I am delighted to say that the new jumps season has kicked off in the same style the last one ended, with the horses continuing to run very well.

See The World was our first runner of the new campaign at Warwick (1 May). He was travelling well until a bad blunder down the back stopped him in his tracks. Having said that he kept galloping and finished third and it was a nice start to his chasing career. I am sure it won’t be long until everything clicks and he regains the winning thread, he is a big horse with plenty of scope so jumping fences should certainly be his game.

Set List went to Uttoxeter (6 May), and everything just happened a bit quickly for him up there. It is a track he just doesn’t seem to run well at, so it maybe, that his sojourns to this course are over. He has come back perfectly well and we will look to find another outing for him soon.

When you have a runner that starts at 4/11, in all fairness, there is only one ever acceptable result. From the prelimaries onwards, Swatow had no intention of delivering just that at Exeter on 9 May! When she returned from the races she was found to be in season, which may explain her behaviour, which was somewhat entertaining for others, a bit embarrassing for us and disappointing all round. She had a proper temper tantrum, having been a bit wayward in the paddock, and not particularly excited about going to post, when she did get down to the start and continued her bizarre antics, Daryl gave her a small kick in the belly on which she decided she was going to throw herself on the floor! If it weren’t for the fact that nothing wanted to lead in the race, as the other runners were a bit green, they would have gone two hurdles clear on her at the start, so consequently they waited. When she did jump off she did travel well and jumped nicely but definitely didn’t show her ability. She will now go out in the field and freshen up, she had been in training for a while so is ready for her summer holidays. However, she is certainly on the naughty step at the moment!

On the back of Swatow’s behaviour, with some trepidation, we took Talent To Amuse to Newton Abbott (10 May) hoping not all the girls were going to show the same degree of temperament. But thankfully Talent To Amuse continued her upward curve, she jumped beautifully, travelled well and impressively won a nice valuable prize. She is a lovely filly and will be better over a bit further or at least over two miles on a more galloping track than Newton Abbot. It was a very good prize generously put up by the racecourse and we were chuffed to bits to take it home. She is a very nice mare for the future.

Fox Appeal also at the same fixture continued to go from strength to strength. It was his tenth start of his campaign, and is showing no signs of his ten years of age! He finished a lovely second, and in fairness to him he has had a busy time and is going to have a month of going out and relaxing with a view to running him later in the summer. He is an absolute super star and continues to pay his way.

We then went to Market Rasen on Friday (12 May) with Pawn Star, who jumped superbly, travelled beautifully from start to finish and won with any amount in hand. It was a brilliant result for everyone and he looks a horse that is going in the right direction. He is a pleasure to have for the campaign and hopefully will pick up some nice prizes through the summer months.

We turned a lot of the horses out at the start of last week and although for the first few days they looked a little cold, they have certainly thrived since. The drop of rain we’ve had has made a massive difference to the grass and judging by the size of their bellies they look very well out there. It is lovely to see and a big relief for all the team who can get some holiday time and just relax a bit.

Over the coming weeks, we expect to have a few runners and if they continue in the same manner they have started the season we should be in for a very enjoyable time.