John Budden

It had to happen.

Only four days remain before the start of the Cheltenham Festival – that is, assuming the Government do not step in at the 11th hour and ban the fixture on health grounds.

SOME 49 years ago when Nicky Richards’ late father Gordon was at the zenith of his training powers, he always welcomed a cold spell early in the New Year reckoning that the frost would kill off any germs that might be lurking around.

The late and unexpected withdrawal of ante-post favourite Bigirononthehip from the Eider Chase has thrown the race wide open.

With gales swirling across Cumbria threatening to bring floods and snow, April might seem distantly remote, but Tuesday marked the annual Aintree luncheon at which the weights for this year’s Randox Health Grand National were revealed.

The fascinating tussle for title honours between the reigning champion jockey Richard Johnson and his close challenger Brian Hughes, which promised to produce a nail-biting climax to the last three months of the jumps season, may have lost its cutting edge with Richard’s broken arm leaving him out injured for a minimum of six weeks.

Last week’s Trials Meeting at Cheltenham may have left the cupboard pretty bare of genuine northern contenders.

Racing showed its unpredictable nature over the last week.

Tommy Dowson rode out his claim last month and is now a fully fledged member of the weighing room.

Championship chasing becomes a great deal easier if a jockey can guarantee a four-timer every weekend and Brian Hughes consolidated his threat to unseat Richard Johnson as champion jumps jockey with another winning accumulator at Newcastle last Saturday.