TOO MUCH INFORMATION, PERHAPS.

The concept of the Cheltenham Festival preview night, when it was first dreamed-up, was innovative and exciting, an entertaining way for hoteliers and publicans to sell more beer and achieve free publicity for their business. Given the time of year it is held, it is surprising to me the concept has not been revamped to take in Royal Ascot preview nights, where the wives of punters can join in the fun by trying out possible Royal Ascot frocks and hats. Summer, frills, fascinators and Pims should, one would think, make for a good night out at a pub with a beer garden.

Anyway, the preview season has got out of hand, if you count-up those I see advertised and those uploaded to YouTube. The adorable Vanessa Ryles even hosted a Cheltenham Preview night in Portugal, with A.P. McCoy and Charlie Swan the expert panellists. It is evidence the appeal of Cheltenham remains, still fascinating, still the place to be seen having winners, despite the negativity over the cost of actually attending the meeting. The Cheltenham National Hunt Festival remains magical and wondrous, a spectacular sporting occasion where the extraordinary can occur at any moment - last year's Champion Hurdle being a case in point.

But to return to preview nights. I am sure they are useful if there is only one preview night in your area; the guests give their tips, the banter can be boisterous and ripe and fun is had all round. Yet when three of the experts suggest a different horse for the same race, how does that help the listener decide which horse to back come the day. And 14-days out, or ten, five or four-days from the start of the meeting, no one knows what the ground will be like on the first day, let alone come Friday. Or which race Willie Mullins will run his best novice in - the Supreme, by the way, if you haven't been informed yet, for Mighty Park - or any of his multitude of horses he will be sending over, many with multiple entries. Idaho Sun, by the way, misses the Supreme due to a setback. Handstands looks like running in the Ultima but he might yet wait for the Ryanair. Romeo Coolio is still a possible for the Brown Advisory.

I half tongue-in-cheek suggested that despite the record amount of rain to have fallen in the Cheltenham area since Christmas, with the state-of-the-art drainage system it is perfectly conceivable that by Wednesday evening the irrigation taps might be switched-on. I was wide of the mark, apparently, as they were turned-on yesterday on parts of the New Course. I don't know how many of you have enjoyed a walk on Cleeve Hill when the fog suddenly and mysteriously rolls in, leaving you wondering in which direction to go to find safety, fully aware that somewhere close by there is an edge to the hill and several bomb craters courtesy of German bomber pilots emptying their cargo-bays in order to make a quicker flight home after bombing the crap out of Coventry during the 2nd World War. That must be what it is like trying to make sense of all the tips from all the experts if you have attended more than two preview nights. How many of those experts confidently predicted that on spring ground Marine Nationale would put Majsborough to the sword in the Champion Chase? How many people, as I did, thought having Thistle Ask in the race would put Majsborough's jumping to the test?

If you are attending a preview night over the weekend, I wish you a great night out. I doubt, though, you will receive any useful inside information that will win you a fortune over the next 9-days. And if any inside information is given, you can bet your bottom dollar that two experts with reliable contacts in two of the major stables will name two different horses in the same race.

At this minute, Jonbon is still in the Ryanair and Fact To File might still be supplemented for the Gold Cup. It rained here in North Devon all yesterday evening and well into the night. Our local weather map extends from the tip of Cornwall to the south Midlands, including the Cheltenham area. They had the same weather symbols over them as we did. Make of that what you will.