How are preparations going for your team?

Everything's going well and there's not an awful lot left to do now. The handicap weights are interesting, we have a couple that possibly won't get into their races, but we have some with decent chances.

One of those is Weird Al, how pleased have you been with how he has taken to fences?

I've been thrilled. To come here as he did at the beginning of his season on only his third ever run and win as he did was very, very satisfying - and exciting.

How important was it to get that experience of Cheltenham into him?

At that stage not very important but you have these horses like him who you hope will make up into an RSA Chase horse - but until they do you are never certain. On that day we came here for educational purposes more than anything and Noel (Fehily) just looked after him for the first circuit. He got into the race coming down the hill on the second circuit and we were thrilled with how everything went.

He's a horse on an upward curve - how hopeful are you that he can continue that progression?

I'm sure it can continue. There's no doubt in my mind that a horse as inexperienced as he is will continue to improve. The RSA Chase is a huge race, contested this year by some very good horses, but I don't think I'd want to change the ticket we have for it in any way.

Fredo won well at Haydock last time - were you as impressed as the handicapper that day?

No I wasn't. He's gone up 14 pounds for that and were Fair Along to run in the Pertemps that would be ideal as he'd get in smack off ten stone. However the weights will probably go up a little. I thought eights pounds would have been fair for Haydock, six would have been generous and ten tough enough. A stone is a lot of weight but he's another horse who has improved for a step up in trip and it's not beyond him.