Eyes down, here we go. The three-day November Meeting, one of the highlights on the racing calendar, is almost upon us and it’s fair to say that excitement levels are rising.

This year’s extravaganza goes under starter’s orders on Friday with more than 70,000 fans expected at Cheltenham Racecouse over the three days.

“It’s a wonderful meeting,” said Mike Edwards, a racing man through and through who has spent a lifetime involved in the sport.

“It’s top-quality racing and there’s always a great atmosphere.”

Edwards, who lives just outside Chipping Campden, was a teenager when the meeting was first held way back in 1960 and while many things have changed in the intervening years, many things have not.

“It means an awful lot to an awful lot of people to have a winner at Cheltenham,” continued Edwards.

“The showpiece race is the Paddy Power Gold Cup on the Saturday and it’s a race that Gloucestershire trainers and jockeys have done very well in over the years.”

They certainly have. A quick look at the record books will tell you that Nigel Twiston-Davies has won the race four times while Jonjo O’Neill has been successful on three occasions.

“I remember Twiston-Davies winning it for the first time in 1992 with Tipping Tim,” said Edwards. “Carl Llewellyn was on board.

“He won the race again in 2008 with Imperial Commander, who was ridden by Paddy Brennan, and 18 months later they joined forces to win the Cheltenham Gold Cup.”

Twiston-Davies’ son Sam steered Little Josh to victory in the Paddy Power Gold Cup in 2010 while Tom Bellamy rode Splash of Ginge to victory in 2017.

O’Neill won the race for the first time in 2006 with Exotic Dancer, ridden by the great Tony McCoy, and he won it again seven years later with the Richie McLernon-ridden Johns Spirit.

His most recent success in the race came in 2016 when Aidan Coleman rode Taquin du Seuil to victory.

The late, great David Nicholson won the race on two occasions – with Very Promising in 1986 and Another Coral in 1991 – while Gloucestershire racing fans will never forget Senor El Betrutti’s shock win for trainer Sue Nock in 1997.

That was a long time ago now but Edwards, who still has a share in a couple of racehorses, can go back a few more decades.

“Fortria, the first ever winner of the race, was a magnificent animal,” said Edwards, a head lad for Chris Taylor in Prestbury and Rupert Ward in Minchinhampton back in the day.

“He was ridden by Pat Taaffe and trained by Tom Dreaper, they won the race again in 1962. He was a great horse.

“Then there was Gay Trip. He won it in 1969 and 1971 and also won the Grand National. He was trained by Fred Rimell and ridden by Terry Biddlecombe, Biddlecombe was a great jockey.”

Three-times champion jockey Biddlecombe, who was born in Gloucester, was one of the very best, of course, and Edwards was a big fan.

Edwards was also a big fan of the Fulke Walwyn-trained Richard of Bordeaux who just happened to win the showpiece race at Cheltenham in November back in 1963.

“I’d always back him when he ran at Cheltenham,” Edwards said. “He’d run all over the country and never did anything but he always ran well at Cheltenham.

“He was a wonderful grey horse, I made a bit of money that day!”