ROBBIE HENNESSY

Weblog:  Rolling with the punches - a season with Sublimity & co.

New season, new yard, new Donegal - it seems

LAST season ended with Sublimity coming back to his best in the Saval Beg after a wind operation that we all wish we had done before the Champion Hurdle.

Like last season, Sub will kick off his campaign in the Fighting Fifth at Newcastle - and not Wetherby, as it was last year thanks to the frost.

Punjabi really put the race on the map when beating us in 2008 as he went on to almost complete this WBX Triple Crown and as a result I expect they'll be the biggest field for some time lining up at the end of the month.

Sub was one of the first horses to head over to our new stables - a few miles down the road from the place we rented last term - and summered very well out in the paddocks down there.

There's 16 boxes at the moment, a three-and-a-half-furlong round gallop and a schooling ground. We're putting in a horsewalker as we speak and, most importantly, it belongs to us and is not rented.

The other place never had a name, but we're going to call this yard Kilcoole, we think, and hope to move into the attached house by Christmas.

Another big change is Donegal. You all remember how much of a monkey he was and how he just didn't quite take to hurdles?

Well, Andrew Lynch rode him in a schooling hurdle the other day and could not rate his jumping higher - it's true, he's a changed horse.

While he's in such unnatural form I thought I would put this to the test at Punchestown on Saturday. It's a big drop in class, so with his rating he's entitled to win and he'll appreciate the step up in trip, but he might not go on the ground - as you know, that will be up to him.

Andrew rides him as he will be riding as many of ours as possible this year, with the exception of Sublimity, who the France-based Philip Carberry has said he will make himself available for as much as possible.

Andrew did ride Sub in a schooling bumper recently though, so he could get to know him should Philip be claimed in France.

Philip still plays a part here and put us on to a horse he'd ridden for his boss, Francois Cottin, that I like an awful lot. Rubi Light is his name.

I see Ben Hutton has been calling us all out for some kind of 'Battle of the Blogs' - well Ben, I'm only just back in the fold, but I'm thinkingof biting. I'll send on my selections to Graeme.