Wednesday 29 October

Harold Wilson once famously said,'a week is a longtime in Politics,' but it never ceases to amaze me how things can change during the course of 24 hours in racing.Yesterday morning everything was fine at home and College Ace was to be declared at Huntingdon. The vet came to scope College and he was found to be dirty, so he was not declared - he had a look at Rousing Rob , and the niggle he has been suffering became a major headache and he advised us to lay of him in the short term ,which means turning him away and trying again next year.Very disappointing for the members of the Chicheley Partnership who have come so close to getting him on the course twice this year and have had their hopes dashed. Mrs Robeson was as disappointed as the rest of us, as Rob had shown plenty, and she made a very generous offer that the members were glad to accept- Last night her flat performer E Major was going through the sale ring at Tattersalls in Newmarket, and she offered to bump up his reserve to make him unlikely to sell, and then lease him to The Chicheley Partnership to go juvenile hurdling. This was very very kind of her and we all thank her for her generosity. E Major is a 74 rated flat performer who won his last race over 12 furlongs at Lingfield, and is thought to be the right type to make a tough little jumper. He comes from Mrs Robesons very good flat family being a half brother to her talented Crystal Star who is the dam of the recent Group 2 winner Crystal Capella. He is a lovely addition to the team if only for a short while. Thanks a million to Mrs Robeson and Sir Evelyn de Rothschild for letting us have this chance with him. The good news is that Kikos scoped clean yesterday morning and all seems on track with him for Friday. Matty has been clipped ready for his chasing debut on Sunday, and Bobby is still in fine fettle, pulling his way around the place, wanting to get on with the job. E Major arrives from Sir Michael Stoutes today, fingers crossed he schools well, and he should be out within a month.