'I adore him - he's my favourite horse in the yard and I'm very happy with him'

It was always going to be difficult for Kim Bailey to reach the heights of his most valuable season this century in 2020-21, but the trainer's most recent campaign still gave him plenty of reasons to smile.

Stable star First Flow, who ended Bailey's 26-year wait for a Grade 1 winner in the 2021 Clarence House Chase, added the Peterborough Chase in December, settling an argument with stable jockey David Bass in the trainer's favour over whether he would see out the trip.

"It was a good season and we did well on prize-money," says Bailey. "We had lots of seconds, which is always frustrating, and I think the horses were about five per cent below their best and I couldn't work out why. We hope to do better this season and we've got a nice bunch of horses. I'm happy with them and they're in a good place."