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Plus 6 and drizzling when driving in. Not spring like.

It might have looked spring like at Kelso yesterday although Another Venture showed little of it.

AV was never happy not being able to dominate like he did at Plumpton. 3 front runners on a tight track and that was about his race over. He finished 4th. A long way to go for the right race, but…

Mikey Hamill's latest blog post for The Maggie's Charity is available to read here

The Grand National was the best of results, but every year it bring the torrents of abuse from those who hate racing and all it stands for.

I am fed up with those who accuse us of being cruel and abusive to our horses. We know that is not true, but sadly like all who have strong and diverse beliefs you wont change them.

I object to the fact that so many say that when horses have finished with their racing career we just throw them away. That is so not the case.

Mrs B works tirelessly to rehome our horses when they retire, and we have many wonderful success stories of our ex horses just loving their new lives after racing. You can see that on my ‘Where are they now’ page.

Only yesterday Lucy Ward sent me photos of little Involve enjoying his first horse trials at Aston le Walls. Thanks Lucy and thanks for loving Involve.

Graham Potts our vet was in for his Tuesday visit and this weeks movers and shakers in the BHA charts are Cresswell Legend up 4 to 136, Vinndication up 2 to 151 and a new mark for Pond Road with 99.

We have one runner today. Gallows Point heads to Exeter and for my thoughts on his chances please click here.

I’m not sure if I washed the spider down the drain in my shower or if he took one look at me naked and then leapt willingly to his death... did you know?

1. Spiders eat the equivalent of the human population of the UK in flies and other insects every year

2. Why do we find spiders in the bath? Because they like to have a drink. Makes sense. Our houses are pretty dry, so they head to the bathroom to quench their thirst

3. If you see a spider scurrying fast they have sex on their mind – they’re searching for a mate

4. False widow bites are not actually that bad. According to spider expert Tim Cockerill: ‘The false widow bite is no worse than a bee sting’

5. Tarantulas don’t like our weather. That’s why they don’t live here. So don’t panic, you won’t find one of those climbing back up your plug hole

6. Spiders’ stomachs can only take liquids, so they have to liquefy their food before they eat it. They bite their prey and empty their stomach liquids into the fly which turns it into soup for them to drink. Yummy.  

7. There is such thing as the British Tarantula show, which is basically like Crufts for spiders. Think thousands upon thousands of tarantulas in one room. Shudder

8.  Spiders are covered in water-repellent hairs, which trap a thin layer of air around the body so they can’t get wet. It also means they always float and some can survive under water for hours. That’s how they climb back up the drain

9. But soaps and products that get washed down the drain destroy the spider’s ability to trap the air so they sink and drown. So don’t wash them down the sink people, take them outside and set them free!

10. Male spiders don’t have a penis. Instead, they have two appendages called pedipalps, which they charge with sperm and insert into the female spider’s reproductive opening. Oh, the old romantics.