This morning was the first that yankee doodle Cannonball has really pleased me in his work. Manager Steve Dennet has done a superb job in settling the seven-year-old and now I needed to get his mind on the job to be a competitive Group horse. He went on at the mile and trotted on quietly under the guidance of Alex before exploding up the straight, running his last furlong in 11.3.

Derby place-getter Descarado glided over 1400m, he has the most amazing stride.

Alex felt Herculian Prince was 'awesome', he really has come back a much stronger gelding than last preperation and he did a great job then. His owners are so excited about the spring. Where will he start? How many Sydney runs will he have before he heads south? John and Val Heriot and there good friends Alan and Jan Stephens live in Victoria and they can't wait for their boy to be down there. John told me today they were planning an early holiday so not to clash with the gelding's spring program.

Royal Esteem is a most lovely filly and she is coming to hand with real vengeance. She has a great chassis, by this I mean her frame as she has length, good bone and is strong and determined.

Seventh Reason everyone wants to tell me he should be in the Mardi Gras. I do not believe this and the day I saw him at Singo's I fell in love with him. By Sadler's Wells from a mare that could run a trip, Seventh Reason has needed time to mature and get fit. He has certainly turned the corner and has been putting in eye catching pieces of work. Even Blake said, "I rode him ten days ago and was unimpressed but today he really found the line, he has definitely improved".

Pureness (Tale of the Cat) found line with vengeance this morning. Wearing blinkers with Mark in the saddle he attacked line over the last 200m but his partner New Day Rising with Neil aboard was not disgraced, a lovely colt by Fastnet Rock. Pureness contests his first race at Canterbury on Wednesday and I cannot speak more highly of his owner/breeder George Altomonte who has been extremely patient.

Two outstanding two-year-olds worked together Mutameyez, a home bred of Emirates Park, and Manahara, purchased from Tyreel Stud on behalf of Ananda Krishnan. Both are well above average and have super attitudes.

Chinkara Dancer use to be difficult to ride so she had to work solo but Steve Dennet, who I nickname Stevie Wonder, has brought her to hand beautifully. She produced excellent and steady work this morning in the company of Crystal Empire (Statue of Liberty).

Rob and I had a grand time at Singo's birthday bash last Sunday. Celebrating his girlfriend's birthday as well as his it was a joyous occasion. We all sang and danced along to John Paul Young's band. Some of you may be old enough to remember the hit that rocketed the singer to Australian stardom - Love is the Air. It really was a blast from the past. The lovely tones did not waver and for one and a half hours they belted out tune after well known tune. I was most impressed by the dance moves of Johnny Raper, all those quick moves on footy field have stayed with him.

Kylie Gavenlock and husband are smooth movers and that is not to mention Sarah Rawiller who was there while Nash was busy in Singapore. Sarah and I were on dance floor grooving away all night. The men were slow from barriers so the females took to the floor with a vengeance.

Bello, the second love of my life, had the most enjoyable time. I rather fancy John's ridgeback who thought Bello was an absolute pest so he delighted him with a series of rounders. When he decided to leave his droppings on John's lawn I could not get there quickly enough and I was left thinking of the one thing that kills relationships - a good boot in the old you know what.

One thing with John is that he surrounds himself with a wonderful mixture of people from all walks of life, and the sliding scale of rags to riches all seem to gather together and enjoy each other's company. John is a grand host and he certainly has got something to look forward to this spring. More Joyous and Once Were Wild look completely different fillies and each has developed over the shoulder and neck. His new love is the colt Strawberry Boy (Redoute's Choice x strawberry Girl).

I asked why and he explained that every time he went into his paddock the colt would follow John and he would  give him a pat on the nose.

One of John's latest names is Lobster for his filly out of Universal Queen. I asked why and he said, "well I tried for QE11 but was knocked back so I thought oh well lobster", he is a character. John has a great imagination and makes racing fun.