Come on, it can't just be me and Nicky who love Chantry House

During a lull in the all-weather action last week, respected Racing TV pundit Steve Mellish was asked for his view on Chantry House and the gist of his reply was that he had not really warmed to the eight-year-old, a general 16-1 shot for next month's Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup.

I was at Warwick when Chantry House beat Edwardstone, Shan Blue and Llandinabo Lad in a tasty bumper on his racecourse debut in 2019, so have always had a soft spot for him, but I appreciate Mellish's thoughts, which seem to be shared by many.

However, I think it would be a different story if he was the star of a small-scale stable and owned by a charming 75-year-old named Doris or something like that. If that was the case, his nine wins from just 12 starts might be marvelled at instead, along with his fine third to Shishkin in the Supreme Novices' two years ago. Being placed in that race didn't do Best Mate, Kicking King, War Of Attrition and Sizing John any harm when it came to the Gold Cup.