IT FEELS like it has been a long week since last writing with plenty going on and lots of challenges brought on by the weather along the way!

Our 30th winner of the season was Micronormous at Fakenham. She won on chasing debut under Jack Tudor and it was great to get her off to a winning start over the larger obstacles. This race was a qualifier for a valuable mare’s final back at the track in January and this is now her main target.

We did not have that many runners last week but Jilaijone ran another good race to be second at Warwick. I hope that the handicapper does not put him up for this run as he has been very consistent without winning and he deserves to get his head in front next time.

Phantomofthepoints ran a cracking race to be third in the valuable stayers handicap hurdle at Haydock on Saturday. He has always been a horse I have liked since he arrived with me, being out of the mare, Swing Bowler who was a very good for Pond House in the past. We were stepping Phantomofthepoints up in trip quite markedly for this race but I thought he would stay and would like the track and any rain that fell was a bonus.

We have not long had his half-sister join us at the yard as well; she is a lovely three-year-old filly by Getaway. She is showing promise with a lovely attitude like her mum and Phantom and is one to look forward to getting on the track later this winter.

This week promises to be a busy one with several runners and lots going on in general as well. Our first runners will be on Wednesday, with Shot Boii and Missy Mole declared for Hereford and Chemical Warfare heads further North, to Wetherby looking for his fourth win in a row and Jack Tudor rides.

On Thursday, Vision De Maine is likely to run at Lingfield and will attempt to bring up a hat trick of wins over fences. We will also have a few runners a little closer to home, at Taunton. Chauffeur Driven, Castle Daragh, Kintaro and Skinfull all have entries so keep checking the Daily New on the website for the latest information on the stable runners.

It could be a busy day for the team on Saturday, with entries at four meetings around the country. We have confirmed both Remastered and Neon Moon for the Coral Gold Cup handicap chase at Newbury on Saturday. The weights were raised nine pounds on Monday morning following the confirmation stage and there are now just a maximum of 16 to line up.

Our leading novices of the season so far could head to Newbury on Saturday as well. Walkadina has an entry in the listed mares race and Jurancon in the novice’s hurdle where he could step up in distance to 2m4f for the first time. Our other entries on Saturday include Lady Balko, Pachacuti and Yggdrasil at Bangor and It seems like it and Pachacuti at Doncaster. We will see what the weather does and decide on plans later in the week as to who will go where. It could be a very early start for those travelling to Bangor with the first race due off at 10.35am! On Sunday, Activist may head back to Leicester where he won over course and distance last week.

I hope everyone was not too badly effected by Storm Bert. We were actually quite lucky here at Pond House and had 38mm of rain over the weekend and strong winds but despite a few branches down and minimal damage it was not too bad.

David Pipe’s column