ARC, NOT DONCASTER, PUSH THE LIMIT & 243 or 283.

I was disappointed, though not surprised, to read in The Racing Post today that Maltese Cross is to be aimed at the Arc and not the St. Leger. To me, this is a kick in the teeth for the St. Leger in its 250th anniversary year, another example of a leading British trainer giving his silent ascent to the destruction of the oldest of all classic races. Yet if I said to William Haggas or any of our leading flat trainers that the St. Leger should loose its classic status they would as one man rise up to defend the race as if I had insulted one of their children.

Maltese Cross could have won at Doncaster this year and gone to Longchamp in search of Arc success next year. Horses in the past have gone from winning at Doncaster, or in the case of Alleged, suffered defeat in the St. Leger and gone on to win the Arc in the same year. I hope for William and Tom Marquand that my criticism of their decision to forego the opportunity of winning the 250th running of the St. Leger for the big bucks of Longchamp comes to taste sour in my mouth as both of them deserve a great day in the autumn sun. Yet my overriding belief is if British trainers are not going to support the St. Leger, why should anyone else? Yet again, it seems, the St. Leger is for export to Ireland, a shoo-in for either Aidan or Joseph.

Denise Coates, joint chief executive of bet365, is one of the highest paid executives in the country. She is also one the largest tax payers in the country. She is also involved in horse racing as an owner, which until today I had not realised. Last October, on her behalf, Tom Malone, on behalf of Dan Skelton, paid 580,000-guineas at Newmarket for the ex Ralph Beckett trained Push The Limit. 580,000-guineas is a huge price to pay for a horse to go jumping. Chicken-feed, of course, for a member of the Coates family and an extra burden the horse must carry, especially if he proves nothing more than an average handicapper. I am not someone who can be accused of taking pleasure from another's misfortune, not someone, anyway, undeserving of the cruel hand of fate, and I hope Push The Limit proves himself top-class over hurdles, and it is to be applauded when someone who lives well because of their association with horse racing gives back to the sport.

On the topic of Dan Skelton, a man forever pushing limits, and his rise to the position for so long held by his mentor Paul Nicholls. He remains on track in his bid to surpass Martin Pipe's all-time training record of 243 wins in a season, though the legend that is Martin Pipe achieved the fete when the season in 1999/2000 was the first to end in April at Sandown rather than May at Stratford, a season that was only 11-months in duration. So Dan needs to surpass Martin's total in March for him to truly better Martin's score. Not that Dan intends to pull stumps if he achieves the British record as he also has Guillaume Macaire's European record in his sights, set in 2015, of 283.

To be successful, of course, Skelton will be reliant on factors outside of his control He needs the weather to play ball, including plenty of rain between now and the start of October, with no long interruption to the season caused by frost, snow or waterlogging. He needs both his main jockeys to stay fit, with no illness amongst his equine team and no serious injuries to his top horses. He needs photo-finishes to go his way and all the other factors that can stifle the high number of winners a month he will need to stay within touching distance of the records he is attempting to take for himself.