavalry charge and this year there weren’t many runners. This is a lovely race to win and there’s lots to look forward to. It has to be the best juvenile performance by a horse this side of the (Irish) sea. It will be hard to go novice chasing next season as a five-year-old, you don’t get as much of an allowance as you used to. It might be nice to think about the Fighting Fifth, it’s something to think about over the summer. A bit of time wouldn’t hurt this lad. There’s no panic to make a decision. If he won at Newcastle then we know what route to go down.

Aintree Thu, 8th Apr, 2021  Protektorat I didn’t expect that to happen. I said to the owners, who also had Hitman in the race, that today was a short-term plan to get a long-term result next year. I thought he’d run creditably, but I didn’t expect him to win. It’s a long way back from Kelso, where he was beaten after the second jump — he was jumping right-handed and didn’t want to be there. We mixed things up today — taking the hood off, putting the tongue-tie on and redoing his palate. That’s him done for the season now. I was thinking of starting him off back here in the Old Roan, but if the ground is right, maybe we’ll go straight to Wetherby for the Charlie Hall. It’s brilliant to have owners back. They’ve been so patient through this difficult period, but they’ve stuck by us and hopefully they’re here to stay now.