MARCH 2016
Thursday
31 March 2016 |
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I didn’t
write a blog yesterday because it’s been so quiet this week ... But there
are three runners of interest tomorrow, at Newbury: 14:25 Hindon Road (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – Handicap Chase
[2 miles 6 furlongs & 93 yards] 16:10 Montbazon (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – Handicap Hurdle
[2 miles & 69 yards] 15:20
McCabe Creek (Alan King/Jamie Insole) – ‘Hands and Heels’ Novices’ Handicap
Hurdle (Conditional Jockeys & Amateur Riders); Alan had been worried that
Jamie might not be fit to take up this engagement, having had a bad fall last
week. Liam
Treadwell was knocked-out, briefly, today when falling at Bangor-on-Dee. So he will be ‘signed-off’ for at least 6 days and may miss Aintree too. I missed the fact that Jamie Moore is
currently on the sidelines, having broken his left collarbone at Taunton on
22 March; but he does hope to be back riding in time for the Festival. Other news
is that Sprinter Sacre has been ‘pencilled in’ for Sandown’s
Celebration Chase on the final day of the season, rather than travelling to Aintree
or Punchestown. And the
news from the Alan King yard is that Ned Stark is likely to run at Newbury on
Saturday, along with maybe Avispa, Awesome Rosie,
Pemba, Pantxoa, Herewego Herewego and a newcomer in the bumper named Hidden
Cargo. I notice that Noel Williams’ Bingo
D’Olivate is also an entry in the first race on the
card, with Wayne Hutchinson set to partner him again. Meanwhile,
Ardamir has been entered in the Juvenile Handicap
Hurdle at Ascot on Sunday, along with Oceane; the
trainer is mulling over whether to run the Dunkley & Reilly horse in a
tongue-tie following the breathing problem encountered at Cheltenham. Others mentioned in dispatches for Ascot
are Midnight Cowboy, The Tourard Man, Salmanazar and Gone Too Far. It sounds
like two very good end-of-season fixtures this weekend ... but, sadly, I’m
still resting ahead of my 3-day adventure to the Aintree Festival at the end
of next week ... Alan
thinks it’s extremely unlikely that Midnight Prayer will get a run in the
National, as he’s 56th on the list.
But, all being well, Yanworth will run in
the Mersey Novices’ Hurdle a week Saturday. Simply A
Legend is out for the remainder of the year, having suffered a repeat of his
leg injury – that’s news via Hannah Bishop, the owner’s Racing Manager. Grantchester is brilliant but, sadly, there’s just one further
episode before the end of the second series.
The storyline lulled one into a false sense of security where you thought
something couldn’t possibly happen yet, yesterday, having expected a
last-minute reprieve for the young lad who had been convicted of murder, he
was hanged. Poor Reverend Sidney is
now in meltdown following this outcome, so I guess it all now depends on
whether the series producers can hang on to actor James Norton, or whether he
will move on to pastures new; onwards and upwards. He’s very very
good, and has recently appeared in two series of Happy Valley and also War
And Peace. Oh well
... Santiago Cabrera will soon return in Series 3 of The Musketeers ...
although rumour has it that this is the final series L I gather
there’s a second series of the new Poldark in the
offing ... but I lost interest in the remake quite quickly – it’s nowhere
near as good as the original. I know
women rave about Aidan Turner ... but I can’t quite see it myself! |
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Tuesday
29 March 2016 |
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There are
no results to report today as all three runners of interest, at Southwell, were non-runners due
to the going - Sticking Point, Menace and Our Reward. The new plan
for Menace is to either run at Market Rasen on
Sunday 10 April (the day after the Grand National), or at Southwell
on Friday 15 April. There’s
National Hunt racing at Exeter tomorrow, but no runners of interest. Kerry Lee
had another winner at Fairyhouse today, this time
it was Top Gamble in a Grade 2 chase; he was ridden by Richard Johnson. But not
very reassuringly, Willie Mullins is quoted as saying “Anything that’s right could run” at Aintree. Horses mentioned were Annie Power and
Nichols Canyon in the 2 miles 4 furlong Grade 1 hurdle, Vautour
in the Melling Chase, Don Poli
in the Bowl, and juveniles Apple’s Jade, Footpad and maybe Let’s Dance. Also possibly Douvan. However, Min won’t be making an appearance,
as he’s been put out to grass for the summer; he didn’t return from
Cheltenham in good heart. Willie has
his eye on our Trainers’ Championship evidently ... I’m
resting this evening, as regards my Cheltenham catch-ups ... I’ve been
working today and also plagued by a whole variety of issues since this
morning; I’ve had neck ache, dizziness, shoulder ache, ‘clampy head’ and back pain! |
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Monday
28 March 2016 |
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Today I
found another Racing UK BetBright Cup interview with
Choc and Hector on my Skybox (recorded pre-racing on Day 2) ... so I now have
three, from 14 March (preview), 16 March (Day 2) and 17 March (Day 3). But the
bad news is that the Skybox, having been set-up for auto delete at the time,
moved Day 1’s Mark Your Card programme into the separate delete box because
I’d briefly viewed it to check the recording had succeeded. I would have
marked it straightaway as a ‘keeper’
had I realised there might be another Choc and Hector interview
included. But, as a result, I probably
deleted it accidently when I was checking to see where it had disappeared to;
typical. But, as I wrote in my
Cheltenham blog, it’s an issue of poor design on the part of Sky; that’s my
software engineering brain kicking in (I have a BSc degree in Computer
Science, with software engineering, gained in 1995). I must have also missed an interview with
Choc and Hector on Day 4’s Mark Your Card; but that didn’t even record in the
first place, because the box decided there wasn’t enough room on the hard
drive to do so. What a bummer. I’ve now reset the box to ‘manual’ housekeeping of recordings so,
if there’s a problem with failed ones going forward, it’s my fault
entirely. My problem
is that I cannot bring myself to knowingly delete a number of my favourite
recordings of my favourite person from the Sky box, despite having copies on
DVD too! It’s my back-up strategy I
guess. I need a
new camera, and am hoping to upgrade to a new and improved one within the
next year ... but only if Hotter and Kipling agree to stop offering
irresistible items in their seasonal sales!!! I spend
far too much on crafting also ... jewellery and knitting being my current
favourites, but I also like cross-stitching and have recently bought a number
of sewing patterns with the hope of re-establishing that hobby – although I
cannot recall making anything since dresses and rah-rah skirts in the
80s. It’s very difficult to find
skirts, in designs I like, in the shops these days – I love hem detail, including
‘flippy’
hems and handkerchief hems; also pencil skirts. Plain A-line skirts aren’t for me – I’m all
stomach and boobs (again courtesy of my paternal grandmother), not bum and
thighs! There’s just
one result today, as all three entered at Chepstow were non-runners due to
the heavy going: Fakenham: Kokomo
(Noel Williams/Nick Scholfield) finished 3rd in the
Mares’ Maiden Open NH Flat Race (5 ran). Chepstow: Sticking
Point (Martin Keighley/Killian Moore) was a non-runner in the NH Novices’
Hurdle Ned Stark
(Alan King/Tom Bellamy) was a non-runner in the Handicap Chase [2 miles 7
furlongs & 131 yards] Dalton
Glance (Martin Keighley/Killian Moore) was a non-runner in the Mares’
Standard Open NH Flat Race There was
a successful raid to Fairyhouse for the Dan
Skelton-trained Value At Risk, ridden by brother Harry; he won the Grade 2
Hurdle race. Also,
Emily Gray won the Grade 3 Mares’ Chase, ridden by Jonathan Burke; she was
due to be piloted by David Bass, but travel problems threw both the jockey’s
and trainer Kim Bailey’s journey into chaos and they failed to arrive. Russe Blanc made an unsuccessful appearance in the
Irish Grand National; he was pulled up, having been unsuited by the
ground. The race was won by Rogue
Angel, for Gigginstown Stud, trained by Mouse
Morris and ridden by Ger Fox. And, a
first for me, I was actually cheering home Ruby Walsh, who failed narrowly to
win aboard the ex-Alan King-trained Bless The Wings!!! I must have been having a funny moment ...
but I was supporting the horse, not the jockey! It has
been announced that popular flat horse Cirrus Des Aigles
has been retired; he has ligament issues.
There may
or may not be three runners of interest tomorrow, at Southwell: 15:30
Sticking Point (Martin Keighley/Andrew Tinkler) –
Novices’ Hurdle 16:40
Menace (Noel Williams/William Featherstone/EPDS Racing) – Hands and Heels
Handicap Hurdle (conditionals and amateurs) [2 miles 4 furlongs & 62
yards]. 17:15 Our Reward
(Jamie Snowden/Brendan Powell/EPDS Racing) – Standard Open NH Flat Race However,
as it has been raining at Southwell for much of
today, Menace is reported to have just a 20% chance of running, as the ground
will probably be too soft for our little boy.
I’ve now
drafted the top and tail of my third Cheltenham diary, Day 4. I’m still on schedule ... yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeees!
|
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Sunday
27 March 2016 |
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There were
two runners of interest at Plumpton and this is how they fared: Authorized Too (Noel Williams/Wayne
Hutchinson) won the Maiden Hurdle (6 ran); Wayne’s 51st
winner of the
season. I gather the horse’s stable
name is ‘Arthur’. Krackatoa King (Noel Williams/Wayne Hutchinson) finished
2nd in the Sussex National [3 miles 4 furlongs & 102 yards] (8 ran). Also
another favourite of mine, Billy No Name, finished 5th in the Sussex Champion
Hurdle (7 ran). There are
five National Hunt fixtures tomorrow – Chepstow, Fakenham,
Huntingdon, Market Rasen and Plumpton
– with four runners of interest at two of these: Chepstow: 14:55
Sticking Point (Martin Keighley/Killian Moore) – NH Novices’ Hurdle 16:40 Ned
Stark (Alan King/Tom Bellamy) – Handicap Chase [2 miles 7 furlongs & 131
yards] 17:15
Dalton Glance (Martin Keighley/Killian Moore) – Mares’ Standard Open NH Flat
Race Fakenham: 17:45
Kokomo (Noel Williams/Nick Scholfield) – Mares’
Maiden Open NH Flat Race There was
an inspection before racing at Plumpton today and,
I gather, there will need to be another tomorrow with further rain expected
in the south-east. Wayne
Hutchinson has riding engagements at Market Rasen,
but not for Alan King. Also, Denis O’Regan will be riding at Fairyhouse
again tomorrow; including a ride in the Irish Grand National. Ruby Walsh is due to ride Bless The Wings
in the race for Gordon Elliott. Kerry Lee
claimed her first Grade 1 victory today, at Fairyhouse,
when Kylemore Lough won the Ryanair
Gold Cup Novice Chase under Barry Geraghty. There was also a first Grade 1 victory for
Irish trainer Gavin Cromwell, when Jer’s Girl won
the Mares’ Novice Hurdle Championship Final; she was also ridden by Barry Geraghty, as JP McManus had purchased her last week! Kerry runs the white Russe
Blanc in tomorrow’s Irish Grand National.
Kylemore Lough: https://mobile.twitter.com/Fairyhouse/status/714112487692566529/photo/1 Kerry Lee: https://mobile.twitter.com/RacingPost/status/714131631464955905/photo/1 Jim Goldie
reports that Jonny Delta suffered muscle damage as a result of yesterday’s
crashing fall; however the horse should be fine following stable rest. In contrast, Diarmuid
O’Regan sustained a broken collarbone, cracked ribs
and was awaiting the result of a scan on his knee. I’m still
on schedule as regards my Cheltenham diaries, as I’ve now topped and tailed
Day 2’s draft. I even had time to do
some knitting late afternoon.
Tomorrow’s task is to top and tail my Cheltenham diary Day 4. I’d
intended to watch Jane Eyre late yesterday evening, but ended up dozing off,
twice, instead. That wouldn’t have
been too much of an issue had I not already had a sore neck; I ended up aggravating
the problem because I was sitting in an armchair at the time! |
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Saturday
26 March 2016 |
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Picture courtesy of the Gloucestershire Echo I was interviewed
by a young man from the Gloucestershire Echo on Gold Cup Day ... and have
made it onto their website: I’m
looking very ‘grey’ ... and should
have lied about my age (or not told them) ... although the press guy did say
I didn’t look it; however, I felt more like 70 by last weekend!!! I’ve got to the stage where I don’t mind
having grey hair, but I’d like it to turn completely white as soon as
possible. I had lovely brunette hair,
until I began to turn grey at the age of 20!
And no, I’ve never had a desire to be blonde. I inherited the ‘grey’ gene from my paternal grandmother, Clara, who was white by
the time she was 30; her nickname as a youngster, evidently, was ‘darkie’! But, looking on the bright side, I didn’t
inherit tight curly locks from my dad. I’ve been
naughty again today ... this time I was looking at the Hotter Shoes website,
as you do when taking a few minutes break, and thought I’d just take a look
at their clearance items. I found they
were offering ‘Cannes’ style boots,
in sizes including mine (8) in ‘mushroom’,
for Ł49.99; that’s a 50% reduction on the full price. I already have this style of boot in black,
which I bought in their December 2014 sale, for Ł59.99. What can I say ... I bought a pair, as they
were foremost in my mind, having seen a lady at Cheltenham wearing the style
and colour last week (when I was coincidently following her through the car
park); I wore my pair on Tuesday and Friday and love them. They are great for wearing with both skirts
or leggings/jeggings ... or both at the same time
as is frequently my preference for race-days at the present time – why be
cold if you don’t have to be? They are
calf length, 80% suede, 20% leather, and lace-up too; plus the heel is a
sensible height (2 inches) and wedge in shape – ideal for walking on winter
grass, although I wouldn’t wear them in extremely wet conditions as that
could ruin them, I’d wear my M&S snow-boots instead. There were
two runners of interest today, at Haydock Park: Kings Bayonet
(Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) finished 2nd in the 2-mile Hurdle Series Final
(Handicap Hurdle) (14 ran). Vendor, currently trained by Sue Smith, could
only finish in 10th. Amazingly, both
Jonny Delta and Serenity Now survived their falls at the first and second
flights respectively. However, jockey Diarmuid O’Regan (younger
brother of Denis) was taken to Aintree Hospital for observation having lost
consciousness when Jonny Delta made his bone crunching exit. Elgin (Alan
King/Wayne Hutchinson) was the 12-1 winner of Standard Open NH Flat Race (12
ran); Wayne’s 50th winner of the
season. I hope my friend Sandra put
her money on Elgin today – it’s her home territory! For the
record, EPDS’ Wildehearted Woman (aka Wilma),
trained by Jamie Snowden and ridden by Brendan Powell, won her Mares’
Standard Open Flat Race at Carlisle this afternoon; price 12-1. https://mobile.twitter.com/LeaNor93/status/713812471648231424/photo/1 There are
two runners of interest tomorrow, at Plumpton: 16:35
Authorized Too (Noel Williams/Wayne Hutchinson) – Maiden Hurdle 17:10 Krackatoa King (Noel Williams/Wayne Hutchinson) – Sussex
National [3 miles 4 furlongs & 102 yards] I have to say
I’m underwhelmed by Windows 10 and Edge.
It’s easy enough to find what you want ... but it’s so old fashioned
looking! I’ve ‘topped’ my Day 1 diary, and also hope
to ‘tail’ it before turning in
tonight. Having exhausted myself
during Cheltenham, I’m in no hurry to complete my Cheltenham diaries before
Aintree. Just so long as I can
complete all three ‘tops’ and ‘tails’, anything else will be a bonus,
including uploading my photographs. I
will then be pacing myself well into the summer, especially as I’ll have
further race days to diarise. |
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Friday
25 March 2016 |
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Firstly,
First Mohican finished 4th in his all-weather race at Lingfield
Park today (13 ran). Meanwhile, at Wolverhampton,
Agent Gibbs (currently leased by EPDS Racing) finished 3rd on the all-weather
on his seasonal debut. I gather,
earlier this week, Tom Bellamy was handed a 9-day ban for overuse of his whip;
as a result he will miss the Aintree Festival, as the ban runs from 07 to 15
April. I gather
that Stratford’s fixture, scheduled for tomorrow, has been abandoned. This leaves just two runners of interest,
at Haydock Park: 15:45
Kings Bayonet (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – 2-mile Hurdle Series Final
(Handicap Hurdle); Vendor, currently trained by Sue Smith, also takes part in
this race. 16:50
Elgin (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – Standard Open NH Flat Race Lambourn had lovely weather for their Open Day ... very
fortunate, as it’s now all downhill for the remainder of the Easter weekend! Altior, winner of the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle last
week, looking pretty at Seven Barrows today: https://mobile.twitter.com/mjyharris/status/713440824101568512/photo/1 The
current Champion Chaser, Sprinter Sacre: https://mobile.twitter.com/Epsom1780/status/713432672463360004/photo/1 And the
recently retired Long Run: https://mobile.twitter.com/mjyharris/status/713445164451237889/photo/1 And, last
but not least, Many Clouds: https://mobile.twitter.com/AtTheRaces/status/713325964051267584/photo/1 As usual,
I’ve failed in my quest to keep to my diary writing schedule ... it’s just so
easy to get side-tracked. I’ve been
surfing the internet, and discovered that the Kipling handbag I’ve had my eye
on, in my preferred colour too, has been reduced in price by 30% this weekend
... so I’ve bought one! I just
couldn’t help myself. I’ve also
been catching up with two episodes of Grantchester;
I saw last Wednesday’s but missed the Wednesday before ... so I watched the
first and then re-watched the second too.
But it’s never a chore, as the star James Norton is rather nice eye
candy!!! Fans are calling for his
character, the Reverend Sidney Chambers, to ditch his old flame Amanda for
sassy on/off new girlfriend Margaret ... and I couldn’t agree more. Although, from almost half a century of
experience, I know just who difficult it is not to be held prisoner by
matters of the heart. |
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Thursday
24 March 2016 |
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Here are
today’s results for my runners of interest: Chepstow: Miss Minx
(Alan King/William Featherstone) finished 8th in the Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle
(11 ran). Brod Na Heireann (Alan
King/Tom Bellamy) finished 3rd in the Handicap Hurdle [2 miles 7 furlongs
& 131 yards] (9 ran). Ludlow: Magic
Music Man (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) finished 4th in the Novices’ Hurdle
(13 ran). Avispa (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) finished 3rd in the
Mares’ Handicap Hurdle (5 ran). Lady
Persephone (Alan King/Denis O’Regan) finished 6th
but Morning Herald (Martin
Keighley/Andrew Tinkler) won the Mares’ Novices’
Hurdle (10 ran). Well done Team
Keighley; their 22nd winner of the season. Wolverhampton: Schoolboy
Error (Jamie Osborne/Adam Kirby/part-owned by AppleTree
Stud) finished 5th in the Handicap [1 mile 4 furlongs & 50 yards] (11
ran). There’s
all-weather action tomorrow, with Alan King’s First Mohican running in the
14:40 at Lingfield Park. I’m not religious, but I don’t agree with
there being horse racing on Good Friday.
And, of course, it’s the Lambourn Open Day
tomorrow. I understand Sprinter Sacre and Coneygree will be
parading, amongst others; also, Many Clouds will be paraded at his trainer,
Oliver Sherwood’s yard. Both Sam Waley-Cohen and Nina Carberry
have been cleared to ride in the Grand National. Their respective bans were upheld but, due
to ambiguous wording in the BHA rules, the authority conceded that the bans
could not apply upon that particular day!
Oops! I took my
car to my service company before I went to work this morning. The mechanic put it on the ramp and
re-checked the cooling system; it came back with a clean bill of health. So, hopefully, it was just an airlock as
suggested and will now be fine. |
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Wednesday
23 March 2016 |
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There were
3 runners of interest at Warwick and this is how they
fared: Clondaw Fonz (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson)
finished 6th in the Maiden Hurdle (17 ran). Quantum Of
Solace (Noel Williams/Wayne Hutchinson) finished 8th in the Mares’ Handicap
Hurdle (12 ran). Bastien (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) finished 4th in the
Standard Open NH Flat Race (18 ran). Tomorrow
there are also a number of runners of interest: Chepstow: 14:05 Miss
Minx (Alan King/William Featherstone) – Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle 15:15 Brod Na Heireann (Alan King/Tom
Bellamy) – Handicap Hurdle [2 miles 7 furlongs & 131 yards] Ludlow: 14:30 Magic
Music Man (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – Novices’ Hurdle 15:40 Avispa (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – Mares’ Handicap
Hurdle 17:20 Lady
Persephone (Alan King/Denis O’Regan) & Morning
Herald (Martin Keighley/Andrew Tinkler) – Mares’
Novices’ Hurdle Wolverhampton: 17:10
Schoolboy Error (Jamie Osborne/Adam Kirby/part-owned by AppleTree
Stud) – Handicap [1 mile 4 furlongs & 50 yards] You will
have noticed that Menace isn’t running tomorrow, as he’s still sore; Southwell remains on the agenda for next Tuesday. Thistlecrack, the impressive winner of last week’s World
Hurdle, has been awarded an official rating of 174; that’s the same as the
highest rating ever awarded to Big Buck’s! There was
a nice article about Any Currency and Martin Keighley is today’s Racing Post. And, being
a Wednesday, the latest issue of Weekender has appeared in the shops: Alan King
writes that he didn’t have a highlight last week ... because he didn’t have a
winner at Cheltenham! And his lowlight
wasn’t Yanworth’s defeat, it was the very
disappointing runs of all three of his Triumph Hurdle runners; he says that
it’s clearly the case that the Irish juveniles are far better than the
British ones. However, Sprinter Sacre’s performance made him smile, because it was great
for connections and for racing in general; he describes it as a marvellous
performance. There’s no surprise that
the equine fatalities made him sad.
And he’s most looking forward to recharging his batteries after the
Festival ... me too!!! Alan was
delighted by Dusky Legend’s runner-up finish in the Mares’ Novices
Hurdle. However, Ardamir
choked early on in the Fred Winter and couldn’t breathe; hence the
disappointing showing. Alan
reckons he will probably have just a small team of runners at Aintree; about
6 in total. Winter Escape is ‘running up a bit light’ so won’t be
there, instead he will be going back to JP McManus’ Stud in Ireland for the
summer and Alan is very much looking forward to getting him back next
season. Midnight Maestro has returned
to Alan’s yard, having been sold for Ł100,000 at the Cheltenham Sales last
week; the trainer states that he was bought by one of Alan’s existing owners
(research on Alan’s website reveals that to be JP McManus too!). Sceau Royal may
go to Aintree, provided all is well with him; but Gibralfaro
will be gelded and put away for the season, while Who Dares Wins will be
given a break and then run on the flat. Ned Stark
is due to run in a Handicap Chase at Stratford this weekend, as top weight;
it’s still a fact-finding mission, due to his disappointing runs this
season. I guess it’s now big fish in a
small pond, as opposed to small fish in a big pond! I woke
with a sore neck this morning, which I’ve still got to some degree; and
around lunchtime I was feeling a little dizzy too – that’s another symptom
which occurs from time to time. So
I’m taking a break from my Cheltenham diaries this evening; although I’m
actually still in the process of setting up the templates, rather than
writing my memoirs yet. I’ve been
in touch with the service centre which serviced my car, regarding the
coolant, and have been asked to take it in tomorrow so that they can check it
over. The initial explanation however,
is plausible. The mechanic explained
that there may have been an airlock in the system, because they did carry out
a related-repair; thus, when the airlock cleared itself, the fluid will have
filled the space and emptied from the overflow tank. But it would have been nice if they could
have warned me this might happen, so that I could keep an eye on it before
the minimum level was reached. So it
was auspicious that the RAC checked under the bonnet last week. |
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Tuesday
22 March 2016 |
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For the
record, Kuda Huraa
finished 2nd and Our Phylli Vera completed in 3rd
in Wetherby’s Selling Hurdle today. Also,
Wayne Hutchinson rode Godsmejudge in a 3-mile
Handicap Chase at Exeter today; they finished 6th of 8. There are
3 runners of interest tomorrow, at Warwick: 14:10 Clondaw Fonz (Alan King/Wayne
Hutchinson) – Maiden Hurdle 16:20
Quantum Of Solace (Noel Williams/Wayne Hutchinson) – Mares’ Handicap Hurdle 17:20 Bastien (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – Standard Open NH
Flat Race With so
much going on, I forgot to wish Long Run a happy retirement: https://mobile.twitter.com/Channel4Racing/status/711960833933369344/photo/1 Menace has
sustained a small bruise on his leg, so he may not run at Chepstow on Thursday;
the contingency plan is to run him at Southwell on
29 March instead, in a Conditional Jockeys’ event. I hate Southwell,
and the brush hurdles ... so I’m not happy about that. |
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Monday
21 March 2016 |
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There were
5 runners of interest today, at Southwell: Sugar Mix
(Martin Keighley/Andrew Tinkler) unseated and Ted’s
Lad (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) finished 5th in the NH Maiden Hurdle Div I
(10 ran). Sticking
Point (Martin Keighley/Ian Popham) was a non-runner
but Weyburn (Martin
Keighley/Andrew Tinkler) won the NH Maiden Hurdle
Div II (7 ran); well done to the team, their 21st
winner of the
season (Any Currency was their 20th winner) Elkstone (Alan King/Denis O’Regan)
finished 5th in the Handicap Hurdle [1 mile 7 furlongs & 153 yards] (12
ran). There are
no specific runners of interest tomorrow, but I do notice that two ex-Alan
King-trained horses – Kuda Huraa
and Our Phylli Vera are running in the Selling
Hurdle at Wetherby. I was
going to have a little bit of a lie-in today ... but still woke up at 06:30;
I must be on autopilot still. Oh well,
I now can’t have a lie-in until Friday at the earliest, as I return to work
tomorrow following my Cheltenham Festival break. |
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Sunday
20 March 2016 |
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I wasn’t feeling
particularly well yesterday evening, so turned in at 20:00. I woke and made myself a cup of tea at
01:30, before going back to sleep and finally rising at 05:45. I’ve been transferring recordings to DVD
for most of today. It’s a
nightmare trying to get ‘back in
harness’ as regards to writing my blogs ... but I now feel I’m winning
with the Cheltenham Festival blogs and hope to have them completed at some
stage tomorrow. Wayne Hutchinson rode his 49th
winner of the
season today, at Carlisle aboard the Donald McCain-trained Bruce Almighty. There are
5 runners of interest tomorrow, at Southwell: 15:20
Sugar Mix (Martin Keighley/Andrew Tinkler) &
Ted’s Lad (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – NH Maiden Hurdle Div I 15:50
Sticking Point (Martin Keighley/Ian Popham) & Weyburn (Martin Keighley/Andrew Tinkler)
– NH Maiden Hurdle Div II 16:50 Elkstone (Alan King/Denis O’Regan)
– Handicap Hurdle [1 mile 7 furlongs & 153 yards] And, damn,
my newer laptop caught me out this afternoon by beginning the Windows 10
Upgrade when I wasn’t looking ... I didn’t want to do that yet, as I think
the deadline for obtaining a free upgrade isn’t until July? Admittedly I did choose an upgrade date the
last time I was asked ... of today ... but that was late Friday when I wasn’t
in a fit state to decide anything!!!
Poodles. |
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Saturday
19 March 2016 |
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I’d been
hoping to sleep in, having not turned in until 01:30 this morning. However, at 08:30, I received a nuisance
telephone call which woke me ... thanks a lot, whoever you were. I’ve also
been to the local sorting office to collect my Sandown Park Jump Finale
tickets; they had tried to deliver them yesterday when I was at
Cheltenham. There were
runners of interest today, and this is how they fared: Kempton
Park: Simply A
Legend (Alan King/Tom Bellamy) finished 2nd but Salmanazar
(Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) was pulled up in the Silver Plate Handicap
Hurdle [2 miles 5 furlongs] (17 ran). King Kayf (Noel Williams/Ian Popham)
and Mirkat (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) were both
pulled up in the Novices’ Hurdle (9 ran). Thomas
Shelby (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) finished 7th, Too Far Gone (Alan King/Tom
Bellamy) finished 15th, and Midnight Merlot (Noel Williams/Ian Popham) finished 12th in the Maiden Open NH Flat Race (17
ran). Richard
Johnson gave up all his rides today; he wanted to take time out to recover
from the rigours of the falls he’d suffered at the Cheltenham Festival. Fontwell Park: Altesse De Guye (Martin
Keighley/Conor Shoemark)
finished 3rd in the Mares’ Handicap Hurdle (8 ran). Uttoxeter: Daliance (Noel Williams/William Featherstone/EPDS Racing)
finished 5th in the Handicap Chase [2 miles 4 furlongs] (11 ran). Both Tom Scudamore and Thomas Garner were taken to hospital
following falls at Uttoxeter; Tom Scudamore later tweeted to say it was just bumps and
bruises, but he wasn’t sure when he would be fit enough to return. Two
further foals have been born at the AppleTree Stud
– a colt born last Tuesday to a mare named Midnight Thoughts, and a filly
foal by Kalanisi for The Pirate Queen was born last
Saturday. I’m also
currently in recovery, the Cheltenham Festival having exhausted me. In fact I didn’t even make it to Cheltenham
on Thursday because I was far too tired to consider taking the long drive
home after racing. As it was,
Wednesday’s homebound journey was awful, I could feel myself losing
concentration and, eventually, I had to stop off at the M40 Beaconsfield Services
for a break. Friday wasn’t much
better, so I avoided the motorways in an endeavour to beat the overwhelming
tiredness from taking its toll – it didn’t help very much, but I’m still
alive to tell the tale, just. I can’t
believe what a difference a year has made to my energy levels ... but I can
certainly guess why ... and I’m not happy about it. |
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Cheltenham
Festival 2016 – Tuesday 15 March to Friday 18 March 2016 - Click
here to read |
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Monday
14 March 2016 |
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Here are
today’s results for my runners of interest at Taunton: Forgiving
Glance (Alan King/Denis O’Regan) finished 2nd in
the Fillies’ Juvenile Hurdle (8 ran). Midnight
Thomas (Martin Keighley/Andrew Tinkler) was pulled
up in the Handicap Chase [2 miles & 12 yards] (11 ran). Choc and
Hector have been publicising the BetBright Cup
again: https://mobile.twitter.com/JSCComms/status/709431431357997056/photo/1 Jamie Insole
has tweeted a photo of Smad
Place; he’s chilling out in his stable ahead of his race on Friday. https://mobile.twitter.com/JamieInsole/status/709437169644015616/photo/1 Steve
Ayres has tweeted a video of Yanworth,
enjoying time in his field pen (this may be a photo if the link doesn’t work
correctly!) https://mobile.twitter.com/orse_racing_lad/status/709297215341203456/video/1 And photo
on Yanworth in his stable too: https://mobile.twitter.com/orse_racing_lad/status/709265032039768064/photo/1 Also a
photo of one of AppleTree Stud’s yearlings: https://mobile.twitter.com/Kirsty_Durham/status/709172113287020544/photo/1 Again,
this may a photo or a video, depending on the software link: https://mobile.twitter.com/Kirsty_Durham/status/709171891622297600/video/1 I forgot
to mention Many Clouds yesterday, after his fabulous win at Kelso: https://mobile.twitter.com/JaneJwills/status/709124654863147010/photo/1 Krackatoa King, having finished 3rd at Warwick yesterday: https://mobile.twitter.com/noelwilliams03/status/709135793999257601/photo/1 Mad Moose
actually behaving himself in his new career: https://mobile.twitter.com/SophieBurkin/status/709112480514121734/video/1 This link
features our visit to see Menace on Saturday; I’m pictured too: http://epds-racing.co.uk/the-magic-of-menace-trip-to-noel-williams-racing/ A blast
from the past ... Desert Orchid: https://mobile.twitter.com/AnaglogsDaughtr/status/708795636427202560/photo/1 I
understand that Jason Maguire, who suffered a life-threatening fall on the
eve of the 2014 Cheltenham Festival, only to return to race riding but injure
his back in February last year, is going to make a decision next week
regarding his riding career; he currently acts as Racing Manager for owners
Paul and Clare Rooney. There are
a number of runners of interest tomorrow, on Day 1 of the Cheltenham Festival: 13:30
William H Bonney (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) –
Supreme Novices’ Hurdle (Grade 1) 16:10 Flementime (Martin Keighley/Andrew Tinkler)
& Bitofapuzzle (Harry Fry/Noel Fehily) – OLBG Mares’ Hurdle (Grade 1) 16:50
Johnny Og (Martin Keighley/Ms CV Hart) – National
Hunt Chase Challenge Cup (Amateur Riders’ Novices’ Chase) (Listed) There are
7 takers for the Arkle – Aso,
Baltimore Rock, Fox Norton and Vaniteux for the
home team, and Douvan, Sizing John and The Game
Changer for the Irish. And twelve
runners in the Champion Hurdle – Camping Ground, Hargam,
Lil Rockerfeller, My Tent Or Yours, Peace And Co,
Sign Of A Victory, The New One and Top Notch for the home team, and Identity
Thief, Nichols Canyon, Sempre Medici and Annie
Power for the Irish. I probably
won’t be writing another blog until Saturday; it takes too much out of me to
stay up late and then rise before 04:30 in order to get ready for a further
journey to Cheltenham and back. |
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Sunday
13 March 2016 |
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Lambing Live – Oaklands
College |
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Expectant mums |
This ewe has just given birth to
twins ... and I saw it happen |
A ewe with twins born yesterday |
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This little black lamb is just
the cutest you’ve ever seen! |
A spotty lamb |
Kerry Hill sheep with lambs ... my favourite breed |
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Saddleback sow with piglets |
Toggenburg kids |
This is Tulip; she lives at the equestrian centre |
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This is Nemo, Mr Toots, Machu and Picchu (I don’t know which is which
though!) |
One of the aforementioned
alpacas ... and the legs of another! |
Just how long will this be the
view from the lambing barn? The College is seeking permission to build a housing estate upon the field in
the far distance; all well and good,
but the local road network
cannot cope with further housing developments in the area |
It’s been
another busy day. I arrived at ‘Lambing Live’ 10 minutes after opening
time and already many people had arrived.
I spent around an hour and a half at the College and, this year, was
rewarded with twin lambs being born when I was viewing. I returned home before noon, as my
sister-in-law dropped by to cut my hair.
There were
three runners of interest today, and this is how they fared: Market Rasen: The Barbury Queen (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) finished 3rd
in the Mares’ Handicap Hurdle (5 ran). Warwick: Krackatoa King (Noel Williams/James Banks) finished a
close 3rd but Merlin’s Wish (Martin Keighley/Ian Popham)
was pulled up in the Handicap Chase [3 miles 5 furlongs] (11 ran). There are
two runners of interest tomorrow, at Taunton: 15:25
Forgiving Glance (Alan King/Denis O’Regan) –
Fillies’ Juvenile Hurdle 16:55
Midnight Thomas (Martin Keighley/Andrew Tinkler) –
Handicap Chase [2 miles & 12 yards] I must
sort out all my clothes tomorrow for Cheltenham, as I’ve not really started
yet ... apart from taking eight skirts out of the cupboard to consider as
possibilities! Don’t panic ...
although I think I probably should!
I’m sticking with winter-weight skirts, as it’s likely to be cold
early and late. Is it due to be
similar conditions to the past two or three days, with mist or fog each
morning? If it’s cold, there’s always
skirts with tights AND jeggings; my mainstay this
season! Temperatures are forecasted to
be highs of 9oC, 9oC, 8oC and 7oC
... dry evidently, but not a lot of sunshine. I’ve more
or less drafted my diary from yesterday and hope to proof and upload it
tomorrow. I like to begin Cheltenham
with a clean website slate. |
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Saturday
12 March 2016 |
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As you can
see, I paid a visit to Noel Williams’ yard to see Menace today. I wasn’t the first to arrive today, but was
one of the first. And it’s amazing
what a small world it is; I discovered that one of my work colleagues is also
a member of the Twitterati syndicate, as she paid
her first visit to the yard today!
Caroline works mainly in the field, whereas I’m based at Head Office;
she drove all the way down from Yorkshire today too. And she’s attending Cheltenham next
Thursday. I think
I’m going to have problems with tiredness next week, as I was feeling worn
out by the time I drove back to Hertfordshire; I yawned on a number of
occasions. And I can’t stop yawning
this evening either – my energy levels have been peaks and troughs
today. I’ve come
to the conclusion that Oxfordshire doesn’t need to erect any county boundary
signs on their roads. Hertfordshire
roads are in a terrible state of repair, Buckinghamshire and Berkshire’s too,
but as soon as you enter Oxfordshire the roads are smooth and pothole free. It was particularly noticeable today,
driving from Pangbourne to Streatley
and onwards to join the road to Blewbury; there was
an enormous repair scar running along the carriageway for the entire
distance. However, at the county
boundary sign, the scar disappeared abruptly because the A417 had been
resurfaced all the way to the village and, presumably, beyond too. It was
noticeable during my trips to Cheltenham last Festival, when my journey
through Herts and Bucks was very bumpy, followed by
smooth roads in Oxfordshire, only to return again to poor road surfaces in
Gloucestershire. Bedfordshire roads
are reported to be good, but that’s because of revenue from Luton
Airport! It was noticeable that Essex
had well maintained roads on the one occasion Mark and I ventured in that
direction for a ramble, to Mersea Island in
fact. There were
3 runners of interest today, at Sandown
Park, and this
is how they fared: Desert Joe
(Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) finished 5th in the Handicap Chase [3 miles
& 37 yards] (8 ran). Solstice
Star (Martin Keighley/Killian Moore) finished an excellent 2nd in the
Imperial Cup Handicap Hurdle (Grade 3) [1 mile 7 furlongs & 211 yards]
(14 ran). Cajun
Fiddle (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) finished 7th in the Mares’ Standard Open
Flat Race (Listed) (13 ran). Tomorrow
there are also due to be three runners of interest: Market Rasen: 17:05 The Barbury Queen (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – Mares’
Handicap Hurdle Warwick: 15:40 Krackatoa King (Noel Williams/James Banks) & Merlin’s
Wish (Martin Keighley/Ian Popham) – Handicap Chase
[3 miles 5 furlongs] I’ve
finished selecting the photographs taken today, and have uploaded them
already. However, I need to begin a
draft of my diary tomorrow, although I may not have time to complete it
before Cheltenham; especially as I’m going to pop down to the local College
to see the new born lambs tomorrow too. |
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Friday
11 March 2016 |
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There were
no runners of interest today. There are
3 runners of interest tomorrow, at Sandown Park: 14:35
Desert Joe (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – Handicap Chase [3 miles & 37
yards] 15:10
Solstice Star (Martin Keighley/Killian Moore) – Imperial Cup Handicap Hurdle
(Grade 3) [1 mile 7 furlongs & 211 yards] 15:45
Cajun Fiddle (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – Mares’ Standard Open Flat Race
(Listed) There are
also due to be three runners of interest on Sunday: Market Rasen: 17:05 The Barbury Queen (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – Mares’
Handicap Hurdle Warwick: 15:40 Krackatoa King (Noel Williams/James Banks) & Merlin’s
Wish (Martin Keighley/Ian Popham) – Handicap Chase
[3 miles 5 furlongs] James
Banks rode out his 3 pound claim at Sandown Park today. Huntingdon
has abandoned next Wednesday’s fixture due to flooding ... but, looking on
the bright side, RUK will be able to use 100% of their air-time on
broadcasting the action from Cheltenham! All being
well, I’m heading off to East Oxfordshire to see Menace tomorrow
morning. Fingers crossed there’s no
reoccurrence of this morning’s fog.
Also, of course, I hope there are no foggy mornings next week, or at
least not Tuesday through Friday. I
have to admit that I checked my car’s manual earlier today, so that I can
locate the fog lamps switch just in case!
The last time I needed them was probably Cheltenham a couple of years
ago, when I encountered very poor morning visibility due to fog on both the
Thursday and Friday of the Festival. Sunday I
hope to pop down to the local Agricultural/Further Education College to see
their new born lambs; I need to be home by late morning, as my sister-in-law
is visiting to give me a haircut. I’m
not sure whether it’s wise to have a haircut when I’m due to spend a lot of
time in the great outdoors next week; I wonder if I will regret it, as I’m
bound to get cold ears!!! And I’ve just
purchased two tickets for Sandown’s Jump Finale fixture which takes place on
Saturday 23 April; my friend Lesley will be accompanying me again this
year. I’m now on
annual leave until Tuesday 22 March. J |
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Thursday
10 March 2016 |
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I’m still here
... but it’s been so quiet that I’ve missed another day of blogging. There was
no racing at Fontwell Park yesterday, due to the
heavy rain, as I gather the emergency vehicles were unable to follow the
competitors; a health and safety issue.
Today’s fixture at Wincanton was also abandoned due to
water-logging. And poor old Stratford
have lost their pre-Festival fixture on Monday because the River Avon has
burst its banks (yet again) and flooded the course! In his
column this week, Alan mentions that Willoughby Hedge pulled up lame on
Monday, on the gallops presumably, and a scan has revealed that the horse has
fractured his pelvis. However, they
are hoping to save him. There was
a tweet today, from the McNeill family, saying that Gibralfaro
schooled well in cheek-pieces today, and that Wayne has made the decision to
ride him in the Triumph Hurdle a week tomorrow. They also report that Olofi
will be heading off to the point-to-point arena following a distinguished
racing career. I actually
managed to get a whole hour for my lunch-break today J although I still worked an hour’s overtime in
total. Someone
found the following internet article for my mum, it’s about my great uncle
George, who was mum’s mother’s brother. http://www.eadt.co.uk/news/first_world_war_bravery_award_for_man_who_served_in_both_wars_1_3876185 Mum’s
cousin, Pat, passed away three months ago.
Both of my
grandfathers served during the First World War; and my late father served in
the Navy during World War II; he was the wireless operator on a gunboat. Just one
more working day until I break up for my Cheltenham Festival holiday J |
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Tuesday
08 March 2016 |
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Here is
today’s result for my runner of interest today, at Exeter: The Mumper (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) finished 3rd in the
Handicap Chase [2 miles 3 furlongs & 48 yards] (7 ran). There are three
runners of interest tomorrow, at Fontwell Park: 14:50
Authorized Too (Noel Williams/Wayne Hutchinson) – Maiden Hurdle 15:20 Daliance (Noel Williams/William Featherstone/EPDS Racing)
– Handicap Chase [2 miles 3 furlongs & 35 yards] 16:50
Laser Light (Alan King/Daryl Jacob) – Standard Open NH Flat Race There will
be 10 horses taking part in next Tuesday’s ROR Parade at the Cheltenham
Festival – namely Denman, Punjabi, Kasbah Bliss, Sizing Europe, Forpadydeplasterer, Mikael D’Haguenet, Cappa Bleu, Oh Crick,
Comply Or Die and Tranquil Sea. Nine
of those taking part ran at the 2009 Cheltenham Festival – that was the first
Festival I attended ... so it will be nostalgic for me! Here is a
link regarding the BetBright Cup which Choc has retweeted: And
another courtesy of Channel 4 Racing: http://racing.channel4.com/news/newsid=1241381/index.html#thornton-relishes-kings-second-coming I had a
short lunch break today, 20 minutes ... but that was because I was seething
and wanted to take advantage of a few minutes down time! |
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Monday
07 March 2016 |
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With the
Cheltenham Festival on the horizon, it’s gone fairly quiet at the moment ...
hence no blog yesterday. However,
here is a round-up of yesterday’s one result, from Huntingdon: Friendly
Society (Noel Williams/James Banks) finished 8th in the Handicap Hurdle [2
miles 4 furlongs & 145 yards] (10 ran). There were
no runners of interest today, at Lingfield Park or Southwell. And
there’s just one runner of interest tomorrow, at Exeter: 16:10 The Mumper (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – Handicap Chase [2
miles 3 furlongs & 48 yards] Just four
brief items of news to relay: Joseph
O’Brien, having fought to keep his weight under control, has announced his
retirement from race riding; he will now train. Ma Filleule has been retired, and has gone to France to
begin her career as a broodmare. Annacotty will run in the Ryanair
Chase. And
Victoria Pendleton has been given the go-ahead to ride in the Foxhunters at
the Cheltenham Festival; she will be aboard Pacha
Du Polder. Personally I just can’t
warm to the woman! I was
beginning to think that the Cheltenham Festival was going to take place
during a cold snap, much like 2013.
However, the weather is due to warm up at the weekend, the day
temperatures into double-figures ... and I’m hoping it will last into next
week. And to aid the arrival of a
warmer spell, I’ve knitted two woollen hats – so that’s bound to frighten the
cold weather away! |
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Saturday
05 March 2016 |
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Bingo won!!! Here are
today’s results for my runners of interest: Doncaster: Pearls
Legend (John Spearing/Jamie Moore) finished 2nd in the Handicap Chase [2
miles & 90 yards] (5 ran). Sego
Success (Alan King/Tom Cannon) finished 4th in the Grimthorpe
Handicap Chase [3 miles 2 furlongs & 14 yards] (6 ran). Midnight Maestro (Alan King/W
Featherstone) won the Standard NH Flat Race (Conditional &
Amateur Jockeys) (5 ran). Newbury: Flementime (Martin Keighley/Andrew Tinkler)
was a non-runner in the Handicap Hurdle [2 miles 4 furlongs & 118 yards] Kings
Bayonet (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) finished 8th in the Handicap Hurdle [2
miles & 69 yards] (11 ran). Bingo D’Olivate (Noel Williams/Wayne Hutchinson) won the Novices’ Handicap Hurdle (7 ran); Wayne’s 48th
winner of the
season. Johnny Og (Martin
Keighley/Andrew Tinkler) won the Novices’ Limited Handicap Chase (8 ran); it
was another brave front-running performance and he managed to hold off the
challenge of Exmoor Mist (I like him too!); Martin’s 19th winner of the season. Sir Antony
Browne (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) finished 3rd and Tara View (Alan King/Tom
Bellamy) finished 11th in the DBS Spring Sales Bumper (Standard Open NH Flat
Race) (14 ran). Shotavodka won the Veterans’ Handicap Chase Qualifier (Leg
3) – he appears to have suffered no ill-effects having crashed out during the
first leg at Exeter when Midnight Prayer was the sole finisher that day; he’s
also gone down in the weights since his last victory, which obviously helps. Yet again
Paul Nicholls trained the winner of the Grade 3 Greatwood
Gold Cup Handicap Chase – his 7th win during the past 9 years ...
he’s won it eight times in total!
Today’s victor was Sametegal ridden by Sam Twiston-Davies. And, of
course, the lovely Bingo won too ... he was keen initially, but jumped well
and Wayne confirmed that he will get two and a half miles without
problem. He was 14-1 today! https://mobile.twitter.com/DarrenBirdie/status/706151600360914945/photo/1 Here is
Johnny Og: https://mobile.twitter.com/NewburyRacing/status/706159926989742081/photo/1 Hannah
Bishop and Coyaba finished 3rd in the Greatwood Charity Race at Newbury today. She raised a
mega-amount of money for the charity, including a large donation from Alan
King. There was
a little bit of snow in the Cotswolds this morning; Charlie Longsdon’s yard near Chipping Norton: https://mobile.twitter.com/CharlieLongsdon/status/706015585000361984/photo/1 We’ve had
a few tiny flakes of snow ... more like dandruff really ... plus sunshine and
showers of rain and hail – very similar to conditions at Newbury in fact. Tomorrow
there’s one runner of interest, at Huntingdon: 15:00
Friendly Society (Noel Williams/James Banks) – Handicap Hurdle [2 miles 4
furlongs & 145 yards] My sleep
pattern doesn’t seem to have improved; I was awake by 04:00 again – that’s
despite turning in at around 23:00. I
made a cup of tea, and did three lots of washing, whilst watching a recording
of Grantchester, amongst other things. The Church of the Holy Cross at Church End
in Sarratt was one of the locations featured in
this week’s episode; I recognised the almshouses opposite it in the first
instance, as the saddleback roof was never in shot. And yes, I used to ramble in that area,
near Chorleywood, often. However, its
main claim to fame is that my mum was born in the village and christened in
the church too! Evidently the location
also featured in Four Weddings and a Funeral! And,
finally, I’ve sewn together the child’s cardigan; all that it required now is
to sew on the buttons and pin it out to the required measurements before
placing under a damp cloth, then leaving to dry. It’s certainly a relief to finish it before
Cheltenham takes centre stage ... Having
woken early, I was flagging by early afternoon and did doze a little; but I
don’t think I missed much of the racing.
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Friday
04 March 2016 |
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Firstly,
you must check out this youtube link ... it’s Choc and Hector publicising
the BetBright Prestbury
Cup: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRCsO-24dhY There were
a number of runners of interest today, and this is how they fared; I was a
little surprised that Doncaster was okay, considering there was snow today a
little further north and west: Doncaster: Mille Nautique (Alan King/Tom Bellamy) was pulled up in the
Handicap Hurdle [2 miles 3 furlongs & 120 yards] (11 ran) Briery Queen (Noel Williams/Leighton Aspell)
won and Miss Crick (Alan
King/Tom Bellamy) finished 3rd in the Mares’ NH Novices’ Hurdle (5 ran). Mystery
Code (Alan King/Tom Bellamy) finished last in the Mares’ Handicap Hurdle
(Qualifier) (5 ran). Elkstone (Alan King/Denis O’Regan)
finished 4th in the Novices’ Handicap Hurdle (8 ran). Newbury: Midnight
Cowboy (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) finished 4th in the NH Novices’ Hurdle
(10 ran). Theatre
Goer (Noel Williams/James Banks) finished 2nd in the Handicap Hurdle [3 miles
& 52 yards] (7 ran). Tomorrow
there are a number of runners of interest: Doncaster: 14:00
Pearls Legend (John Spearing/Jamie Moore) – Handicap Chase [2 miles & 90
yards] 15:45 Sego
Success (Alan King/Tom Cannon) – Grimthorpe
Handicap Chase [3 miles 2 furlongs & 14 yards] 17:30
Midnight Maestro (Alan King/W Featherstone) – Standard NH Flat Race
(Conditional & Amateur Jockeys) Newbury: 13:45 Flementime (Martin Keighley/Andrew Tinkler)
– Handicap Hurdle [2 miles 4 furlongs & 118 yards] 14:50
Kings Bayonet (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – Handicap Hurdle [2 miles &
69 yards] 16:00
Bingo D’Olivate (Noel Williams/Wayne Hutchinson) –
Novices’ Handicap Hurdle; he’d better look after one of my favourite horses,
especially as Bingo has a tendency to end up on the floor! 16:35 Johnny
Og (Martin Keighley/Andrew Tinkler)
– Novices’ Limited Handicap Chase 15:10 Sir
Antony Browne (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) & Tara View (Alan King/Tom
Bellamy) – DBS Spring Sales Bumper (Standard Open NH Flat Race) It is
fortunate Bingo is listed on my ATR Tracker, as I missed him when I checked
through the race-card! Fruity O’Rooney has been retired. I’ve no
plans for this weekend, apart from acting as a chauffeur on Mothers’ Day! |
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Thursday
03 March 2016 |
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There are a
number of runners of interest tomorrow: Doncaster: 14:10
Mille Nautique (Alan King/Tom Bellamy) – Handicap
Hurdle [2 miles 3 furlongs & 120 yards] 15:15 Briery Queen (Noel Williams/Leighton Aspell)
& Miss Crick (Alan King/Tom Bellamy) – Mares’ NH Novices’ Hurdle 16:20
Mystery Code (Alan King/Tom Bellamy) – Mares’ Handicap Hurdle (Qualifier) 16:55 Elkstone (Alan King/Denis O’Regan)
– Novices’ Handicap Hurdle Newbury: 14:50
Midnight Cowboy (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – NH Novices’ Hurdle 17:05
Theatre Goer (Noel Williams/James Banks) – Handicap Hurdle [3 miles & 52
yards] I’ve
pre-ordered a copy of the DVD of the most recent Star Wars film; release date
18 April. It was
another early start, I was working by 07:50; in fact it was a very early
morning, initially, as I woke at 03:30.
I made myself a cup of tea but it took ages to get back to sleep
again, probably around 05:00. I worked
through my lunch-break yet again but, as I needed to collect an item from M
& S, I left at 17:15 which is 15 minutes early. There’s also been a set-back as regards my
workload. |
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Wednesday
02 March 2016 |
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There was
one runner of interest at Wincanton today and this is how
it fared: Brod Na Heireann (Alan King/Tom
Bellamy) finished 4th in the Handicap Hurdle [2 miles 5 furlongs & 82
yards] (8 ran). I notice
that Victoria Pendleton won her Hunter Chase at Wincanton today. However, regardless, I don’t think she is
ready to contest such a competitive race as the Foxhunters at the Cheltenham
Festival. It would be far wiser to
wait another year in order to gain further experience, and thus not put
herself or her fellow competitors at unnecessary risk. There’s
National Hunt racing at Taunton and Ludlow tomorrow, but no runners of
interest. As it’s a
Wednesday, there’s a new issue of Weekender.
In his column this week, Alan King reports that Winner Massagot sustained a fracture to his pelvis at Market Rasen and is now undergoing box rest, so won’t run again this
season. Midnight
Prayer is now Alan King’s sole Grand National entry following the first
forfeit stage and, as he’s currently due to carry 10 stone 1 lb, it is likely
that the trainer will have to run him in the Kim Muir at the Festival in
order to move him to the top of that weight bracket. Currently, it’s not expected that those due
to carry 10 stone 1 lb will get a run, due to the number of entries this year
but, although they cannot now change their rating for the race, they may
enhance their chances by running during this period. Following
his disappointing run on Sunday, Medinas has been
retired because he seems not to enjoy racing any longer. He’s perfectly sound so, hopefully, will
have a long and happy retirement. Alan
says he will be missed, as he’s been in the yard for six years. Grumeti, who also ran disappointingly in the National
Spirit Hurdle, will revert to flat racing, permanently. Having
risen to a rating of 130 following his win at Doncaster last week, Alan
thinks Ardamir is a possible runner in the Fred
Winter Juvenile Handicap Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival (Wednesday). The trainer also says he’s very fond of
Winter Escape; I added the JP McManus-owned horse to my tracker when he won
his first race ... because I thought he had a nice face!!! Obviously he’s a talented animal too! Despite
working at least 9˝ hours, I come home feeling that I’ve accomplished
absolutely nothing. L |
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Tuesday
01 March 2016 |
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It goes without
saying that I’m not paying 100% attention to the racing at the moment, due to
pressures with my job. So it comes as
no surprise that I missed two runners of interest today, at Catterick ... although I could have sworn that I checked
the race-card yesterday! Anyway,
here are those results for all three runners of interest today: Leicester: Genstone Trail (Alan King/Brendan Powell) was pulled up
in the Handicap Chase [2 miles 4 furlongs & 45 yards] (5 ran). Catterick: The Wexfordian (Martin Keighley/Andrew Tinkler)
finished 4th in the Handicap Chase [1 mile 7 furlongs & 145 yards] (6
ran). Seymour
Eric (Martin Keighley/Ian Popham) finished 3rd in
the Handicap Hurdle [3 miles 1 furlong & 71 yards] (12 ran). There is
one runner of interest tomorrow, at Wincanton: 15:55 Brod Na Heireann (Alan King/Tom
Bellamy) – Handicap Hurdle [2 miles 5 furlongs & 82 yards] Needless
to say, my resolution to remain within my contracted hours was blown out of
the water as soon as I arrived at work today. I’d
already woken with ‘clampy head’ this morning and, before I’d
worked an hour, this had turned into the constant dull ache across my
shoulders which I suffer when I get stressed. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr Because
there are few TV programmes of interest at the present time, I’ve taken to
watching the Shopping Channels.
Fortunately I’ve not spent any money ... but I want a Kipling handbag
when I can afford one! |