It was good to finally get some top class racing back again last weekend after all the cancelled meetings due to the cold weather. C4 served up an exciting afternoon from Haydock where Diamond Harry was impressive for his first run over fences, and Ascot where Twist Magic won as he pleased and provides Paul Nicholls with a live second string for the Queen Mother Champion Chase at the Cheltenham Festival in March. ATR covered the Leopardstown meeting in Ireland on Sunday and here Solwhit was a good winner and consequently promoted to favourite for the Cheltenham Champion Hurdle. As always at this time of year all roads lead to the Cheltenham Festival and this Saturday (30th) Cheltenham stages their Festival Trials Day. I am sure they are hoping that Denman puts in an appearance. He will surely put a few extra thousand on the gate. He is engaged in the Argento (Cotswold Chase) worth £100,000 and run over 3 miles 1 furlong. Last years winner Joe Lively is also engaged along with Madison Du Berlais, Barbers Shop and Carruthers. Barbers Shop has a second option as he is also engaged in the Betfair Trophy Chase worth £50,000 run over 2 miles 5 furlongs. The Betfair Cleeve Hurdle worth £50,000 and run over 3 miles looks as though it could be between Karabak and Fair Along. Lets hope the cold weather stays away and the meeting can go ahead. For all the latest news from the course click on Cheltenham. For all the runners and riders with the jockey's colours go to Paddy Power and click on "Horse Racing".

With the abandonment of the Sandown card on Saturday C4 filled in with discussions comparing Kauto Star with Arkle. Kauto Star is a great Chaser who has the speed to win at two miles and the stamina to win a Cheltenham Gold Cup. Film footage of the sixties bought back many happy memories of my visits to the Cheltenham Festival in that era. Besides Arkle I was also privileged to see Flyingbolt and Mill House. After Mill House won the Gold Cup in 1963 a lot of us, apart from the Irish, thought he would win the 1964 Gold Cup. How wrong we were, Arkle cruised upto Mill House at the second last and stormed away to win by five lengths. The picture above by Lionel Edwards, which adorns a wall in my home, captures that moment wonderfully well. It was in 1964 that we saw Flyingbolt for the first time at Cheltenham when he won the Gloucester Hurdle. In 1965 he won the Cotswold Chase over two miles and Arkle won his second Gold Cup. In 1966 Flyingbolt won the Two Mile Champion Chase by fifteen lengths and ran the next day in the Champion Hurdle where he finished third to Salmon Spray. Flyingbolt was breathtaking over two miles but he did stay as well. He finished his season in 1966 by winning the Irish Grand National under 12-7 giving huge lumps of weight away to his rivals. He was still only a seven year old. Arkle won his third Gold Cup in 1966. Both Arkle and Flyingbolt contested the big handicaps having to give lumps of weight away to their rivals and this is something Kauto Star has not done. He has been kept to Grade 1 races competing at level weights. However in the box next to him at Paul Nicholls stable is a certain Denman. Denman has already won two Hennessy Gold Cups at Newbury carrying top weight and a Cheltenham Gold Cup. He reminds me very much of Mill House, a strong galloping stayer well suited by a galloping course such as Newbury and Cheltenham. He looked better than ever when winning his last Hennessy Gold Cup by three and a half lengths giving 22 lbs to his stable companion, What a Friend, who has since gone over to Ireland and won the Lexus Chase over three miles at Leopardstown. Both Denman and Kauto Star, who was brillant in the King George VI Chase, look better than ever this season. We could be in for another mouth watering Cheltenham Gold Cup. If Denman regains his crown he will surely be rated up there with Kauto Star, but in my opinion they are both behind Arkle and Flyingbolt. For all the runners and riders with the jockey's colours go to Paddy Power and click on "Horse Racing".