'IT WAS THE BEST OF DAYS, IT WAS THE WORST OF DAYS',. GOOD TO FIRM & WHAT IS GOOD FOR THE GOOSE IS NOT ALWAYS A GOOD FIT FOR THE GANDER.

I hope in death I go to where Thistle Ask has gone. He was a happy horse. He died happy, I hope, even if his death, for humane considerations, was at the hands of an experienced veterinary surgeon.

We had a wonderful ginger cat called Thomas. He taught me a lot about cats, more than I  taught him about humans. He was a happy cat, at least I hope so, right up to when he began to walk into walls, then he was unhappy, his freedom and independence lost to him. He had a brain tumour and, like Thistle Ask, for humane considerations, we had to have him euthanised. He died on our kitchen floor, his head in the lap of the vet called-out one Sunday morning to ease him on his way to wherever much-loved animals go in the afterlife, in such a realm exists.

National Hunt racing gives us the best of days and then in an instant the malevolent gods flips our day on its heels to transform the day into the worst of days. Perhaps the gods thought the celebrations were too loud, that there was too much of the 'we are the champions' and decided to pull the carpet from under their feet. The Skeltons and their staff did not deserve to have their thunderous joy stolen from them. They are a credit to our sport, a credit to themselves.

From the moment it was clear something dreadful had happened to Thistle Ask, I wanted Edwardstone to go on and win as that was the only way any good apirit could be returned to the day. And he did, of course. Yes, it was as poor a Grade 1 as has ever been run but not many 12-year-olds win at the highest level and he deserves great respect for the achievement.

On Friday, at Warwick, the all hunter chase meeting transferred from Cheltenham, will see the start of a  new season and for one-day there will be a leader of the jockeys championship that is other than Sean Bowen.

All week the clerk of the course at Sandown had said that the ground would be good with areas of good-to-firm. A.P., no doubt speaking on behalf of J.P., made critical remarks about the amount of watering that had taken place throughout the week leading-up to yesterdays finale of the jumps season. I think he was wrong to do so. I will refrain from using the N in the W phrase that upset a few people recently but the N in the W was Friday's flat fixtue that prevented the taps being turned on for all of the previous 24-hours. The answer to this potential problem next season is obvious - to improve the quality of racing on a Sunday, stage the flat part of this fixture on the Sunday, thus allowing for extensive watering leading up the jumps side of this fixture. On the topic of running on good-to-firm ground - it would provide interesting data if it could be established how many, if any, horses trotted-up this morning and were found to have sore shins or a tendon injury.

Mr. Blance of London, in a letter published in today's Racing Post, recalls his time living in Hong Kong and his frequent early morning trips to the racecourse to watch barrier trials, the results of which were published on-line before he had time to get home for breakfast. He is an advocate of similar barrier trial here in Britain, with the results similarly published for the delectation of punters. His view has not altered my opinion one iota. A barrier trial is not a race and there will be triers and non-triers, with jockeys up on some and stable staff up on others. The data provided from such artificial races would not and could not be accurate interpretations of ability, stamina or speed. Horse racing is not greyhound racing and British racecourses are varied in shape, direction and topography, whereas Hong Kong racing is predictable and of one direction, shape and topography. A barrier trial at Lingfield would have little in common with a race at Hamilton or Beverley. Punters will not be helped by the publication of barrier trials held at licenced racecources.