1640: All good things must come to an end. The 2008 Open meeting will always be best known for a number of reasons, some of them controversial but all exciting and some - dare I say it - profitable. Whether it's been whipswapping, cornercutting or spleenpuncturing, it's all been memorable stuff. Thanks to everyone for their emails and I look forward to being back in the blogseat at Newbury in a couple of weekends' time.

1625: Jamie Moore got four days for using his whip with excessive frequency and without giving Numide time to respond, as did Tony McCoy for using his whip in an incorrect place. Maybe they'll go away on holiday together seeing as they are off for the same days.

1615: Paul Nicholls' quest for the Irish trainers' title appears to be getting more serious each week. After that horse's bloodless victory in the novice chase, he added Tatenen to his list of possible contenders for a trip to Ireland over the Christmas period.

1612: I might not have won today with Aigle d'Or but I'll win that money back soon, you know. Numide was a serious horse on the Flat and he was getting 16lb today. Nicky Henderson indicated after the race that they might go up to two and a half miles with him now - had he not done so, he might make more appeal as a Champion Hurdle contender, but the eclipse of Jered and Sizing Europe shows just how open that division is.

1610: Sorry. I bumped into someone, you know how it is. I went to the paddock and they all looked nice so I didn't have a bet. No, really.

1538: It was one for 'I'm riding a machine here, you know'. Whoosh. Nick Williams is definitely trying to emulate Henry Cecil in the way he holds his neck at an angle during interviews. You watch and see for yourself, if they can get him to go on to the telly.

1532: Timmy Murphy winked at a girl outside the weighing room as he was going out to ride. Was that a sign? Is it one wink for 'not today' and two for 'get your house on'? I wish I knew. Come on Timmy. Do it for me. Do it for England. Even though you're Irish.

1511: Diamond Harry loves testing ground and could potentially be the best horse that the charmingly-awkward and aloof Nick Williams has ever had. He is going to be the one to get me back in front for the day. I can feel it in my bones.

1507: A call has just gone out over the public address for a 'Mr Murdoch'. I wonder if that's like when they call for 'Inspector Sands' on the London Underground? What does Mr Murdoch mean? There's been a murder?

1506: I'm going to think about Hardy Eustace instead to cheer myself up. What a tremendously brave horse.

1502: It's moider. Can anyone lend me a tenner for petrol?

1455: Place lay of Punchestowns. Too much weight. Back of Arctic Magic and Pocket Aces. I'm in no mood for trifling matters.

1438: To clarify, I'm not annoyed with anyone in particular. Just myself, for having too much on Aigle d'Or; and the handicapping system for forcing him to give more than a stone to a horse who was a serious performer on the Flat in France; and Gary Moore, for not being positive enough about his chances earlier this week; and myself, for backing him on his last two runs last year, but not today; and Tony McCoy, for being mortal and sometimes getting beaten when punters have for so long been under the impression that he beyond the level of the rest of us. I'm now annoyed with the weather and annoyed that I have such a long drive home too. I may well still be annoyed in an hour's time. Let's find out.

1430: Nope. Still too annoyed.

1427: Grrr... That's the first time for a while I find myself too annoyed to write anything.

1420: Hardy Eustace's victory is greeted by the group of Irishmen I watched it with on a tiny TV next to the betting ring like an unexpected visit from a much-loved distant relative. "Noooooooo...never Hardy. Nooooooooo.... Surely not. Noooooooo.... Well I never..." etc etc

1405: Nope, no idea about that one. It didn't seem to be on ATR or SIS. Never mind, I'll have the fun of refreshing the balance on my screen without knowing what to expect. It brings a whole new dimension to punting.

1400: Can't find a channel showing the race. Typical. Absolutely typical.

1355: Paul Blockley about to have his last runner as a trainer (for a while) with Lady Deauville at Hanover. Just so you know, I've backed it.

1352: No surprise to see Predateur finishing second again, even without a jockey.

1345: In the hope that they get a stupidly fast pace in the ground, I have had a small bet on Calatagan who has shown his best form when picking off his rivals from the rear. He needs things to go right, but don't we all? Oh and I like Malcolm Jefferson too. He always looks jolly.

1340: I can rarely remember a £50,000 contest with so many runners having (as they politely say) questions to answer. Pablo de Charmil may struggle to lead and his stable seem out of form; Moon Over Miami ran like a goat when well-backed last time; Calatagan takes plenty of knowing and struggles to put two good runs together; Sou'Wester has gone up plenty in the ratings and may not the want the ground as soft as this; Predateur is as soft as jelly in the finish; Tramantano goes best fresh and is 9lb higher for winning an average contest; Dev is out of the handicap and up in class.

1328: Just as you would expect, back to business, no time for sentiment. "That will do Sam's confidence the world of good," he said. "Since the Gold Cup he's been in the shadows a bit, but that's the way these things go." Nicholls said he thought Ruby would be out for a month, but that he would be "trying his damnedest to be back for the Tingle Creek" (less than three weeks away now on December 6). Tatenen is a best-priced 4-1 chance for the Arkle with Sky Bet and Blue Square. Ladbrokes are as short as 5-2. I don't think I have ever contemplated backing a horse for the Arkle at that sort of price with five months to go before the meeting, especially not with the possibility that quicker spring ground could be against him. But he was so impressive with his jumping that I find myself considering making my first ante-post investment on next year's Festival.

1315: No need to be publicly gloating about odds-on winners, so I'll just treat myself to a chocolate bar. There's no point having bets that bigger than you really should have had if you can't enjoy them when they go right. I'm off to the winner's enclosure to see Alice Plunkett's black doughnut (on her head) and to hear what Paul Nicholls has to say about yesterday's disasters.

1308: Tatenen looks very well, but so does Straw Bear. The only worry for me about the favourite is whether he might just be a bit 'soft' in the finish, but he should surely have too much speed for Crescent Island. As for Straw Bear, I have no idea why connections would want to pitch him in at Cheltenham having expressed a desire to go for a softly-softly approach to novice chasing.

1235: Greetings to the Warsaw Racing Enthusiasts Club (I am going to give you the benefit of the doubt and presume that you are a legitimate group rather than someone who talks about themselves in the plural), who pass on a tip for Sou'Wester in the second. There's no doubt that he wasn't knocked about last month having made a complete mess of the first fence, but I can't get over how much his rating rocketed upwards got as a result of his hot streak last season. There are major question-marks over every runner in the race and I would find it hard to be confident about anything in the line-up. The WREC are also pinning their hopes on Mamlook in the Greatwood. It's worth remembering that David Pipe had a nightmare start to this meeting last year before Osana ran a cracker to be second in the race to Sizing Europe just as everyone was writing them off as having a bug in the yard. Could history repeat itself?

1223: Apparently, if I give a plug to the restaurant where I had my Thai then I'll get it free next time. If this system really works, it could be a life-changer. Can I just say how much I like drinking Cristal champagne, staying at the Ritz hotel and driving Lamborghinis. Is it really that simple? Outside in the betting ring, the bookies are trying to drum up some business from the rather soggy crowd in front of the stands without much success. Tatenen is a universal 4-6 chance.

1219: 9-4? Forget it.

1218: I am struggling to see past Aigle d'Or in the Greatwood, with his stamina likely to come into effect on this kind of ground. The Henderson camp thought he was a serious horse before the Festival last year and he could be very well-treated off 140. What price is he?

1215: Someone behind me is complaining about the quality of the free food in the press room. You people...

1205: I was going to make a childish joke about the green curry I had at the Thai in Evesham last night and Rippling Ring, but I have decided that it would undermine the serious nature of my work here.

1200: The jockey changes are confirmed for today. Sam Thomas rides Tatenen, Rippling Ring, Hell's Bay and Express Leader. Nicky Scholfield moves off Arctic Magic on to Super Formen, with Paddy Brennan interestingly getting on Arctic Magic (on whom he was successful at Stratford at the end of last season).

1155: Sorry, I was just chatting with someone about a pretty girl. I always think it's best to be honest.

1148: As I was leaving the course last night, a party were having their photos taken next to a giant cardboard cut-out of Tom O'Ryan, promoting Racing UK. "He looks just like my dad," explained one of them. I briefly contemplated stealing a life-sized Graham Cunningham, until it was pointed out to me that he had already been soiled by another happy racegoer.

1140: Sky Bet are also offering five places for each-way backers on the 2.55, an offer that becomes ever more tempting for the punter and expensive for the bookie with each non-runner. I know you might think I'm only saying this because they're sponsoring the blog but as carrots go, it's a tasty one. I could quite fancy Pocket Aces (quiet ride on return to action here last month), but Timmy Murphy sometimes doesn't seem so worried about getting the place money when he's not going to win, so I'm not sure he's such a sensible each-way bet.

1135: The markets are on the quiet side, according to Sky Bet's Michael Shinners, although the firm have taken their biggest bet of the weekend on Tatenen in the opener. I don't know who he is, but I hope he's a good judge. I've also had my biggest bet of the weekend on the same horse, but given that I had to borrow a tenner from the other person staying at my B&B just to pay for the room this morning, I hope you are getting a sense of context.

1055: I've had a dabble on The Big Orse in the last at a juicy price. He's been really hard to keep sound, as evidenced by the fact that this is just his fourth race in more than 18 months, but his trainer is good enough to have him right for this on the back of his latest break and I have a hunch that this half-brother to the high-class Collier Hill might be at his best when fresh. As his name would suggest, he is massive.

1045: Diamond Harry looks a serious prospect and I want to be with him in the 3.30. It was horrible, horrible ground when he won at Newbury on his second start, so the surface won't bother him and Keki Buku - who he toyed with last time - ran respectably to finish fifth in a big field here yesterday. He's potentially very, very good.

1037: I've got a few I quite fancy today. Opposing Paul Nicholls-trained horses has been profitable so far this weekend, but surely Tatenen will win the first? His form in France is serious and he was mightily impressive on his chasing debut. If it comes down to a sprint with Straw Bear, I simply can't see him being outspeeded.

1035: The bloke I pulled up next to in the car park gave me the dirtiest look you can imagine this morning and when I remembered that I had left my phone in the car and turned around to get it, he was checking my windscreen for the correct parking credentials. I hope nobody accidentally scratches his lovely silver Audi as they leave.

1030: Paul Nicholls must be a hard man if he reckons a punctured spleen can be caused by "a little kick in the stomach". Remind me not to take him on in the car park after racing. Greetings from the third day of the Open meeting where there is still plenty to look forward to despite the list of non-runners growing steadily as the morning goes on. The going remains 'Soft, Good to Soft in places' despite there being a little light rain overnight, however there is the possibility of more to come and conditions will be testing enough for many of today's runners. Punters have had a fair time of things over the past couple of days, so should have a bit to play with on the final day of action. Share the love and email me your selections.