SEPTEMBER 2015
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Wednesday 30 September 2015 |
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Anyway,
there are a number of runners of interest today and this is how they fared: Chepstow: Right On
Roy (Martin Keighley/Andrew Tinkler) finished 11th
in the Maiden Hurdle (13 ran). Mortlestown (Martin Keighley/Andrew Tinkler)
was pulled up in the Novices’ Handicap Chase (10 ran). Laughingalltheway (Martin
Keighley/Andrew Tinkler) finished 5th in the
Handicap Hurdle [2 miles 11 yards] (9 ran). Nottingham: Baltic
Histoire (Jamie Osborne/Tom Queally) finished 9th
in the Maiden Stakes (2-year-olds) (14 ran). There are
three runners of interest tomorrow: Bangor-On-Dee: 14:20 Paddys Runner (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – Juvenile
Hurdle Warwick: 15:50 Shadarpour (Alan King/W Featherstone) – Handicap Hurdle
[2 miles 5 furlongs] 16:55
Theatre Goer (Noel Williams/James Banks) – Maiden Hurdle There’s no
surprise that Aidan Coleman is wondering why Southwell’s
drunken intruders weren’t asked to leave the racecourse sooner. He sustained a couple of chipped teeth in
the incident – how galling must that be when they weren’t sustained as a
result of riding, especially as he would wear a gum shield to prevent such
problems. http://www.sportinglife.com/racing/news/article/2/10011925/aidan-coleman-back-at-chepstow I’ve
succumbed to a streaming cold today and my nose is now fast turning red! I seem to have lost the ability to identify
the first symptoms of a cold ... but I was expecting sore tonsils, not a sore
and tickly lower throat, which was what I had. Anyway, I’m going to continue with the
double dose of acid reflux medication for a few days, as all colds I catch
upset the equilibrium. I can’t take
ibuprofen because they cause the stomach to produce more acid, and I’m still
not fancying the scary ‘spaced out’
side-effects of paracetamol! If only I’d realised I’d got a virus sooner,
I could have used First Defence, which a number of people I know swear by, in
an attempt to stop the worst of it.
Poodles. L As I’m
feeling rough again, I would turn in early tonight but ... I’ve been following
the Great British Bake Off, and Doctor Foster and the new ITV serial starring
Anna Maxwell Martin; the latter on +1.
There’s no point recording too many programmes, as one never gets
around to watching them! |
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Tuesday 29 September 2015 |
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Apologies
there was no blog yesterday, despite there being a runner at Southwell today: Pattara (Noel Williams/Gerard Tumelty)
finished 9th in the Handicap Hurdle [2 miles 4 furlongs 110 yards] (15 ran). There’s
unbelievable news this evening, also from Southwell,
with Aidan Coleman being assaulted by two drunks who had forced their way
into the jockey’s changing room: But it
does makes you wonder why they weren’t ejected from the racecourse before
they could cause any damage? I had
intended to write a blog entry yesterday evening, but I was feeling rough so
went to bed early instead. I’m not
sure whether it’s a virus or if my acid reflux has flared up, but I’ve got a
sore throat. Or, of course, it could
be a combination of the two! Anyway,
I’ve doubled my acid reflux medication, which the prescription recommends I
should do for a week if my symptoms get worse, and we will see what happens. I have a hiatus hernia and the medication
stops my stomach producing acid, thus preventing it from leaking upwards into
my oesophagus. And I must lose some
weight too – my poor old stomach is compressed between my ever expanding
spare tyre and my enormous boobs!!!
LOL Anyway, there
are a number of runners of interest tomorrow: Chepstow: 14:00
Right On Roy (Martin Keighley/Andrew Tinkler) –
Maiden Hurdle 15:35 Mortlestown (Martin Keighley/Andrew Tinkler)
– Novices’ Handicap Chase 16:10 Laughingalltheway (Martin Keighley/Andrew Tinkler) – Handicap Hurdle [2 miles 11 yards] Nottingham: 13:40
Baltic Histoire (Jamie Osborne/Tom Queally) –
Maiden Stakes (2-year-olds) RIP Ollie Magurn, who has died in retirement aged 17, following a
heart attack: https://mobile.twitter.com/HorseRacingRIP/status/648549871893528576/photo/1 Alla Svelta continues to
recover from his horrendous fall at Fontwell Park a
few weeks ago, he’s getting plenty of TLC: https://mobile.twitter.com/primoequus/status/648038332224655360 Darren
Bird’s cartoons have been compiled into a book to be released shortly: https://mobile.twitter.com/DarrenBirdie/status/647751467252772864/photo/1 Choc paid
another visit to Martin Keighley’s gallops last Saturday, with an Apple Tree
Stud 2-year-old to canter alongside Jazzy; Gerard Tumelty
piloting again. Choc is in
Ireland, visiting the Goffs Orby
Yearling Sale I presume; it takes place today and tomorrow. Talking of
sales, the DBS Sales return to Newbury racecourse on Friday 27 November – it
will be a National Hunt Horses in Training sale. The sales were suspended due to the
racecourse redevelopment. Plans are
afoot for Menace’s next racecourse outing – either Exeter on Thursday 08
October or Newton Abbot on Friday 09 October.
I was a bit
rubbish when it came to seeing Monday’s moon eclipse – I didn’t set my alarm
but was sure I’d wake up at some point to see it ... instead I slept through
until 04:45 ... but here is my photograph anyway:
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Saturday 26 September 2015 |
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There were
four runners of interest this afternoon, at Market Rasen and this is how they fared: Cahill
(Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) finished 5th, tailed off, in the Juvenile Hurdle
(8 ran). Friendly
Society (Noel Williams/James Banks) finished 6th in the Handicap Chase [2
miles 5 furlongs 89 yards] (8 ran). Laser
Blazer (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) finished 2nd in the Handicap Hurdle [2
miles 2 furlongs 140 yards] (10 ran). The Barbury Queen (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) finished 4th,
never nearer, in the Open National Hunt Flat Race (6 ran). There’s no
National Hunt racing tomorrow. And I have
now ordered my Cheltenham Festival tickets, for all four days as usual. J |
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Friday 25 September 2015 |
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There were
four runners of interest today and this is how they fared: Worcester: My Lad
Percy (Martin Keighley/Andrew Tinkler) was pulled
up in the Handicap Chase [2 miles 4 furlongs] (9 ran). Kyles Faith (Martin Keighley/Ian Popham)
finished last in the Selling Hurdle (5 ran). Johnny Og (Martin Keighley/Andrew Tinkler)
finished 7th in the Handicap Hurdle [2 miles] (13 ran). Wolverhampton: Dream Dana
(Jamie Osborne/Tom Queally) finished 10th in the
Maiden Stakes for 2-year-olds [7 furlongs 32 yards]; making her debut, she
was slowly away. There are
four runners of interest tomorrow, at Market Rasen: 13:40
Cahill (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – Juvenile Hurdle 15:25 Friendly
Society (Noel Williams/James Banks) – Handicap Chase [2 miles 5 furlongs 89
yards] 16:35
Laser Blazer (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – Handicap Hurdle [2 miles 2
furlongs 140 yards] 17:10 The Barbury Queen (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – Open National
Hunt Flat Race Andrew
Thornton returns from injury tomorrow to ride at the Lincolnshire track,
seeking to become a member of the exclusive 1,000 winners club in the near
future. Talking of
Thorntons, Choc has been lifting weights at the
gym, developing his muscles! The 2014
Champion Hurdler, Jezki, has been ruled out for the
season through injury. The
printer at work finally decided to function properly today, but not until
we’d changed two faulty toner cartridges; it’s so annoying, as we had already
replaced both of them yesterday so they were barely used. But at least all our printing backlog has
now been cleared, although I only had time today for a ten minutes break to
eat my lunch, no more. I’ve no
special plans for the weekend; I will probably do some more knitting,
although I need to commence another project, as I’ve finished the Aran yarn
jacket apart from sewing it together ... which is my least favourite part of
the process! |
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Thursday 24 September 2015 |
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There is one
result from Tuesday, at Perth: Kumbeshwar finished 2nd in the Claiming Hurdle (5 ran); the
race was won by the David Pipe-trained Street Entertainer, and he was claimed
for £12,000. Cyrus
Darius won today, a Novices’ Chase at Perth.
He was 1-6, made a number of errors and only won by a neck under the
stylish Brian Hughes; Choc’s description not mine
... although he is quite cute too!
He’s one of the horses I want to follow this season ... but presumably
he’ll improve following today’s chasing debut! There are
runners of interest tomorrow: Worcester: 13:50 My
Lad Percy (Martin Keighley/Andrew Tinkler) –
Handicap Chase [2 miles 4 furlongs] 16:40 Kyles Faith (Martin Keighley/Ian Popham)
– Selling Hurdle 17:15
Johnny Og (Martin Keighley/Andrew Tinkler) – Handicap Hurdle [2 miles] Wolverhampton: 20:15
Dream Dana (Jamie Osborne/Tom Queally) – Maiden
Stakes for 2-year-olds [7 furlongs 32 yards]; a bay filly by Dream
Ahead. So that’s me
watching ATR tomorrow evening, in the hope of spotting Choc at the races,
followed by Strictly Come Dancing Part One, and An Extra Slice. I’ve added
a number of Apple Tree Stud horses to my ATR tracker; so I’ve now got fillies
Dana Dream and Baltic Histoire, plus colt Canford
Chimes and a part-owned colt Schoolboy Error, all trained by Jamie
Osborne. Plus Tyrell trained by Alan
King. The Apple Tree Stud silks are
the same design as for the jumpers – Ned Stark and 3-year-old Ardamir, both also trained by Alan King – but green on a
white background instead of black on an orange background. I was
pleased that Simple Verse got the St Leger back following yesterday’s appeal;
trainer Graeme Mcpherson was the connections’ QC –
his other career! I did have the
opportunity to visit Graeme’s yard last Saturday, as a member of one of the
EPDS syndicates – perhaps next year, as I understand he trains near
Stow-on-the-Wold – in ‘Choccieland’! Syndicate
members are visiting Jamie Snowdon’s yard in Lambourn
this weekend, Rebecca Menzies on 03 October, Noel
Williams on 10 October, Robin Dickin on 17 October
and Ali Stronge on 24 October. I’m hoping to go to Noel’s on 10 October to
see Menace again. It was one
of those crazy ‘don’t know what to do
next’ kind of days at work. It
hasn’t helped that we’ve been experiencing printer problems since 28
August. Firstly the staple mechanism
broke on our main colour printer; the engineer visited, said we needed a new
part, but left us unable to use it at all.
So, since 08 September we’ve used a reserve printer but cannot print
handbooks or double-sided flyers; on Monday that went wrong too! And, with our track record, no-one else
will allow us to use their printer!!! Today, the
engineer visited again, and we can use the main printer once more, but the
stapler still doesn’t work as the spare part hasn’t arrived – so still no
handbooks. However, by the end of the
day, we were getting error messages again and having to switch it on and off
on a regular basis. Sometimes my
colleague Sue and I would just like to scream!!! We’re hoping a good night’s rest for the
printer and ourselves will find us all in better shape by the morning ... if
only we had a maintenance contract – false economy. |
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Tuesday 22 September 2015 |
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Firstly,
here are today’s results from Warwick. Marley Joe
(Martin Keighley/Sam Twiston-Davies) finished 5th
in the Novices’ Hurdle Div I (9 ran). Creepy
(Martin Keighley/Andrew Tinkler) finished 3rd and Gone Too
Far (Alan King/Wayne
Hutchinson) won the Handicap Chase [2 miles 4 furlongs] (5 ran); it was
Wayne’s 11th winner of the
season, as he also rode a winner aboard Court of Law earlier in the
afternoon! Jeans Lady
(Martin Keighley/Andrew Tinkler) unseated at the
first and Prettyasapicture (Alan King/Wayne
Hutchinson) was pulled up in the Mares’ Handicap Hurdle (13 ran); from the
notes, it sounds like an eventful race, with 3 unseats, a fall and a slip
up. My ATR
tracker informs me that there is one runner of interest tomorrow, at Perth: 14:55 Kumbeshwar (Lucinda Russell/Mr WHR Read) – Claiming
Hurdle. Poor old boy, I think he
deserves a long and happy retirement, rather than plying his trade in a
claiming hurdle. If I had a few bob,
I’d ensure he lived out his life in a different role. L I notice
that Assistant Trainer, Ollie Wardle is now writing Alan King’s latest news
column on the website, rather than Geoff Lester. I was up
early today, to ensure I reached the local supermarket just prior to opening,
with the intention of purchasing a copy of the Racing Post in order to read
the articles relating to Choc’s retirement. I’m
wondering if Choc will undergo an operation on his neck, as he mentions that
there are “one or two things to be done still, but they shouldn’t affect my
life out of the saddle”. These are
notes regarding pinched nerves, but I should imagine the symptoms are similar
to those experienced by Choc: C5 nerve
root (C4 – C5 disc) Weakness
will be felt in the upper arm deltoid muscle. Compression of the C5 nerve
will rarely cause numbness or a tingling sensation in the skin but may cause
shoulder pain. C6 nerve
root (C5 – C6 disc) Typically
the symptoms of a C6 nerve compression include weakness in the biceps and wrist
extensor muscles. Compression of the C6 nerve can also cause numbness,
tingling, and pain that will radiate from the bicep down the arm to the thumb
side of the hand. C7 nerve
root (C6 – C7 disc) Weakness
can be felt in the triceps and finger extensor muscles. Pressure placed on
the C7 nerve can cause numbness, tingling, and pain that will radiate down
the arm from the triceps to the middle finger. C8 nerve
root (C7 – T1 disc) Compression
of the C8 nerve root will cause weakened handgrip. It will also cause
numbness, tingling, and pain that radiates down the arm and to the outside of
the hand. *note*
C6 and C7 are the most common nerves that suffer from compression in the
cervical spine. The C8 nerve is the most uncommon. As I now suffer
from cervical spondylosis, in other words,
arthritis in my neck ... the root cause being a horseriding
accident in 1990 ... I can easily sympathise.
Luckily my arms and hands aren’t affected at the present time but,
before I bought a support pillow, I had begun to suffer from a dull ache
across my shoulders which would last for hours on end and sometimes
experienced dizziness too. I can also
hear my neck ‘creaking’ every time
I rotate my head and invariably, after long spells spent driving, I develop a
bad headache. I had a
flu jab at lunchtime so, hopefully, this year’s ‘concoction’ will protect me against the dreaded virus. I also bought a redcurrant-coloured ribbed
v-neck sweater from M & S - I just couldn’t help myself! I want one
of these, or maybe two – a unicorn and a lion (I also like the giraffe and
owl) – or am I far too old? http://www.purplelindacrafts.co.uk/dmc-top-this---yarn-and-topper-to-knit-hat-1067-c.asp |
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Monday 21 September 2015 |
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Choc announces his retirement from race riding Well, it’s
finally happened, Choc today announced his official retirement from race
riding. More Alan King
pays tribute to Choc too. More During a
telephone interview this evening with ATR’s Matt Chapman, Choc explained that
he continues to suffer from intermittent numbness and tingling in his hands
as a result of nerve damage in his neck – which is why he cannot race ride
again. Choc told
the viewers that he has become a good friend of Paul Dunkley, who recently
set up the Appletree Stud along with Danny Reilly
and they continue to expand their racing and breeding operation near
Stow-on-the-Wold. They own Medermit, which is why the grand old horse is now living
at the stud too, along with Blazing Bailey who is owned by Sarah Welford; the
ex-Alan King employee also works at the stud and is Gerard Tumelty’s partner.
Having received planning permission, the stud’s building works and
paddocks have now been completed and Choc lives in a ‘cottage’ onsite – he’s the Racing Manager/Stud Manager! He explained that they have 8 two-year-olds
and will probably purchase two more fillies to race and subsequently breed
from. Matt asked
Choc which horse he would love to ride again – My Way De Solzen. And which jockeys he’d like to have ridden
like – Paul Carberry/Ruby Walsh for the older
generation and Aidan Coleman/Brian Hughes for the younger generation! He would also like to have ridden Call
Equiname in the Queen Mother
Champion Chase having picked up the winning ride aboard the horse in the 1999
Victor Chandler Chase. It was
also suggested that he might like to appear on ATR’s Get In programme with
Jason Weaver and Luke Harvey – Choc seemed keen and put forward the idea of
appearing alongside AP McCoy too – so it seems that I will have to spend
Friday evenings on the lookout for his guest appearance on their show! Their studio is based in Milton Keynes
these days. And I’m
thinking it would be nice if Cheltenham racecourse made a presentation to him
this autumn too; he’s a member of their exclusive ‘more than 50’ winners club! I suppose,
at this point, I have to confess that he sort of eluded
to the fact that he wouldn’t be back when I spoke to him at Pogo Pandemonium
at the end of January. I asked Choc if
he would return soon and his reply was “they
won’t let me” – at the time I took this to mean ‘never’, so was surprised when he still appeared hopeful last
month that there might be a chance to return.
So I’ve
had eight months to become accustomed to the idea that his retirement
announcement might be imminent and, by all accounts, it seems that it’s taken
that period for Choc to become comfortable with accepting that he cannot ride
again too. I’m very
happy that he’s retired in relatively one piece, although with the addition
of a few screws and foreign bodies in his right knee and a metal plate and
screws in his right arm. And, of
course, he’s fit enough to race against William on foot, whilst the latter is
riding a quad-bike and also to play football with his son. There was
one runner of interest today, at Kempton Park: Baltic
Histoire (Jamie Osborne/Timmy Murphy) finished 7th in the Maiden Stakes (10
ran). And, yes,
Choc was there too ... and tweeted a photo of the scene: https://mobile.twitter.com/Choc_Thornton/status/645962358238674944/photo/1 Racing
returns to Warwick tomorrow; they are
solely a National Hunt racecourse now.
14:10 Marley
Joe (Martin Keighley/Sam Twiston-Davies) – Novices’
Hurdle Div I 16:40
Creepy (Martin Keighley/Andrew Tinkler) & Gone
Too Far (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – Handicap Chase [2 miles 4 furlongs] 17:10
Jeans Lady (Martin Keighley/Andrew Tinkler) & Prettyasapicture (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – Mares’
Handicap Hurdle As far as
I can ascertain, Wayne Hutchinson and Denis O’Regan
are now Alan King’s stable jockeys ... and I’m wondering if Alan will snap up
Tom Cannon with an eye to the future too? Trainer
Charlie Mann has suffered injuries whilst piloting a youngster – a broken
shoulder, three ribs and pelvis injury.
Ouch. My website
will continue for the foreseeable future, despite Choc’s
retirement; besides, I’m hopeful that I’ll see him at the races every now and
then ... and be able to report back on my adventures too! J |
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Sunday 20 September 2015 |
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Today
there were three runners of interest: Plumpton: Menace
(Noel Williams/James Banks) finished 5th in the Novices’ Hurdle (11 ran); he
did okay, he needs further but is just a baby, and tends to get outpaced in
the middle of the race. But, he is one
step nearer getting a handicap mark which will enable him to run in Novices’
Handicap hurdles. Paddys Runner (Alan King/Wayne
Hutchinson) won the Juvenile Hurdle (4 ran); Wayne’s 9th
winner of the
season. Here is
the finish of Menace’s race ... the first four horses are pictured: https://twitter.com/plumptonraces/status/645587797974360064/photo/1 The
winning distances were half a length, 10 lengths, 1 length and 6 lengths to
Menace. Paddys Runner and connections photographed following their
victory: https://twitter.com/plumptonraces/status/645609774491529216/photo/1 Uttoxeter: Darnitnev (Martin Keighley/Andrew Tinkler)
finished 3rd in the Novices’ Handicap Hurdle Div I (12 ran). I was
thinking that there are no runners of interest tomorrow ... because there is
no National Hunt racing, but I am wrong, because my ATR tracker informs me
there is an Appletree Stud runner at Kempton Park: 14:10 Baltic
Histoire (Jamie Osborne/Timmy Murphy) – Maiden Stakes; she faded to finish
last of seven at Wolverhampton on debut but, hopefully, will show improvement
tomorrow. I fully expect Choc to be at
Kempton Park to see her run, so I will record the racing just in case I can
get a glimpse of him! Paul Carberry expects to be on the sidelines for three or four
months having broken a leg when falling aboard the Noel Meade-trained Rich
Coast at Listowel yesterday. |
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Saturday 19 September 2015 |
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Firstly, yesterday’s
results from Newton Abbot: Precision
Five (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) finished 3rd in the Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle
(13 ran). Theatregoer
(Noel Williams/James Banks) was badly hampered and unseated in the Novices’
Hurdle (8 ran). Tomorrow
there are three runners of interest: Plumpton: 14:00
Menace (Noel Williams/James Banks) – Novices’ Hurdle 15:30 Paddys Runner (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) - Juvenile
Hurdle Uttoxeter: 14:40 Darnitnev (Martin Keighley/Andrew Tinkler)
– Novices’ Handicap Hurdle Div I Choc
yesterday tweeted a photo of William eating
spaghetti bolognese for dinner ... not surprisingly
he’s got into rather a mess! https://twitter.com/Choc_Thornton/status/644894828761874432/photo/1 I had
spaghetti bolognese for my evening meal yesterday
too ... I didn’t make quite such a mess ... but it’s the only meal when I
wear a napkin just in case! Freddie
and Dinky have been out on the gallops again, this time with Real Gone Kid: https://twitter.com/belindakeighley/status/645171017896329217/photo/1 The
Keighley’s had an equine visitor today, brought along by none other than
Choc; an unnamed 2-year-old filly by Multiplex, to work with the yard’s Black
Sam Bellamy filly and also Jazzy. The Appletree Stud’s filly was ridden by Gerard Tumelty, who is also a vital cog in the stud’s operation,
especially now that he is no longer AP’s chauffeur! Choc has promised to take William along on
his next visit. J I’ve now
purchased my Hennessy Gold Cup Day Grandstand Enclosure ticket. The ridiculous thing is that there was a £5
discount for booking before 01 October, but a £2 fee for credit card
payments, and £5 fee for special delivery!
This makes the total payable £32 ... which is the amount payable for
same on the gate on the day!!! As I
already stated, ridiculous! I learnt
something about Newbury racecourse today, their Copper King bar is named
after the first ever winner at the track 110 years ago! I also learnt that Racing UK presenter
Stewart Machin supports Coventry City football
club!!! I’ve been
doing some knitting today, or I should say more knitting today. I’m currently using Wendy Aran wool, which
I’ve had for many years, to knit a jacket.
There are 12 balls of yarn - 4 red, 4 purple,
and 4 a sort of taupe shade.
Originally I was going to knit three waistcoats – but now they are
going to be a block colour jacket; I’ve completed the back, both fronts and
am half way up the first sleeve. Not
bad progress, considering I began the project on Bank Holiday Monday. |
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Thursday 17 September 2015 |
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There are
two runners of interest tomorrow, at Newton Abbot: 13:50
Precision Five (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle 14:55
Theatregoer (Noel Williams/James Banks) – Novices’ Hurdle The Appletree Stud is consigning another yearling to the
sales; on this occasion the Tattersalls Yearling
Sales Book 2, which takes place on 12 to 14 October in Newmarket. The bay colt’s sire is Tamayuz
and the dam, fittingly, Duo De Choc; the dam’s dam is called Choc Ice! He’s lot 790 and you can find further
details on the Tattersalls website. http://www.tattersalls.com/ Steve
Ayres has tweeted a photo of Ayres Succes, a filly
named in his honour and, of course, Balder’s little
sister; the likeness is striking: https://twitter.com/orse_racing_lad/status/643848851800109056/photo/1 Hennessy
Gold Cup Day will host a race named in honour of Sir Peter O’Sullevan who passed away this summer. David
Casey signed off with a winner aboard Long Dog at Listowel
on Wednesday; Ruby Walsh forfeited the opportunity in the hope of giving his
colleague a final winning ride. David
now begins a behind-the-scenes career with Willie Mullins. More |
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Monday 14 September 2015 |
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Here is
today’s result from Stratford-Upon-Avon: Darnitnev (Martin Keighley/Andrew Tinkler)
was a non-runner and Fred Le Macon (Alan King/Jamie Insole) finished 4th in
the Handicap Hurdle [2 miles 6 furlongs & 7 yards] (10 ran). There’s no
National Hunt racing tomorrow. I’ve just
realised that I cannot go to Plumpton on Sunday to
see Menace if he runs ... because I’ve already made arrangements to have my
hair trimmed. Poodles! Choc went
to the cinema in Cheltenham with Jennie to see Legend yesterday evening. I was
disappointed that Roger Federer failed to exact
revenge for his Wimbledon defeat against Novak Djokovic
in last night’s Men’s Singles Final at the US Open. It didn’t help me that the match began at
just gone midnight our time due to a rain delay – the delay obviously
hindered Roger too! I’ll miss the
tennis but I’m looking forward to getting a good night’s sleep for the next
few days ... zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz |
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Sunday 13 September 2015 |
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Very sad
news today. Brown Panther lost his
life having shattered a hind leg this afternoon during the Irish St Leger at
The Curragh; he won the race last year. RIP Not
surprisingly, owner Michael Owen is devastated, "I was with him when he
was born and gave him his last kiss goodbye." Michael Owen describes the horse's death as
"saddest day of my life. I love you Panther ... life will not be the
same without you." Michael has
already lost his dam, Treble Heights, which died last year when in foal to
Nathaniel. At Longchamp, Treve, Postponed and
New Bay all put up excellent performances in their respective Arc
trials. Green
Desert, who is one of Menace’s great grandsires (on his dam’s side), has
passed away at the ripe old age of 32.
Martin
Keighley has tweeted a photograph of Thady Quil and Andrew Tinkler, along with
Freddie and Dinky; Dinky is a wise old pony, he’s in his late twenties but
certainly belies his age: https://mobile.twitter.com/belindakeighley/status/642606047727894528/photo/1 Choc has
posted a lovely photograph on facebook of Blazing
Bailey and Medermit clowning around in their
field. Irish-based
jockey David Casey has announced that he will retire this coming Wednesday,
with his final ride taking place at Listowel. More There are
two runners of interest tomorrow, in the same race, at Stratford-Upon-Avon: 14:50 Darnitnev (Martin Keighley/Andrew Tinkler)
& Fred Le Macon (Alan King/Jamie Insole) – Handicap Hurdle [2 miles 6
furlongs & 7 yards] I went for
a walk this morning; as it took me one hour and 50 minutes, it must have been
approximately 5½ miles in distance.
Mind you, I regret walking through Verulamium
Park, as they were holding a Triathlon and other similar events in the
park. The runners weren’t a nuisance,
but the cyclists certainly were and I’m not sure why they were riding through
the parkland, as the cycling route was supposed to be taking place on the Hertfordshire
roads. Also, I refuse to respond to
bells on bicycles when I’m minding my own business walking along any footpath
regardless of where it is in the City ... you have to stand your ground! I overheard a bystander at one of the
regular Sunday morning football matches speaking on their mobile phone; he
was describing the scene as havoc to the person on the other end of the
line! He can say that again! Crazy.
I later
discovered that there was a children’s scootathon
at 11:00 ... now that would have tipped me over the edge! The most dangerous element of my journey to
work every morning involves avoiding children aboard out of control scooters
as they ride them to school. Mind you,
much of the fault lies with the schools as, unbelievably, they encourage this
by providing areas where the children can park their scooters whilst there
... I bet the teaching staff have never walked to school to experience the
dangers encountered by pedestrians, otherwise they would have banned scooters
long ago. I shall
watch the Men’s Singles Final from the US Open this evening – Federer vs Djokovic
– hopefully the former will win. I’ve
only mellowed towards Roger in recent times, since he’s become the
underdog! Flavia
Pennetta won the Women’s Singles event, beating
compatriot Roberta Vinci, and promptly announced her retirement from the
sport, aged 33! This being her first
grand slam title, as a complete outsider, I guess it would only be downhill
from here anyway! |
|
Saturday 12 September 2015 |
|
Much controversy
in the racing world today, both at Doncaster and Leopardstown
... Firstly,
filly Simple Verse was demoted to second in the St Leger following a
stewards’ enquiry. More Whereas
Golden Horn retained the Irish Champion Stakes despite having bumped into
Free Eagle whilst battling out the finish. More Personally,
I wouldn’t have changed either result, as the best horse won in both
cases. I guess it all boils down to the
fact that Simple Verse’s win involved jockey error, whereas Frankie Dettori had nothing to do with the fact that Golden Horn
shied away from the rails and, as a result, bumped into the Dermot
Weld-trained horse. Also, in the
latter case, the horse which would have benefitted from a demotion would not
have been Free Eagle, it would have been runner-up
Found. Choc has
tweeted a lovely photo of William and Optimus: https://mobile.twitter.com/Choc_Thornton/status/642380823153508352/photo/1 IJF
fundraiser Jack Lander took a nasty fall from his pony Splash earlier in the
week; here he is today, back aboard: https://mobile.twitter.com/JacksIJFwalk/status/642748887497863168/photo/1 Following
his bone crunching fall at Fontwell Park last
Sunday, Alla Svelta’s
recovery continues: https://mobile.twitter.com/bpowell13/status/642641902974558208/photo/1 Tom Cannon
won the Jump Jockeys’ Derby at Epsom on Thursday, aboard veteran grey Starluck; Sam Twiston-Davies
was the runner-up. I’ve
purchased my ticket for Kempton’s Boxing Day fixture; I need to book my
Hennessy Gold Cup Day ticket before the end of this month in order to qualify
for a £5 discount. And also my
Cheltenham Festival tickets before the prices start to increase following
their Showcase fixture! I won’t be
pursuing the membership option, as parking is not included during Festival
week! New plans
are afoot for Menace, the preferred option being an entry at Plumpton on Sunday 20 September; alternatives being Uttoxeter, also on 20 September, or Worcester on 25
September, or Newton Abbot on 28 September.
I’ve had a
few laptop software problems this weekend but, fortunately, PC World was able
to talk me through it and the troubles appear to have been resolved! There are
Heritage Open Days taking place this weekend and I was mulling over whether
to undertake a tour of St Albans Cathedral’s tower; it’s free this weekend,
with no booking required, but a maximum of 12 people can attend per
session. However, with a wet start to
the day, I shelved that idea ... although it did brighten up
mid-morning. I think my current plan
is to pre-book a tour during October, as they carry out tours at least once a
month and it costs just £8 per person anyway.
And early October fits in with my racing schedule too! Today, so
far, has been spent surfing the internet, knitting and watching the racing on
TV. I guess I will tune into the US
Open tennis this evening ... fortunately I won’t have to watch Serena
Williams, as she was knocked out in the semi-finals! |
|
Wednesday 09 September 2015 |
|
There were
two runners of interest today, at Uttoxeter: Bobble
Emerald (Martin Keighley/Andrew Tinkler) was pulled
up in the Beginners’ Chase (6 ran). The Kvilleken (Martin Keighley/Andrew Tinkler)
finished 7th in the Handicap Hurdle Div I [1 miles 7 furlongs & 215
yards] (9 ran). AP McCoy
won today’s Leger Legends Charity Race at Doncaster, with ATR’s ‘Leglock’ Luke
Harvey completing in third place. Retirement has failed
to dim the Champ’s competitive streak ... and that is why he won the Jump
Jockeys’ Championship for 20 years! More As
mentioned yesterday, the Jump Jockeys’ Derby will be run at Epsom tomorrow;
Aidan Coleman is riding the favourite, Royal History, which is trained by Saeed bin Suroor. There’s
now no National Hunt racing until a fixture at Stratford-Upon-Avon on Monday;
it’s the remnants of the former September break ... the jockeys’ ‘holiday’ break having now been moved
to August. |
|
Tuesday 08 September 2015 |
|
Here are
today’s results for my runners of interest ... under both codes: Worcester: Bobble Emerald
(Martin Keighley/Andrew Tinkler) was a non-runner
in the Handicap Chase [2 miles 4 furlongs] Cearys (Martin Keighley/Andrew Tinkler)
finished 4th in the Mares’ Maiden Hurdle (11 ran). Leicester: Tyrell
(Alan King/Tom Queally) finished 7th in the Maiden
Stakes (2-year-olds) Div I [7 furlongs] (13 ran). Today’s
race comment was “Slowly into stride,
held up, not clear run well over 1f out, never nearer” – it sounds like
he dwelt again, but can be forgiven on only his second career run. Mystery
Code (Alan King/Fergus Sweeney) finished 5th in the Handicap [1 mile 3
furlongs 183 yards] (9 ran). There are
two runners of interest tomorrow, at Uttoxeter: 14:40
Bobble Emerald (Martin Keighley/Andrew Tinkler) –
Beginners’ Chase 16:55 The Kvilleken (Martin Keighley/Andrew Tinkler)
– Handicap Hurdle Div I [1 miles 7 furlongs & 215 yards] The Jump
Jockeys’ Derby takes place on Thursday at Epsom ... Saphir Du Rheu is Hennessy
Gold Cup bound, all being well. Charlie Longsdon is holding a public Open Morning on Saturday;
he’s based at Hull Farm near Chipping Norton: http://www.charlielongsdonracing.com/ Brendan
Powell Senior reports that Alla Svelta
is gradually improving following an awful fall at Fontwell
Park on Sunday; it looked like the horse was a goner at the time. https://mobile.twitter.com/bpowell13/status/641327500983934980?p=v AP McCoy
will be heading to Doncaster tomorrow to ride in the Leger Legends race. More I had no
dial tone on my telephone landline throughout yesterday but, when I phoned
BT, to be answered by their automated ‘advisor’,
their test claimed to show there was no fault on the line. I had tried three different phones in the
main socket too. My Sky broadband was
fine throughout. However, everything
returned to normal overnight, which is fortunate, as it costs £129 just to
call an engineer out! With Andy
Murray out of the US Open, I’m hoping to catch up on my sleep, having become
almost nocturnal since the final Grand Slam of the year began last week. I’m not quite sure why I feel the need to
stay up to watch the Scotsman play, because he ‘ain’t no Agassi’! I found
two spiders in my bedroom this morning – one large garden variety on a
thread, and the other on the ceiling; the second may not have been a spider
because I couldn’t see it clearly, but it was sucked into the vacuum cleaner
regardless. I squashed the first one
in a tissue, as I was frightened it might get away whilst I went in search of
a plastic cup and cardboard to catch it.
I’ve left the vacuum cleaner set up in ‘spider mode’ – with the long tube connected – as, with the
arrival of autumn, there are bound to be further spider emergencies in the
coming days! But I have to confess I
am less ‘screamy’
these days when I see one!!!
One of my
nieces, Lydia, was a bridesmaid at her best friend’s wedding on Saturday – I
know I’m biased, but isn’t she beautiful? |
|
Monday 07 September 2015 |
|
There are
runners of interest under both codes tomorrow: Worcester: 14:10
Bobble Emerald (Martin Keighley/Andrew Tinkler) –
Handicap Chase [2 miles 4 furlongs] 15:10 Cearys (Martin Keighley/Andrew Tinkler)
– Mares’ Maiden Hurdle Leicester: 14:00
Tyrell (Alan King/Tom Queally) – Maiden Stakes
(2-year-olds) Div I [7 furlongs] And Alan
has a second runner at the track: 15:30
Mystery Code (Alan King/Fergus Sweeney) – Handicap [1 mile 3 furlongs 183
yards] I am not a
happy bunny following my dental hygienist appointment ... the locum spoke
English (I think) but I could only understand around 25% of what she
said! That’s very disappointing and
annoying, as I’m a private patient and pay £45 per visit for the privilege of
having my teeth cleaned every three or four months. My fingers are firmly crossed that Helen
will be back in situ by the time my next appointment arrives in January! |
|
Sunday 06 September 2015 |
|
There were
two runners of interest at Stratford-Upon-Avon yesterday and this is
how they fared: Kyles Faith (Martin Keighley/Archie Bellamy) finished
6th in the Conditional Jockeys’ Selling Handicap Hurdle (9 ran). Johnny Og (Martin
Keighley/Andrew Tinkler) won the Handicap Chase [2
miles 213 yards] (5 ran); Martin’s 9th
winner of the
season. Martin reported in his blog
that the horse is a bad traveller and travels loose in a big lorry to the
racecourse; hence the preference for running at a local track. The full
brother to veteran Georgian King is due to arrive at the Martin Keighley yard
soon. Leighton Aspell had a bad fall at Fontwell
Park this afternoon and was taken to hospital to be checked out. More Fingers crossed he
will be okay. There are no runners of interest tomorrow, with
the sole National Hunt fixture taking place at Perth, although Richard
Johnson, Wayne Hutchinson and James Banks head to the track for rides. Apple Tree Stud’s Tyrell holds an entry for
Leicester on Tuesday, so I presume Choc will be heading to the track if he
runs ... and I need to set my Sky box to record accordingly! I’ve finally got around to typing up Menace’s
bloodline; being flat-bred, he has many distinguished ancestors! More Choc tweeted a video of
his son William excitedly telling everyone that their dog Optimus
had ‘done a poo!’ https://mobile.twitter.com/Choc_Thornton/status/640204806238404608/video/1 I’ve been knitting, jewellery making and
gardening this weekend; not my favourite time of the year for the latter due
to all the cobwebs and spiders in the garden!
And I’ve been watching the US Open tennis; I stayed up overnight to
see Andy Murray’s match – it finished at around 04:00 this morning. Having finally got to bed, needless to say,
I didn’t wake until gone 09:00 this morning.
And, of course, I watched Strictly Come Dancing
yesterday; lucky Carol Kirkwood has been partnered with Pasha Kovalev. Mind you,
I gather she is the favourite to leave first and the BBC usually teams last season’s
winning professional with a ‘no hoper’
the following year! I think from
previous experience, the more intelligent the person the less likely they are
to be a good dancer! Prime examples
being Carol Vordeman and Fiona Phillips who
couldn’t dance to save their lives; whereas Chelsee
Healey, who is at the other end of the intelligence spectrum, was runner-up
in her season! However, I think that
Katie Derham may prove to be the exception to the
rule! Hopefully
this week won’t be too busy at work, as my colleague Sue returns from annual
leave tomorrow. I’ve got my quarterly
dental hygienist appointment tomorrow, but not with my usual hygienist Helen,
as she’s recently broken her ankle! |
|
Friday 04 September 2015 |
|
There are two
runners of interest tomorrow, at Stratford-Upon-Avon: 14:05 Kyles Faith (Martin Keighley/Archie Bellamy) –
Conditional Jockeys’ Selling Handicap Hurdle 17:00
Johnny Og (Martin Keighley/Andrew Tinkler) – Handicap Chase [2 miles 213 yards] There’s National
Hunt racing at Fontwell Park on Sunday, but no
runners of interest. Strangely
enough, I have attended both equivalent fixtures – my last recorded visit to
Stratford was on 08 September 2012, and my only ever visit to Fontwell Park was on 07 September 2008! I miss going to Stratford, as it’s my
favourite smaller racecourse. Wayne Hutchinson rode his 8th
winner of the
season aboard Welsh Bard at Sedgefield on Wednesday. A 2-day
DBS Horses In Training (HIT) sale took place this week, and two Alan
King-trained horses were sold to new owners; Mystery Drama which sold for
£14,000 to West Buckland Bloodstock and Uriah Heep
sold for £17,000 to a Phyllis Smith. Primo Capitano has been retired following his very
disappointing showing at Southwell earlier in the
week; plans have been put in place to find him a suitable new home. A reminder
regarding Cheltenham’s Showcase fixture arrived on my facebook
feed today ... it informed me that it’s just six weeks away! Choc has
tweeted a photograph of William; he’s all dressed up ahead of his first day
at school: https://mobile.twitter.com/Choc_Thornton/status/639483376345423872/photo/1 I’ve booked
my flu jab for 22 September; I want no repeat of the illness that floored me
in February 2014. I presume this
year’s concoction will prove more useful than last year’s, when reports
stated the vaccine was only 3% efficient due to new flu strains making an
appearance. Fortunately I didn’t get a
cold or flu last winter despite this; I was lucky. I’ve no
particular plans for the weekend, although I have begun a knitting project
which I expect I will continue. And
the Strictly Come Dancing ‘introduction’
programme is broadcast tomorrow evening ... excellent. J |
|
Wednesday 02 September 2015 |
|
There were
two runners of interest today and this is how they fared: Southwell: Primo Capitano (Martin Keighley/Andrew Tinkler)
was pulled up in the Maiden Hurdle (9 ran). Worcester: Prettyasapicture (Alan King/Wayne
Hutchinson) finished 6th in the Mares’ Handicap Hurdle (7 ran). The sole
National Hunt fixture takes place at Sedgefield tomorrow, so no runners of
interest. Here is
John Powell’s post-race report regarding Menace: “I’m pleased to say Menace
has come out of his race pretty well. He hurdled very nicely for his first
attempt, but the pace of the race meant he was in top gear almost the whole
way before tiring. He will probably need more of a trip in time; in the
meantime he’ll have a quiet few days before coming back in to work and
looking for another opportunity for him to continue his education in a few
weeks’ time.” Another
busy day at work ... but just 80 minutes overtime worked today. Mind you, having said that, there is a
growing backlog! I think I need a
holiday; as I’ve had just one weekday off, to go to Worcester, since Aintree
in April! I have seven days booked,
with ten more still to book, five of which I can carry into January and
February next year if required. Tomorrow
is a big day for Choc’s son William; it’s his first
day of school! |
|
Tuesday 01 September 2015 |
|
There are
two runners of interest tomorrow: Southwell: 15:40
Primo Capitano (Martin Keighley/Andrew Tinkler) – Maiden Hurdle Worcester: 19:10 Prettyasapicture (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – Mares’
Handicap Hurdle Going
forward, Huntingdon won’t need to worry about the weather on August Bank
Holiday Monday as, from next season, their Family Fun Day will be moved to
May and their first fixture following the summer break will take place in
early October. And that leaves Cartmel as the sole National Hunt fixture taking place on
that particular Bank Holiday. I’m
keeping an eye on the Kempton Park website because tickets for their Boxing
Day fixture are due to go on sale this month.
I also need to purchase a ticket for Hennessy Gold Cup Day before the
end of September in order to qualify for a £5 discount. And buy tickets for the Cheltenham Festival
by 24 October because, after that date, the price increases! I survived
the day at work, despite the team being short-staffed due to holidays ...
although I did work 9 hours without a break! |
