PHILIP Hobbs and Johnson White, who train at Sandhill Racing Stables alongside the A39 at Bilbrook in West Somerset, are enjoying a successful season and to date have saddled 31 winners.

Reflecting on the eve of the Cheltenham Festival which gets underway on Tuesday, March 10, Johnson White said: “Things have gone very well for us so far; the horses have been healthy and we have had several nice higher profile winners as well.

“To have Captain Hugo winning over the border in Kelso on Saturday was phenomenal, so we couldn’t be happier with the way things are going for us this season.

“We are now on the eve of the Cheltenham Festival and we have got six or seven to go there. A lot of them have schooled this morning (Monday ) and will have their last piece of work on Tuesday and once that’s done hopefully they are all good to go.

“I suppose our best three chances will be Sober Glory in the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle, Imperial Saint in the Ultima, Kikijo in the Pertemps and Thomas Mor in the Brown Advisory. They have all had good seasons and deserve to go there, and they are all in good form at the moment.

“The Cheltenham Festival is a massive part of our season. There is a lot of hype, a lot of talk and a lot of pressure, and to have a winner at Cheltenham is season defining in some respects.

“If you have a winner it’s a massive plus, equally it’s very very competitive particularly with the Irish racers as well.

Johnson added: :”It’s a week we all look forward to and enjoy and I think most people at this stage of the year would settle for one winner at Cheltenham which we certainly would.”