OCTOBER 2010
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Sunday 31
October 2010 |
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Plenty of
runners of interest tomorrow: Plumpton 13:55 Tuppenny Piece � Handicap Hurdle (Alan King) to be ridden
by Gerard Tumelty Kempton Park 13:00 Iolith � Novices� Hurdle (Alan King) to be ridden by
Wayne Hutchinson 13:30 Monty�s
Revenge - NH Novices� Hurdle (Martin Keighley) to be ridden by Warren Marston 13:30 The Laodicean � NH Novices� Hurdle (Alan King) to be ridden
by Wayne Hutchinson 14:05 Itea Du Fau � Novices� Handicap
Chase (Alan King) to be ridden by Wayne Hutchinson 14:40
Rodrigo Gonzales � Handicap Hurdle Qualifier (Martin Keighley) to be ridden
by Tom Siddall 15:10 Bakbenscher � Graduation Chase (Alan King) to be ridden
by Christian Williams 16:20 Mark
of Love - Conditional Jockeys� Handicap Hurdle (Martin Keighley) to be ridden
by Sam Twiston-Davies 16:20 Quetzel � Conditional Jockeys� Handicap Hurdle (Alan
King) to be ridden by Charlie Huxley I plan to
go to Kempton Park tomorrow ... as a certain �Face of National Hunt Racing� is due to have his second outing! J� I�m also
looking forward to reading Choc�s column in
tomorrow�s Racing Post. Ian
Williams� promising novice chaser, Wayward Prince, won well at Huntingdon
today, and another of his charges, Weird Al, dead-heated for first place with
the very game Little Josh, at Carlisle.�
I think I�m suffering from �Cross Stitcher�s Shoulder� as I�ve got
a dull ache in my right shoulder, which I first noticed early last week
having spent 2 evenings working on my current cross stitch project.� The ache had disappeared by Thursday but returned
yesterday, having again spent a number of hours cross stitching.� The aching is constant today, and annoying
... so I�ve packed up my cross stitching for the moment � but fortunately
have only the outline �back stitching�
to do now before the project is completed.�
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Saturday 30
October 2010 |
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Here are
today�s results: Wetherby: Aohna finished 7th in the
Mares� Hurdle (Listed) (9 ran) Blazing
Bailey finished 6th in the Grade 2 Class 1 Hurdle (8 ran) Peter Grimes
finished 3rd in the Handicap Hurdle (15 ran) Ascot: Like A
Hurricane won the Novices� Handicap Hurdle (16 ran) Gilded Age
finished 8th and Levera 9th in the Handicap Hurdle
(11 ran) The
Charlie Hall Chase run at Wetherby today was won by
the Tom George trained, Sam Thomas ridden, Nacarat;
and the big race at Ascot, the United House Gold Cup Steeplechase was won by Massini�s Maguire, now trained by David Pipe, and ridden
by Tom Scudamore. No
specific runners tomorrow (ie. for Alan King or
Martin Keighley), although the talented Ian Williams trained Weird Al is due
to run in the Interim Chase at Carlisle tomorrow (14:40). The clocks go back tonight, so that�s an extra
hour in bed ... or, in my case, it�s a extra hour to
do jobs around the house or hobby projects!��
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Friday 29
October 2010 |
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Alan King
had 2 runners at Wetherby today, and this is how
they fared: Habbie Simpson won the NH
Novices� Hurdle (11 ran) Jubail finished 4th in the
Listed Juvenile Hurdle (13 ran).� The race was
won by a 200-1 shot, and a 50-1 shot finished 2nd! Tomorrow,
Alan King has runners at Wetherby and Ascot: Wetherby: 14:15 Aohna � Mares� Hurdle (Listed), to be ridden by Sam
Thomas.� Santia
won this race last year, before being retired to stud. 14:50
Blazing Bailey � Grade 2 Class 1 Hurdle, to be ridden by Christian Williams 17:10
Peter Grimes � Handicap Hurdle, to be ridden by Sam Thomas �Ascot: 13:50 Like
A Hurricane � Novices� Handicap Hurdle, to be ridden by Wayne Hutchinson 16:15
Gilded Age, to be ridden by Wayne Hutchinson and Levera,
to be ridden by Charlie Huxley, in the Handicap Hurdle So it�s
another �channel hopping� day for me ... Here is
the link to Wayne Hutchinson�s latest column in the Sporting Life: After a manic week at work, I�m pleased to be
having a 3-day weekend, especially as I�m planning to go to Kempton Park on
Monday! J |
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Thursday 28
October 2010 |
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Today�s
result from Fontwell is as follows: Balzaccio finished a neck 2nd
in the Novices� Chase (8 ran). Tomorrow,
Alan King has 2 runners at Wetherby, both ridden by
Wayne Hutchinson: 14:10 Habbie Simpson � NH Novices� Hurdle 15:55 Jubail � Juvenile
Hurdle (3-year olds) (Listed) |
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Wednesday 27
October 2010 |
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Today�s
results from Haydock Park are as follows: Groove
Master finished 4th in the Juvenile Hurdle (Alan King) (11 ran). Wild
Desert finished 5th in the Novices� Hurdle (Alan King) (13 ran). Martin
Keighley�s intended runners, Love of Tara and King Ozzy,
had a wasted journey to the course, as it transpired the going was quicker
than expected and for safety reasons they were withdrawn (as there is always
another day for nice horses). Tomorrow
there are National Hunt fixtures at Stratford and Fontwell,
with Alan King having one runner at the latter track: 14:00 Balzaccio �
Novices� Chase, to be ridden by Wayne Hutchinson |
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Tuesday 26
October 2010 |
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Today�s
one result from Taunton is as follows: Mauricetheathlete finished 5th in the
Handicap Hurdle (6 ran). The following
runners will be competing at Haydock Park tomorrow: 14:20
Groove Master � Juvenile Hurdle, to be ridden by Wayne Hutchinson (Alan King) 15:25 Love
of Tara � Handicap Hurdle, to be ridden by Jimmy Derham
(Martin Keighley) 16:35 King
Ozzy � Novices� Handicap Chase, to be ridden by
Warren Marston (Martin Keighley) 17:10 Wild
Desert � Novices� Hurdle, to be ridden by Christian Williams (Alan King) Here is
the Eclipse website�s link to their overview of the first day of Kempton
Park�s new initiative: |
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Monday 25
October 2010 |
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The Racing
Post published its Alan King Stable Tour today and, of course, it was time
for the next edition of Choc�s weekly column. This week
Choc is singing the praises of AP McCoy and encouraging everyone to vote for
the Champion in order to secure him the BBC�s Sports Personality of the
Year.� He also discusses the
up-and-coming jockeys who he believes will make an impact this season.� And he is incensed that someone has
described him as a �jockey-turned-columnist� this week, thus implying that he
is no longer devoting himself 100% to his riding career.� More... Geoff
Lester has been summing up last weekend�s runners on Alan King�s website: http://www.alankingracing.co.uk/ The Elmbridge Guardian (Elmbridge
being a local government district based in Esher in Surrey) is looking
forward to next Monday�s National Hunt fixture at Kempton Park: http://www.elmbridgeguardian.co.uk/sport/8472860.Jump_racing_returns_to_Kempton/ (and ...
all being well, only 7 more sleeps for me J) Just one
runner of interest at Taunton tomorrow: 15:40 Mauricetheathlete
� Handicap Hurdle, to be ridden by Mr N Slatter |
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Sunday 24
October 2010 |
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Here are
the �relevant� results from Aintree
and Towcester today:
ATR�s Sean
Boyce had a telephone chat with Alan King this morning and Alan said that his
horses aren�t as forward as he�d hoped judging by their runs yesterday, but
he has to run them as you really don�t know how fit they are until you do �
Mille Chief being a point in question.�
He�s hoping for better next time, but hasn�t got any firm plans for
the horse as yet.� The �puzzling lameness� causing Mille
Chief�s absence at the end of last season was, according to yesterday�s At
The Races race-card, a small stress fracture on the top of his cannon bone. Much was
expected of Franklino today, but he finished 3rd in
his event, so perhaps he�s not as fit as Alan might have hoped for
either.�� Anyway,
here are the At The Races news articles relating to Alan runners yesterday
and today, and to popular veteran Monet�s Garden and talented Novices�
Hurdler Cue Card: Mille Chief ������Merdermit ������Salden Licht ������Franklino ������Monet�s Garden ������Cue Card The Racing
Post is scheduled to print their Alan King stable tour tomorrow and, being
Monday, Choc�s weekly column will also appear. J |
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Saturday 23
October 2010 |
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With Alan
King having runners at Aintree, Chepstow, Doncaster and Newbury, my highlight
of the day was seeing Choc being interviewed by Racing UK�s Nick Luck whilst
representing the Alan King stable at the latter course � Tuanku
being a runner in the Amateur Ladies� race at the end of the card.� And ... having mentioned in my Kempton Park
diary that Choc�s hair was becoming a little long
and wayward ... he has had it trimmed! Nick was
asking Choc about Medermit, who made his debut over
fences at Aintree today, and about his ongoing recovery � Choc said he�s been
taking it easy this week, following last week�s keyhole surgery, and his physio will resume next week. Today�s
results are as follows:
Mille
Chief was a little disappointing but, he carried top weight and didn�t
settle, so perhaps he�d taken a little too much out of himself early in the
race.� And, he was extremely lucky not
to be brought down when Hector�s House fell, bringing down Caravel and Gifted
Leader � but Mille Chief niftily hurdled the flailing legs. The
steeplechase fences were �well-packed�
at Aintree today and caused a number of horses a problem.� Medermit coped
fine, although not perfect at every fence, with his main rival unseating 3
out making his task easy today.�
However a win is a win. And I have
to mention the fabulous victory of the veteran grey, Monet�s Garden, in the
Old Roan Chase.� Dougie
Costello gave him a great ride and it was the horse�s third victory in this
race. The ground
must have been a problem at Chepstow, with a number of the horses pulling up
due to tiredness before they�d even reached the home straight.� Sir Harry Ormesher
was still in touch and might have been placed had he not capsized 4 out in
the Silver Trophy Handicap Hurdle. Ikorodu Road ran very well at
Stratford and was unlucky to be headed close home.��� Just for
the record, on the flat, Tuanku finished 3rd in the
Lady Amateur Riders� race at Newbury (13 ran) and Salden
Licht won a 1 mile 4 furlong Handicap by a head at
Doncaster (20 ran). A very
scary moment at Kempton Park this evening, when a blindfolded horse waiting to
be loaded into the stalls bolted, and careered unseeingly through the plastic
rails and into the woods ... fortunately the filly was perfectly okay.� I recall, very very
occasionally, horses have ended up swimming in the reservoir at Kempton too! Thank you
to Belinda and Martin Keighley for notifying me that Luke Harvey�s �stable tour� film would be broadcast
yesterday evening on ATR � I saw it, and hope you did too. See below (Friday) for tomorrow�s runners at
Aintree and Towcester ... |
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Friday 22 October
2010 |
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I will be
having a quiet weekend at home, but there is plenty of National Hunt racing
to watch on TV, and the horses of particular interest are as follows:
And on
Sunday:
I can see
that I�m going to be doing a lot of �channel
hopping� between At The Races and Racing UK this weekend. Alan King
is looking forward to the first weekend of �proper� National Hunt racing this season - http://www.alankingracing.co.uk/ And check
out Martin Keighley�s latest column in the Gloucestershire press: Here�s the
link to Wayne Hutchinson�s weekly column in the Sporting Life: This news
story arrived in my email box today ... thanks to a google
alert ... and relates to Countrywide�s annual bargain bonanza at its Bourton-on-the-Water store on 12 October, where Choc was
in attendance: http://www.cotswoldjournal.co.uk/news/8469759.Choc_s_away_at_Countryside/ Also news today that National Hunt jockey, Philip Hide, has decided to retire aged 37.� |
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Thursday 21
October 2010 |
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I read in
Martin Keighley�s blog that he has the mumps at the moment, but was on hand to
film a segment when Luke Harvey from At The Races visited his yard
yesterday.� I shall have to set my
video for tomorrow in the hope of recording the �extended version� of the film.�
I�ve had
the mumps but cannot remember much about it, as my older brother Nick kindly
brought the virus home from school when I was just two years old.� He also gave me Chicken Pox at the age of
four ... and I caught the Measles when I went to school at the age of five,
but I failed to reciprocate and give that particular virus back to Nick!� Get well soon Martin. AP McCoy
recorded his 100th winner of the season at Ludlow this afternoon, and is now
aiming to double that before the end of the campaign! I�ve been
notified that a copy of Ruby Walsh�s biography is on its way to me.� I�m currently reading Jilly
Cooper�s �Jump� �but have to admit I�m a little disappointed
with it ... but perhaps I�ve just outgrown �girly� books, as I like to read a book that�s difficult to �put down� and it�s just not happening
with this genre of novel now.� In fact
I prefer to read Dick Francis or John Francome type
novels as, having finished one chapter, I�m always eager to start the next
one. In
addition to Choc�s weekly column in next Monday�s Racing
Post, Alan King�s Stable Tour will also be published in that edition. I�ve
completed my diary entry for last Sunday�s visit to Kempton Park races:� Kempton Park 17 October 2010 And, last but not least, congratulations to my
18-year old niece Kim, who passed her driving test
last week. |
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Tuesday 19
October 2010 |
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Alan
King�s Kauto The Roc finished 3rd in the Amateur
Riders� Novices� Hurdle at Exeter today (11 ran). Alan King
was very pleased with Jubail�s win at Kempton on
Sunday and hopes, if the promised rain arrives and subject to a satisfactory
schooling session on Thursday, to run Medermit in a
Novices� Chase and Mille Chief in a Handicap Hurdle at Aintree on
Saturday.� I try to
check the Memorials page on the Racing Forum site every few days, to see
which horses have lost their lives during the course of their work � I knew
Mad Jack Duncan (an ex-Alan King inmate) had been put down having been
injured when stepping on the lip of the water jump, but have now discovered
that, sadly, Yellow Flag (Jonjo O�Neill) and Acey (Nigel Twiston-Davies)
also died at Cheltenham last weekend. I�m going to
put in further work on my Kempton Park diary draft this evening as, despite
staying up until 23:45 last night, I�ve only completed the beginning of it! |
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Monday 18
October 2010 |
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The latest
edition of Choc�s Racing Post column appeared
today.� This week he writes about his
visit to Manchester United�s gym and physio
facilities.� Paul Hanagan�s
donation to charity and, once again, Cheltenham�s notorious 2nd last
fence.� More details on my website here ... Meally�s latest Eclipse diary
was uploaded today too: And check this
out ... I appear to have made it onto the Choc
Thornton �Kempton Park�s Face of
National Hunt Racing� Facebook page � that�s me
(in all my new found �greyness�)
second from the left, wearing the cobalt blue coat! http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=138623226185143&set=a.136024326445033.21878.132432253470907 There are
more nice photos on the link too: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=22591&id=132432253470907 Alan King has one runner at Exeter tomorrow: 14:10 Kauto The Roc �
Amateur Riders� Novices� Hurdle, to be ridden by Mr R Jarrett The quickness of the ground is causing a problem
at the moment � but hopefully both Alan King and Martin Keighley will get the
opportunity to run their horses if the promised rain arrives later in the
week. |
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Sunday 17
October 2010 |
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It was a
lovely sunny autumn day and, as hoped, I spent it at Kempton Park.� Being keen, I arrived 35 minutes before
opening time and, once the gates were open, I was the first to sign up for Choc�s �final
furlong� course walk.� No surprise
there then!� When I
arrived, Choc was instructing those brave enough to have a go on the equicisor, ably assisted by his friend, and BHEST
representative, Ollie McPhail.� I immediately noticed that Choc was limping
more than previously and later, during the course walk, he explained that
last Thursday he had a further operation on his knee, on this occasion to
remove scar tissue.� Talking of
scars, I noticed that Ollie has a long scar across the top of his head from
ear to ear, so I did a little research about his injury and discovered this
link (but it�s not for the faint hearted): http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4161/is_19980726/ai_n14480652/pg_2/?tag=content;col1 Choc also
took part in a Tipster panel prior to racing, and later in the afternoon in
conjunction with the Heros re-homing of racehorses charity he helped explain the intricacies of
saddling a racehorse.�� And it was
a good day for Alan King�s 2 runners: Jubail won the Juvenile
Hurdle (8 ran). Katchit ran well, staying on
to finish 2nd in the feature Hurdle event (6 ran). Tomorrow
being Monday, the next edition of Choc�s Racing
Post column will be published.� And,
it�s also time for Meally�s fortnightly Eclipse
diary to appear online. I will be
commencing a draft of my Kempton diary tomorrow evening, and have already
uploaded photos from today�s excursion: |
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Saturday 16
October 2010 |
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Alan King
had 3 runners at Cheltenham today and this is how they fared: Il Duce finished 8th in the Handicap Chase (17 ran). Gilded Age
finished 4th in the 4-year old Hurdle (8 ran). �Pint-sized� Aohna ran her usual
gallant race and finished 4th in the Handicap Hurdle (17 ran). All of
Alan�s runners are to be ridden by Wayne Hutchinson However,
despite it being �Champions Day� at
Newmarket, the best story of the day was the winning return to the saddle of
National Hunt jockey Dominic Elsworth, who has been
on the sidelines for 14 months following a serious head injury sustained at Ffos Las in August last year: The
relocated 2nd last fence claimed 2 fallers (Gwanako
and Frosted Grape) and an unseated when hampered (Oiseau
De Nuit) during the Handicap Chase, with Private Be
and Passato also having to successfully side-step
to avoid the fallen horses, so it can still pose a problem.� I understand there was a faller, with 2
horses being brought down, when there was a �trial� schooling session over the fences a couple of weeks ago
too. As
mentioned previously, Alan King has 2 runners at Kempton Park tomorrow: 14:20 Jubail � Juvenile Hurdle 16:35 Katchit - Hurdle And, of
course, I�ll be taking a trip to the Sunbury on Thames track to see my
favourite jockey on his first outing as the �Face of National Hunt Racing�. J |
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Friday 15
October 2010 |
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Today�s
results from Cheltenham are as follows: Total
Submission finished 5th in the Novices� Hurdle (6 ran). Wolf Moon
stayed on strongly up the hill to finish 3rd (beaten a head) in the Novices�
Chase (4 ran). Unfortunately
Victor Daly fell at the 3rd fence in the Handicap Chase (10 ran). Tomorrow
Alan King has 3 runners at Cheltenham: 14:40 Il Duce � Handicap Chase 15:15
Gilded Age � Hurdle (the talented Barizan and Orsippus also go in this one) 16:25 Aohna � Handicap Hurdle All of
Alan�s runners are to be ridden by Wayne Hutchinson Then, on
Sunday, Alan King has 2 runners at Kempton Park: 14:20 Jubail � Juvenile Hurdle 16:35 Katchit - Hurdle Here�s the
link to Wayne Hutchinson�s latest diary in the Sporting Life: ATR
visited Jo Davis� yard recently to interview her about Passato�s
chances in the 14:40 at Cheltenham tomorrow.�
Choc rode the horse to its first two victories this season and Jo said
that he was the �making� of Passato, giving him so much confidence, and it was such a
pity that he got injured and was unable to ride him the last twice that he
has run (and won, the horse having run up a sequence of 4 wins).� AP rides Passato
tomorrow, having piloted him to his third victory of the season (Tom O�Brien
having been the jockey when won the feature event at Newton Abbot back in
August).� |
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Thursday 14
October 2010 |
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Cheltenham�s
2-day Showcase fixture starts tomorrow, and Martin Keighley has 3 runners on
the first day: 14:10
Total Submission � Novices� Hurdle, to be ridden by Warren Marston 14:45 Wolf
Moon � Novices� Chase, to be ridden by Warren Marston 15:55
Victor Daly � Handicap Chase, to be ridden by Wayne Hutchinson, as he�s
carrying 10 stone 2 lbs The new
episode of Midsomer Murders broadcast last evening
was a little disappointing, the storyline not being up to the usual high
standard.� However, the principal
location used for filming was beautiful � Loseley
Park in Surrey. My weekend starts here ... I�ve still not decided
as to whether I�m going to Cheltenham on Saturday ... but Kempton Park (which
is now only 3 sleeps away J) is a definite for
Sunday! |
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Wednesday 13
October 2010 |
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Today�s �relevant� results are as follows: This is
how Alan King�s runners fared: At Wetherby: Nikos
Extra fell 4 out when in 3rd place in the Handicap Chase (9 ran). Union
Island was a non-runner in the Maiden Hurdle Div II. At Uttoxeter: Like A
Hurricane finished 3rd in the Novices� Hurdle (16 ran). And Martin
Keighley�s runners: Ukrainian
Star finished 5th in the Handicap Chase (10 ran). Champion
Court finished a head 2nd in the Standard Open NH Flat Race (11 ran). No runners
of special interest tomorrow. � |
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Tuesday 12
October 2010 |
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Tomorrow
there are a number of runners of interest: At Wetherby, Alan King has 2 runners: 15:55
Nikos Extra � Handicap Chase, to be ridden by Sam Thomas 18:00
Union Island � Maiden Hurdle Div II, to be ridden by Sam Thomas Meanwhile
at Uttoxeter, Martin Keighley has 2 runners: 15:15
Ukrainian Star � Handicap Chase, to be ridden by Warren Marston 17:25 Champion
Court � Standard Open NH Flat Race, to be ridden by Warren Marston Alan King
also has 1 runner at Uttoxeter: 15:45 Like
A Hurricane � Novices� Hurdle, to be ridden by Wayne Hutchinson This link
is to an article in the Croydon Guardian, looking forward to Sunday�s fixture
at Kempton Park: And I
decided to send away for Alan King�s �Horses
in Training� brochure for this season, and it arrived today.� A nice glossy brochure with lots of
pictures of Choc aboard his stable�s horses!�
I must do some more of my cross stitching project
tonight, as I got side-tracked last evening and started surfing the net ...
it�s really not good, as I was tempted to spend money and purchased a top
from Wallis! |
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Monday 11
October 2010 |
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Today, in
his Racing Post column, Choc writes in detail about the decision to move the �notorious� second last fence on the
Old Course into a new position in the home straight.� Choc is
also looking forward to Kempton Park�s fixture next Sunday (as am I), when he
will have his first outing as the �Face
of Jump Racing�.� He also mentions
that one of his favourite horses, Medermit, may run
at the fixture too (although Geoff Lester�s blog on Alan King�s website does
refer to concerns about the lack of ground softening rain at the moment). Eclipse
magazine has published an article about Martin Keighley�s hopes for the
upcoming Showcase meeting at Cheltenham: Goldie was
voted off Strictly Come Dancing yesterday evening, I�m not totally surprised
as he was �mid-table�, which is
usually the danger zone for the celebrities as those at the bottom receive
votes to save them and the public just assumes others with higher marks will
be okay.� Peter Shilton
was second from bottom following the phone vote and I think he should have
gone. Fay and I
will be visiting our friend Angy at the beginning
of next month.� If you see a large
poster of a pretty rosy cheeked little toddler modelling shoes in any of the
Jones Bootmaker shops, it�s
Angy�s daughter Rebecca! |
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Sunday 10
October 2010 |
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The
results from yesterday are as follows: At
Chepstow the Alan King trained runner, Groove Master, finished 3rd in the
Juvenile Hurdle, but he was 45 lengths behind the winner (9 ran). Whilst at
Bangor On Dee, Pouvoir finished 2nd in the Novices�
Chase, 20 lengths behind the winner (7 ran). Meanwhile,
Martin Keighley�s King Ozzy finished 9th in the
Handicap Hurdle (12 ran, only 9 finished). But
there�s good news regarding Martin Keighley�s regular column in the
Gloucestershire press, as it is available online this season too: There are no Alan King or Martin Keighley trained runners at Ffos Las this afternoon, and no National Hunt racing
tomorrow.� The next fixture is
Huntingdon on Tuesday. Tomorrow
being Monday, I�m looking forward to reading Choc�s
next column in the Racing Post ... and, of course, it�s now only 7 sleeps
until Kempton Park�s first National Hunt fixture of the autumn. J Here�s the
link to Cheltenham�s website, giving details of next weekend�s Showcase
fixture � there being more �events�
on the �trail� on Friday, it being
the quieter day. http://www.cheltenham.co.uk/racing/fixtures/the_showcase.html And I wonder who will be voted off Strictly Come
Dancing on the Results Show this evening.�
This season there will be no �dance
off� between the two lowest ranking couples following the telephone vote,
so the judges will be unable to save anyone.�
Both Pamela Stephenson and Scott Maslen were
brilliant last night and, in my opinion, I think that either Peter Shilton or Gavin Henson should go, Ann Widdecombe and Paul Daniels being this year�s �fun� competitors (ie.
the equivalent of John Sergeant).� |
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Friday 08
October 2010 |
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The
National Hunt season cranks up a gear with the meeting at Chepstow tomorrow, where
Alan King has one runner: 14:20
Groove Master � Juvenile Hurdle � to be ridden by Wayne Hutchinson Whilst at
Bangor On Dee, Alan has another runner: 17:15 Pouvoir � Novices� Chase � to be ridden by Sam Thomas Meanwhile,
Martin Keighley also has a runner at the latter track: 14:55 King
Ozzy � Handicap Hurdle � to be ridden by Sam Twiston-Davies Here are a
couple of links from the Sporting Life, the first is Wayne Hutchinson writing
about his return to the saddle in his regular column: And the
second is about Martin Keighley�s hopes for next weekend�s Showcase meeting
at Cheltenham, plus a number of �spectator
participation� events taking place during the fixture: http://www.sportinglife.com/racing/news/story_get.cgi?STORY_NAME=racing/10/10/08/manual_104345.html I booked
next Friday off work before my plans for next weekend became clear and, at
present, I may go to Cheltenham next Saturday in addition to, of course, a
trip to Kempton Park on the Sunday to see the very cute �Face of National Hunt Racing�!�
And it�s only 9 more sleeps to go ... J In the
meantime, this weekend will be spent quietly at home.� But I will be gainfully occupied, as I have
a cross stitch project underway, which is currently
around two thirds finished.��� |
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Wednesday 06
October 2010 |
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Martin
Keighley had 6 runners today and this is how they fared: Towcester: Mauricetheathlete finished 6th and The
Fox�s Decree finished 8th in the NH Novices� Handicap Hurdle (12 ran). Hamalac finished 11th and
Monty�s Revenge 12th in the Novices� Hurdle (14 ran, 12 finished). Ponchatrain was prominent for
much of the race but tired on the tough uphill climb to the line and finished
12th in the Handicap Hurdle (15 ran).�
But he was carrying top weight. Ludlow: 17:20 Kiss
Me Twice finished 4th in the Intermediate Open NH Flat Race (12 ran). It has
been a long day � I arrived at work at 07:00 this morning in preparation for
our trip to Leeds.� We went in style,
in a Mercedes automatic, although my Manager, Michelle, wasn�t too confident
initially as she drives a manual car, as do I.� She brought along her Tom Tom satnav too, so I didn�t
even have to map read for her, although I�m very good at it (as not all women
are useless at directions).� And,
having parked, it was very straightforward for me to locate our Leeds branch
in Albion Place.����� Following
our meeting and lunch, we took a quick look around the shops, before setting
off back down the M1 motorway to Hertfordshire. A reminder
that the National Hunt season will soon be in full swing, as my Cheltenham
Festival 2011 tickets arrived today.� And tonight I�m going to watch Midsomer Murders. |
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Tuesday 05
October 2010 |
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A busy day
for the Martin Keighley yard tomorrow, with 6 runners: Towcester: 14:30 Mauricetheathlete (Mr N Slatter)
and The Fox�s Decree (Warren Marston) - NH Novices� Handicap Hurdle 16:30 Hamalac (Wayne Hutchinson) and Monty�s Revenge (Warren
Marston) - Novices� Hurdle 17:00 Ponchatrain (Warren Marston) - Handicap Hurdle Ludlow: 17:20 Kiss
Me Twice (Jimmy Derham) � Intermediate Open NH Flat
Race My laptop is
still being slightly temperamental, having crashed once yesterday and once
this evening ... An early
start for me tomorrow, as my Manager and I are off to a Branch Managers�
meeting in Leeds.� My first ever visit
to the city.� And,
tomorrow evening, another new episode of Midsomer
Murders to look forward to.� |
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Monday 04
October 2010 |
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Apologies
for the delay in writing my first blog of the new month ... but, having
logged on to do a catch-up on Saturday morning, my laptop decided it was time
for a regular program update, so I agreed to a shutdown and reboot before
writing anything ... only to discover that 60 minutes later my laptop was
still attempting to shut down!� I
switched it off and on again ... �Resuming Windows� and then ... �Shutting
Down� ... oh dear. Time to
take my laptop to the local computer shop, and I collected it this evening on
the way home from work.� It�s been
horrible having no internet connection for the past two days and I�m so
relieved to be back on line again.� J�� So, finally,
here is my catch-up: Choc�s weekly column
appeared in the Racing Post today.� He
writes about his time with The Duke (David Nicholson), tomorrow being 14
years since Choc rode his first winner (Mytton�s
Choice at Chepstow) for the trainer.�
He also mentions his recent holiday, and the fact that his exercise
regime has continued throughout it!� With
Kempton Park gearing up for its first National Hunt fixture of the season,
Eclipse magazine is giving one of its readers the opportunity to win tickets
to the event on Sunday 17 October 2010: There�s
also this article on the Eclipse website: �Behind the Scenes of jump racing with Choc at Kempton� There�s a
Twitter for Kempton Park and Choc too: http://twitter.com/Choc_Thornton And,
having arrived back from their holiday in Greece, here is the link to Meally�s latest Eclipse diary: Alan King
had a runner at Huntingdon yesterday, the diminutive Aohna
finishing 2nd in the Handicap Hurdle, ridden by Wayne Hutchinson (10 ran). Derby
winner Workforce ran magnificently yesterday to win the Prix de l�Arc de Triomphe � Choc having
given a pointer to the horse in his Racing Post column last week! Today,
Europe having triumphed in this year�s Ryder Cup held in Wales, I�ve included
a link to find out more about Samuel Ryder and his association with my home
City of St Albans http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Ryder My older
brother, Nick, is a member of the Verulam Golf
Club. Strictly
Come Dancing returned to our screens at the weekend, and I think this year�s
celebrity dancers are the most talented so far.� Matt Baker of Blue Peter and Countryfile fame danced a brilliant Cha Cha on Friday, and Pamela Stephenson was excellent too
when dancing the waltz.� None of the
celebrities were useless ... not even Ann Widdecombe
or Paul Daniels! And, not
unexpectedly, I�ve been counting down the days to the Kempton Park fixture
... and its only 13 to go!!!� JJJ |
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