I thought Paul Townend was very good on Paggane at Clonmel on Thursday, going round the inside. It looked like he was boxed in, but he obviously knew that Karia Des Blaises would jump left under pressure which is exactly what happened and opened the door for him.

She got off the mark for the season there and with that under her belt it might give her more confidence to go on and win more races.

I was very happy with Nick Rockett’s win in the Bobbyjo, it’s always a great pointer for the Randox Grand National so what more could we ask for in such a good trial like that?

Spindleberry put up a very good performance against some way more experienced chasers to win on only her second run over fences at Fairyhouse on Saturday. That shows she could be a high-class mare. She’s in at Cheltenham but I like the fact she’s run well around Fairyhouse and the Grade One novice chase there over Easter would be a very reasonable target.

Kaiser Ball put in a very good performance to win the bumper on the same card. He was settled at the rear of the field by Thomas Costello and came through with a lovely even run. He would look like he could go the whole way to be a top-class horse over hurdles and fences with his pedigree. The sire may not be a well-known name in Ireland, but his stats really back up from a small book of mares. He looks like he could step into any of the top-class bumpers for the rest of the season including at Cheltenham.

We were very impressed with Aqua Force who won the bumper in Gowran a couple of weeks ago and she impressed enough that JP McManus stepped in and bought her. She looks a decent prospect to have for jumping in the future.

He goes over there in good form, I’m very happy with him. The ground at Kelso is good to soft which shouldn’t be a problem for him. We’re looking forward to a really good run in a valuable race.

I think he’s on an upward curve. He put in a nice performance the last day over the same trip as this. We’d be very hopeful he’s coming right, and Saturday might be the day.

15:20 Champ Kiely

This would look a big drop down in grade for him and you’d have to think this fellow will have the ground and trip he wants. We’d be all behind him at Navan on Saturday.

15:50 El Fabiolo

He would look the one here. He’s a class horse and might possibly need two-and-a-half miles plus this year to be seen at his best. He goes here in good form after his fall at the Dublin Racing Festival.

His jumping has been a bit sketchy of late but usually a fall teaches a horse a lesson and with a clear round on Saturday he should be hard to beat.

He’s getting older now but stepping up in trip has his chance.

15:50 Grangeclare West

Has a great rating but I wonder if this trip might be a little sharp for him, but he has his chance and needs to run here to qualify for the Grand National although it probably leaves his Gold Cup dreams behind.

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