Nice to see you ROTO I'll get the rest of mine over tonight Oddy. Watching us give the scummers a long over due hiding last night took priority lol
Regrettably, people, I'm going to have to give the full write-up a miss this year as am struggling badly for time to do it. Big apologies. Have had the (dubious) pleasure of spending the past couple of days at a Welsh university and have got more of the same (and all the prep involved re it) next Monday/Tuesday. Haven't really had the chance to put the time into looking in depth at the Festival, as a result, and don't want to put the dear old regular readers away by jotting down something half-hearted that I don't fully have confidence in. I'll repeat though what I've said many, many times since the Autumn. DOUBLY CLEVER has been trained specifically for the 'Fred Winter' and should go close granted normal luck. Don't, I say don't, be put off by the fact that he hasn't run since August as that has always been the plan in order to protect his perch of 135. He may be from a very small barn who have never had one this good but they sure know what to do with a horse. Wednesday should be a good day for the county as YANWORTH deffo looks a good thing (albeit at cramped odds) in the card commencer that day. Re the forum's favourite, Mr Henderson, I'm sure I speak for everyone when I say let's hope he has a great meet. The one of his that really interests me is, my old fave, MIGHT BITE if he turns up on the concluding day in the conditionals race. I've no idea if he will but will deffo say that off 138 he has the potentially to tear this field to shreds. His 2 runs in hurdle races, last term, were most promising and don't forget he is a half-bro to the dual Grade 1 winning hurdler, Beat That. If you are going to the meet - have a great time and if you aren't (like me) have a great time as well.
Barney your eloquence and subtle linguistics will undoubtedly be missed. I hope, I say I hope, that this does not see an exodus of your 'regular readers' from the board, as I know they will have been waiting with Bated Breath (cor blimey what a sprinter) for your thoughts. You will be no doubt pleased that my write ups may well have a slight tinge of Mr Henderson about them. Without you, we now have a Panel equivalent of John McCririck, Matt Chapman, and Mark "Couch" Winstanley. How Oddy is going to censor it is the biggest concern old boy.
Don't worry, rumour has it Nicky is nipping round to give him some snake venom. He'll be declared a runner before we know it
I heard that when the previews have been released in previous years, a Cheltenham roar erupts around the County when they read Barneys paragraph on the Supreme Novice.
