The changing of the guard was enacted appropriately yesterday. Barry Geraghty won on his first ride as stable jockey to Nicky Henderson and Mick Fitzgerald, who held the job for longer than most riding careers, was at Towcester to interview them both in his new role as a television presenter. The blazer-and-tied Fitzy seemed briefly and uncharacteristically short of words. “I feel very weird,” he explained. “But pleased, too.”

Geraghty was previously reluctant to leave his Irish roots for any British job. “I have the best of both worlds now, still based at home but commuting to ride some lovely horses for a very straightforward man,” he said. “It'll work on the same model as Ruby [Walsh] with Paul Nicholls and I didn't have to think twice.”

He does, however, think plenty about the task of following such an enduring partnership. “They were the Torvill and Dean of our sport and it's a big job to step into. Mick had a lot of input and it'll be a hard job to match it.” He started ideally with a hard-fought chase win on Ingratitude and will be schooling for the 112-strong team this morning at Seven Barrows.

Towcester was staging its first meeting since being put up for sale by Lord Hesketh and its free admission policy drew the usual huge crowd. Chris Palmer, the chief executive, reports several expressions of interest in the £10 million site and one unexpected offer could come from the Aspire catering company, fronted by Michelin-starred chef Steven Saunders. Already installed at nearby Silverstone, they look set to transform the food at Towcester and could be interested in a more proprietorial role.

Given that their old boys include such racecourse alumni as Charles Barnett, Stephen Wallis and Ian Renton, it may come as no surprise that Woodcote House prep school, near Ascot, offers the unusual attraction of a racing club to its impressionable pupils. This admirable extracurricular initiative broke new ground last weekend with a club trip to Paris. The ten boys, in their brown and gold uniforms, were conspicuously wide-eyed at Longchamp, though understandably downcast when the attendant staff broke the news of an administrative hitch. The revised time of their return train on Eurostar meant that they were obliged to leave five minutes before the Arc.

Stoicism has been the hallmark of Robert Alner's attitude to the harshest of adversity. The approach has been shared by his remarkable wife, Sally, who has taken responsibility for their Dorset yard. The trainer remains immobilised in hospital, 11 months after his life-threatening car crash, but his appalling injuries have not crushed his spirit. The top lots for an auction to be held at a fund-raising dinner at Wincanton on Saturday are two unraced horses. One, a Lear Spear gelding donated by Tom Costello's Irish stud, is to remain in training with the Alners for at least 18 months, so Robert wished to see him. Sally, typically, loaded him in a horsebox and drove him to Odstock Hospital for the critical viewing.

Another litmus test of how racing is to be hit by the credit crunch will come when Highclere Thoroughbreds stage their yearling parades this month. With more than £1 million in prize-money this year, Highclere is the brand leader in elite syndicates - as an average share in two or three horses costs £15,000 they are not at the bargain end of the market but appeal hugely to Middle England. More than 500 are booked for the parades and Harry Herbert, Highclere's supremo, will be holding his breath.

Wetherby's opening meeting next Wednesday will go ahead after a three-man inspectorate from the British Horseracing Authority passed the track fit yesterday. What support it will receive from leading trainers remains in doubt. Rupert Arnold, who attended the inspection for the National Trainers' Federation, said: “It's improved in the last fortnight but there is still a lot of concern about the variability of going.Ultimately, it will come down to individual trainers' decisions and I know some are still reluctant to run there.”