The Monday evening and Tuesday

I agree. Civalised meal and drink in Longford.
Then let battle commence

Magic time.
Leave the house early Monday and reach digs about 4ish.
Bags dumped, few pints with excitement.
Wake up at a ridiculous time on Tuesday morning with a sore head wondering why, despite saying for weeks you won't go daft on the Monday, you have a hazy head for the start of the meeting.
Troop along to the newsagent waiting for it to open, buy the Posts, tip out the Billy Hills leaflets in the middle, and drink the hangover cure pint of milk on way back to digs.
Dish out the Posts, scoff a fry up and into battle with hopes and dreams alive.
Wonderful.

completely agree - nothing better than getting into the old haunts on the Monday night and seeing the usual faces for a spirited discussion of the week ahead.

I always think it's as if you pull a curtain over as you drive into the Cotswolds at the start of the week - Iran could explode a nuclear bomb on the Tuesday and you'd know nowt about it until the weekend!

Monday before Cheltenham is horrific.
I've tried Stratford, playing golf, even going to work but I find I have the concentration span of a 6 year old.
I now play golf in Burford, head to the hotel, get unpacked and grab a few beers at the bar then head to the Royal Oak Prestbury for the preview evening, it just about gives me enough entertainment and fills in the minutes before Tuesday.
Only one day in the calendar that's worse that the Monday before Cheltenham, and that's the Saturday after....

I have to admit the week before Cheltenham and especially the Monday, I struggle to work out what to put down on my timesheet at work... Aparently studying trends for the foxhunter chase isn't an appropriate use of my time, and isn't beneficial to my client? Ridiculous imo

That's a good point about totally losing track of what is going on in the wider world. It really is as if nothing else is happening!

Be travelling down on the Monday night this year with the lads having craic all the way down

Contrary sh1t that I am, Monday is a time of solitude for me and I couldn't stand the thought of being around anyone else.

Everything has been said, mulled over, diseccted and generally bled dry and all that's left is anticipation and mild-to-full blown hysteria!

This is going to sound well-w@nky, but what the hell. I love just leaving the office at about midday Monday, getting something suitably powerful on the CD player and driving over the Cotswolds in splendid isolation to the Hotel.

Hit the gym to get the adrenaline down to a more manageable level. Download the Tuesday card on Raceform Interactive whils getting some top notch scran on room service, then glorious isolation to study the races in a depth I never get the rest of the year when work, family and everyone else wants a piece of me.

Maybe a quiet pint in the bar, but I'm generally on edge and lousy company at this point.Hopefully I'm more sociable once we're off into the maelstrom but Monday night 'that's me in the corner - losing my inate good guy persona' getting my ya-ya's out ahead of the best four days of my year.

Tuesday, up early, maybe hit the gym again, shower, get dressed into my classiest threads (fk it, if the horses are at concert pitch then I should make the effort too!) and get to the course early enough for all of what I've waited all year for to start happening.

At which point, 'Sociable Rodge' kicks back in......