We’re spoilt for choice in the Cotswolds. There’s a brilliant National Hunt trainer in every valley and the villages are stuffed with good pubs.

In spite of competition from names synonymous with the biggest races – Jonjo O’Neill, Nigel Twiston-Davies and Kim Bailey, not to mention a stack of other talented operators – it’s Ben Pauling whose star is rising. I’ve been very fond of Ben since he was a nipper. We’re both sons of Chipping Norton farmers, so a SML (Sensible Monday Lunch) tends to be both a pleasure and also a disappointment that it isn’t a PFL. (You can work that out for yourself.)

But where to meet? The Old Butchers in Stow-on-the-Wold is jolly good and the second oldest race sponsor in the country, Nick Clark, of Haynes Hanson & Clark, is usually in there knocking back some of his splosh. But it’s closed on Mondays, probably because Nick has that day off.

The Fox in Oddington is one of my favourites because it still has a proper meeter-and-greeter, Vincent. Call me old fashioned but I like to get a nice warm welcome when I’m out on a pub crawl. Then there’s Oaks-winning breeder Lady Bamford’s other pub, the Wild Rabbit in Kingham, which hits the spot if you eat in the bar. Or Archie Orr-Ewing’s Kings Head in Bledington, one of the few owner-operated joints still on the go and lethal during the Cheltenham Festival. Or the Chequers in Churchill where I’ve been drinking with........

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