JULY 2016
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Sunday
31 July 2016 |
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I’m going
to mention two runners of interest today; trained by Graeme McPherson ...
because I visited his yard near Stow-on-the-Wold yesterday! Trillerin Minella, ridden by Archie Bellamy, won the Handicap Chase [2 miles 7 furlongs & 191 yards] (12
ran). Kamool, ridden by Richard Johnson, finished 2nd in
Division II of the Handicap Hurdle [2 miles 7 furlongs & 16 yards] (8
ran). Trillerin Minella has a mind of
his own and either loves to race, or completely bombs out and pulls up! Today he led from the second fence and
stayed there all the way to the line; although he only just hung on to win by
a head. His price was 11-1. He’s due to go to Doncaster sales on
Wednesday; he’s had reprieves before, but I think this may be it, on this
occasion. Stable companion Titans
Approach is also to be sold. So, as
soon as I hear the word ‘Sales’, I
have to check to see which other horses might be heading there ... and Alan
King is consigning five – Turn Over Sivola, Hindon Road, Duke Of Sonning,
Phantom River ... plus Tyrell! It
seems that connections have lost interest in National Hunt racing. I thought perhaps they would try him over
hurdles – but maybe he doesn’t like jumping!
There is a
long list of Potensis horses heading to this Sale,
the most well known being All Yours and Activial. I’ve
chosen a photo of Zabeel Star for my blog; he’s so
chilled out, lying in his stable.
I didn’t
do much when I arrived home yesterday, at 14:30. In fact I went back to bed for a couple of
hours late afternoon, because I was suffering from a headache – I was
possibly dehydrated, and also I’m convinced that my cervical spondylosis was playing up again. That’s because I’ve not driven any distance
for quite a while. There’s
another yard visit arranged in a fortnight’s time, to the Jamie Snowden
facility in Lambourn. I shall seriously consider attending that
too. And the good news is that I’ve
already made an excellent start on my diary relating to yesterday and have
already completed the first draft! No
mean feat, as it contains over 5,000 words.
I have to confess that I’ve arrived at the ridiculous situation, long
ago, when diary writing has a bearing on whether I can venture out upon a new
excursion or not ... National
Hunt racing takes a break for the next ten or eleven days, to allow jockeys
to go on holiday with their families; they are workaholics if given half a
chance. But I will report on any flat
runners of interest during that period ... there are three tomorrow: Ripon: 14:15 Her
Terms (William Haggas/Silvestre de Souza/Apple Tree
Stud) – Maiden Fillies’ Stakes; she’s a new one I need to add to my
tracker. This is her fourth run and I
only found her by chance because I saw the Apple Tree Stud silks when
searching for Ardamir! 16:45 Ardamir (Alan King/Willie Twiston-Davies/Apple
Tree Stud) – Maiden Stakes [1 mile 4 furlongs & 10 yards] Kempton
Park: 17:00
Schoolboy Error (Jamie Osborne/William Carson/Part-owned Apple Tree Stud) –
Handicap [1 mile 4 furlongs] Dalavand also runs in the latter race, but he must have
changed hands following a recent Selling Handicap, because he is now trained
by Laura Mongan.
Although, having said that, he is also entered in the aforementioned
Doncaster sales, so she hasn’t kept him for long, which is sad; I hate it
when horses get passed quickly around.
It implies that they should be found another career outside of
racing. The final
episode of The Musketeers will be broadcast tomorrow evening, and I wonder
who will survive. The characters are
beginning to drop like ‘ninepins’
and we lost one of the ‘goodies’
yesterday, along with the King and his uncle.
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Friday
29 July 2016 |
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There were
three runners of interest today, at Bangor-On-Dee, and this is how they fared: Precision
Five (Alan
King/Wayne Hutchinson) won the Mares’ Maiden Hurdle
(9 ran). Stynes (Graeme McPherson/William Featherstone/EPDS
Racing) finished 9th in the Handicap Hurdle [2 miles 3 furlongs & 123
yards] (12 ran). Presenting
Lisa (Alan
King/Wayne Hutchinson) won the Handicap Chase [2
miles 1 furlong & 77 yards] (7 ran). So that’s
Wayne’s 16th and 17th winners of the season.
There are
no runners of interest tomorrow. The final
two Musketeers episodes will be shown tomorrow (Saturday) and Monday,
respectively. That must be due to the
Olympics coverage blocking out all options for over two weeks from next
Friday and Musketeer fans cannot wait that long to view the last ever episode
... without getting very angry! The
BBC wouldn’t have had this problem had they not postponed the second episode
due to a Muhammad Ali tribute programme.
I’ve a
little outing planned for tomorrow morning ... with a very early start ...
but I’ll write about that later in the weekend! |
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Thursday
28 July 2016 |
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There were
three runners of interest today and this is how they fared: Nottingham: Tyrell (Alan King/Dougie
Costello/Apple Tree Stud) won the Handicap for 3-year-olds [2 miles & 9
yards] (4 ran); this appears to be Apple Tree Stud’s 3rd winner (Sam Missile
at Kempton Park on 06 January and Tyrell at Bath on 06 July being the previous
two). Stratford: Magic
Music Man (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) finished 4th in the Maiden Hurdle (11
ran). Mille Nautique (Alan King/Tom Bellamy) finished 2nd in the
Novices’ Handicap Chase (10 ran). There are
three runners of interest tomorrow, at Bangor-On-Dee: 13:40
Precision Five (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – Mares’ Maiden Hurdle 14:10 Stynes (Graeme McPherson/William Featherstone/EPDS
Racing) – Handicap Hurdle [2 miles 3 furlongs & 123 yards] 15:55
Presenting Lisa (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – Handicap Chase [2 miles 1
furlong & 77 yards] Ruby Walsh
finally won the Galway Hurdle; he rode the Willie Mullins-trained Clondaw Warrior to victory for a syndicate which also
includes his wife Gillian! But not
such good news for Bryan Cooper; he was taken to hospital with suspected
chest injuries, including a partially collapsed lung. He was unseated from his mount Tiger Roll
during a beginners’ chase and collided with part of the fence. |
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Wednesday
27 July 2016 |
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There are three
runners of interest tomorrow: Nottingham: 17:45
Tyrell (Alan King/Dougie Costello/Apple Tree Stud)
– Handicap for 3-year-olds [2 miles & 9 yards] ... he’s stepping up in
distance again, and this is a hurdle trip! Stratford: 13:10
Magic Music Man (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – Maiden Hurdle 13:40
Mille Nautique (Alan King/Tom Bellamy) – Novices’
Handicap Chase It’s very
good news regarding Menace, he’s pulled a muscle and should be as right as
rain following a little bit of rest! J And I expect he’ll be treated to a number
of sessions under the massage blanket too!
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Tuesday
26 July 2016 |
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RIP JT McNamara Pictured
above having won Cheltenham Festival’s Diamond
Jubilee National Hunt Chase (Amateur
Riders’ Novices’ Chase) in 2012, aboard the
Rebecca Curtis trained Teaforthree There was sad news today that John Thomas
McNamara had passed away overnight; he’d been paralysed from the neck down
since a race riding fall on Day 3 of the 2013 Cheltenham Festival. His mount Galaxy Rock fell at the first
fence that day, but it wasn’t supposed to be the first fence; the runners
were unable to jump the fence in front of the stands because the injured Matuhi was being treated on the landing side on that
one. Anyway, here is the news as reported by Racing
UK: Here are
this evening’s results from Worcester: The Kvilleken (Martin Keighley/Andrew Tinkler)
finished 4th in the Handicap Chase [2 miles & 110 yards] (10 ran). Turn Over Sivola (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) finished 8th in the Pershore Plum Festival Land O’Plums
Handicap Chase [2 miles 110 yards] (9 ran). Weyburn (Martin Keighley/Andrew Tinkler)
finished 3rd in the NH Novices’ Hurdle (7 ran). Theatre
Goer (Noel Williams/William Featherstone) was pulled up in the Handicap
Hurdle [2 miles & 7 furlongs] (10 ran). There are
no runners of interest tomorrow. Menace is unable to make his engagement at
Stratford on Thursday, having pulled out lame last Sunday. He had improved yesterday but the vet was
going to look him over today. That
means the earliest he will return to the racecourse is at either Newton Abbot
or Stratford in late August; sadly the latter is an evening fixture and I
don’t want to be driving in the dark until I get my eyes tested again. And that, of course, is providing Menace’s
injury doesn’t prove to be more serious. I was hoping to go to Stratford on Thursday, but
I’m now working instead. L My workload is increasing again, having
been ‘just about right’ for the
past three or four weeks; I presume it means that my colleagues’ summer
holiday season has already ended, sadly, and they are back in harness. However,
I’m hoping to have an outing on Saturday instead, and possibly one in a
couple of weeks too! |
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Monday
25 July 2016 |
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There were
two runners of interest at Newton
Abbot today and
this is how they fared: Anti Cool
(Robin Dickin/Charlie Poste/EPDS
Racing) was pulled up in the Handicap Chase [2 miles & 75 yards] (10 ran) Miss
Crick (Alan
King/Wayne Hutchinson) won the Handicap Hurdle
[2 miles 2 furlongs & 110 yards] (7 ran); Wayne’s 15th winner of the season.
He’s now ridden her to victory three times this season! I thought
that tomorrow might be a quiet day, but no ... there are four runners of
interest at Worcester
tomorrow
evening: 17:40 The Kvilleken (Martin Keighley/Andrew Tinkler)
– Handicap Chase [2 miles & 110 yards] 18:40 Turn
Over Sivola (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – Pershore Plum Festival Land O’Plums
Handicap Chase [2 miles 110 yards] ... Worcester’s highlight event each year. 19:10 Weyburn (Martin Keighley/Andrew Tinkler)
– NH Novices’ Hurdle 19:40
Theatre Goer (Noel Williams/William Featherstone) – Handicap Hurdle [2 miles
& 7 furlongs] I managed
to have a lunch-hour today ... although it was touch and go with a last
minute request ... so I walked home in order to make a phone call to the
Aintree Festival booking line. There
was a recorded message to say the lines were extremely busy but it took all
of 5 seconds to get through to speak to someone!!! Ticket prices
are exactly the same as last year, for my preferred enclosure at least; the
only price increase is for parking on Grand National day – it’s increased
from £20 to £25. I actually had no
recollection about how much the parking cost until yesterday I looked back at
last year’s invoice ... it was £20 per day in the Steeplechase car park –
talk about a rip-off! Parking at the
Cheltenham Festival is very reasonable by comparison, but I suppose they have
far more space available in semi-rural Gloucestershire. Anyway,
that’s Aintree sorted for another season ... which leaves the Cheltenham
Festival still to be booked, along with Newbury on Hennessy Gold Cup Day,
also Kempton Park on Boxing Day; tickets for Sandown’s season finale won’t be
on sale until, probably, March. |
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Sunday
24 July 2016 |
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As mentioned, there were two runners of interest
today, at Uttoxeter, and this is how they
fared: Kokomo (Noel Williams/James Banks) finished 6th
in the Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle (8 ran). Jazzy (Martin Keighley/Andrew Tinkler)
finished 4th in the Juvenile Hurdle (6 ran). There are
two runners of interest tomorrow, at Newton Abbot: 14:45 Anti
Cool (Robin Dickin/Charlie Poste/EPDS
Racing) – Handicap Chase [2 miles & 75 yards] 15:20 Miss
Crick (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – Handicap Hurdle [2 miles 2 furlongs
& 110 yards] I’ve done
a few bits and pieces today, now that I’m not totally encumbered by my
diaries; although I did slightly oversleep this morning! I’d
intended to be at the petrol station by 08:15 this morning, having already
taken my car for a drive ... I’ve only been out in it twice since
Aintree. However, in the event, I
didn’t even wake until 08:00. It was
my own fault really, as I’d stayed up late to watch a DVD – Love (and other
disasters) starring Brittany Murphy and Santiago Cabrera. I’ve owned a copy of the film since last
year, but never got around to viewing it.
It’s a Romcom, and it was amusing at times
and, of course, Santiago is as gorgeous as ever! Apart from
the Musketeers, I’d also recommend him in Empire and Anna Karenina; he also
played Lancelot in Merlin (which I didn’t watch) and appeared in Heroes
(which I also didn’t watch). He’s
definitely my second favourite man at present, although I also like James
Norton, Lee Mead, Pasha Kovalev, Andre Agassi,
Harrison Ford, Hugh Jackman, and Colin Morgan in
his guise as Nathan Appleby in the Living and the Dead! Anyway,
having arrived back from my drive and trip to the petrol station, I washed my
car; although I did have problems getting rid of watermarks on the paintwork
... I think it might have been because the car was very dusty before I washed
it, and the heat was drying the water before I had chance to wipe it properly
dry. I then had a shower, because I
was absolutely soaked. I also trimmed
a number of garden shrubs, and shortened a pair of trousers for my
mother. Then, finally, I’ve proofed
and unloaded my Sandown Park diary! Tomorrow
is the first day of ticket sales for next year’s Aintree Festival; for
previous customers that is. I’ve got
of my information ready, and am just waiting for the promised email to arrive
early tomorrow, which I think will probably state a special code which needs
to be quoted when booking. I’m going
to pop home at lunchtime tomorrow in order to book by phone, as the online
option has caused issues in the past. |
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Saturday
23 July 2016 |
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There was one runner of interest on Thursday, at Uttoxeter: Somewhere To Be (Martin Keighley/Richard Johnson)
finished 5th in the Standard Open NH Flat Race (13 ran); the horse is owned
by Zara Phillips. There are two runners of interest tomorrow, again
at Uttoxeter: 14:00 Kokomo (Noel Williams/James Banks) – Mares’
Novices’ Hurdle 14:30 Jazzy (Martin Keighley/Andrew Tinkler) – Juvenile Hurdle Here is
the photograph of the Apple Tree Stud’s yearling filly which will be offered
for sale at Goffs UK Premier Sale. https://mobile.twitter.com/Kirsty_Durham/status/756055527155765248/photo/1 You just
have to love alpacas ... https://mobile.twitter.com/BarnacreAlpacas/status/756471115288043521/photo/1 I have
some excellent news ... I’ve finished drafting my outstanding race-day
diaries, this afternoon! Not that my
job is over, because I’ve now got to collate, proof and upload them. But that’s the easy part, hopefully. J Now that
the days are not quite so hot, I’m feeling better again. That suggests it was definitely the very
high temperatures which were affecting me ... so I’m now going to join the
group of people who like to moan about the hot weather; I never thought I’d see
the day that happened! |
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Thursday
21 July 2016 |
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There was no blog yesterday because I was feeling
slightly unwell. I’d been okay all day
but, having eaten my evening meal and had a bath, I began to feel
nauseous. I lay down on my bed, thinking
I’d feel okay within the hour, only to doze off to sleep for over three
hours, by which time it was 23:30. I got up for a while, made myself a cup of tea,
and a cold drink too, thinking that I might type up further Sandown race
notes … but to no avail as I still didn’t feel too good; I went back to bed
at 00:30. In fact I continued to feel
nauseous and didn’t get to sleep until 03:45!
I awoke at 05:30 … and, being a little crazy, I wrote the race notes
I’d intended to do yesterday evening before I went to work! I’ve continued to feel sick intermittently today;
the only explanation I can think of is that the heat is affecting me. My elderly mother hates excessively hot
weather, and tells me it also makes her feel sick. So it must be my age, I reckon; we don’t
have air conditioning in my area of the office at work either. I sat in the park at lunchtime yesterday,
although it was in dappled shade, so that couldn’t have helped either. It’s strange isn’t it? We moan about there being no sunshine and
too much rain, and when finally a few hot days arrive we complain that it is
too hot. You just can’t please some
people! Anyway … There was one runner of interest yesterday, at Lingfield Park: Dalavand (Jamie Osborne/William
Carson/Owned by Apple Tree Stud) finished 6th in the Selling Handicap [1 mile
2 furlongs] (11 ran). Today there were a number of runners of interest
at Worcester, and this is how they
fared: Authorized Too (Noel
Williams/Richard Johnson) won and Royal Plaza (Alan
King/Wayne Hutchinson) finished 3rd in the Handicap Hurdle [2 miles] (9 ran). Pattara (Noel Williams/Gerard
Tumelty) finished 6th in the Handicap Hurdle [2
miles 4 furlongs] (16 ran). There is one runner of interest tomorrow, at Uttoxeter: 17:25 Somewhere To Be (Martin Keighley/Richard
Johnson) – Standard Open NH Flat Race Choc shared a video on facebook,
originally uploaded by his colleague Kirsty Durham
– they are preparing a Kodiac/Indian Navy 2015
filly for Goffs UK Premier Sale. The filly was being led around the
stable-yard at Apple Tree Stud; the building works appear to have been
completed and it’s a beautiful place. Evidently Milady returns in this Saturday’s
episode of The Musketeers (the 8th of 10 episodes). I’ve been
naughty and ordered the purple Hotter ankle boots this evening! |
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Tuesday
19 July 2016 |
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There is one runner of interest tomorrow, at Lingfield Park: 15:50 Dalavand (Jamie Osborne/William Carson/Owned by Apple Tree
Stud) – Selling Handicap [1 mile 2 furlongs]. Menace’s
breathing has been checked by vet Ben Brain and he’s A1. This means that the plans to run him at
Stratford next week have been given the go-ahead. I’ve
started my Sandown Park race notes too ... the light at the end of that very
long tunnel is getting much closer now! J And I’m a
lot happier in myself too ... having been quite depressed for a number of
weeks. |
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Monday
18 July 2016 |
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One result to report from Windsor today: Whatalove (Martin Keighley/Tom Queally) finished last in the Maiden Fillies’ Stakes
(2-year-olds) [6 furlongs] (10 ran). I noticed that Kumbeshwar
ran at Cartmel today; he finished 3rd in a 2 mile 2
furlong & 61 yards Handicap Chase (6 ran). There was news today that prolific National Hunt
sire, Midnight Legend, has been put to sleep having succumbed to colic; he
was 25. He’d still been ‘working’ this summer, covering 30
mares, with 17 now in foal. Just one
week to go until tickets go on sale for the Aintree Festival;
regular customers are able to buy tickets a week in advance of everyone else!
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Sunday
17 July 2016 |
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Here are today’s results for my runners of
interest: Stratford: Classic Colori (Martin
Keighley/Andrew Tinkler) was pulled up in the Selling
Hurdle (9 ran). Marley Joe (Martin Keighley/Andrew Tinkler) finished 2nd in the Handicap Hurdle Div I (6
ran). Newton Abbot: Invocation (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) finished
a neck 2nd and Schoolboy Error (Jamie Osborne/Richard Johnson) finished 3rd
in the Juvenile Hurdle Stynes (Graeme McPherson/William Featherstone/EPDS Racing) won the Handicap Hurdle [2 miles 2
furlongs & 110 yards] (14 ran); he was a 20-1 shot! Londonia (Graeme
McPherson/Richard Johnson/EPDS Racing) finished 3rd in the Novices’ Handicap
Hurdle (10 ran). Meanwhile at Redcar, EPDS Racing’s Celtic Artisan
finished 3rd in a 1 mile 1 furlong handicap race at Redcar today (13 ran). There is one runner of interest tomorrow, at Windsor: 17:45 Whatalove (Martin
Keighley/Tom Queally) – Maiden Fillies’ Stakes
(2-year-olds) [6 furlongs] Amazingly, I’ve still got The Musketeers theme
tune in my head, along with two of the ‘themes’
from The Living and the Dead. And that
was before I’d watched last evening’s episode of the former and also re-watched
the final episode of the latter after midnight this morning! I’ve seen a spoiler hinting that a major
character will die during this final series of The Musketeers, with episode 6
being mentioned too. That was last
week when one of the four baddies died, but I’m just wondering if one of the
four Musketeers will be killed off during the final episode ... just to prove
that any one of our heroes can lose their life at any point and won’t live
happily ever after. If so, and I
haven’t seen any of the final three episodes, I’m wondering if Aramis will be the one that is sacrificed. But, as he’s my favourite, I hope not. L My reasoning is that, as he’s supposed to be the
father of the Dauphin, he will die in the line of duty protecting the Prince and
the Queen from the evil Grimaud. Louis the 13th is presently dying from what
I presume is ‘consumption’, and he
knows about their affair … which Aramis has now
confessed to the King also. The King
said he would be hanged for treason but Aramis
gained a reprieve, with strings attached, having saved the Louis’ life in
episode 6. But, once the King is dead,
the storyline may call for the demise of my hero too … otherwise it will be
very ‘difficult’ within the French
Court. Guess
what? I’ve finished writing my Aintree
diary race notes for all three days; notwithstanding the fact that I’ve no
recordings of the first and last races on Days 1 and 2. That leaves just Sandown Park’s Jump Finale
race notes to write. It’s great to see
the light at the end of the tunnel … and it’s a very long tunnel at this time
of the year! |
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Saturday
16 July 2016 |
|
There were three runners of interest today, two
of these being at Market Rasen: McCabe Creek (Alan King/Tom Bellamy) finished 5th
in the Handicap Hurdle (11 ran). Laser Blazer (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson)
finished 6th in the Novices’ Handicap Chase (13 ran). It was ‘Skelton
Day’ at Market Rasen, with Dan and Harry
scoring a treble which included both feature events, with Red Tornado taking
the Listed Hurdle and Long House Hall the Summer Plate. There was a pile-up after the last in the Plate,
when the JP McManus-owned Cernunnos fell at the
last, as did Monsieur Gibraltar, and Henryville was brought down. As a result, Barry Geraghty
fractured his right humerus and will miss the
Galway Festival; he will be out of action for two or three months. Haydock Park: Jamacho (Brian Ellison/B A
Curtis/raised by Apple Tree Stud) finished 4th in
the Novice Stakes (2-year-olds) [7 furlongs] (6 ran). Just a quick reminder of tomorrow’s runners of
interest: Stratford: 14:15 Classic Colori
(Martin Keighley/Andrew Tinkler) – Selling Hurdle 17:05 Marley Joe (Martin Keighley/Andrew Tinkler) – Handicap Hurdle Div I Newton Abbot: 14:05 Invocation (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson)
& Schoolboy Error (Jamie Osborne/Richard Johnson) – Juvenile Hurdle 15:45 Stynes (Graeme
McPherson/William Featherstone/EPDS Racing) – Handicap Hurdle [2 miles 2
furlongs & 110 yards] 17:30 Londonia (Graeme
McPherson/Richard Johnson/EPDS Racing) – Novices’ Handicap Hurdle Also, EPDS Racing’s Celtic Artisan runs in the
15:00 at Redcar; a 1 mile 1 furlong handicap race. Having finished drafting my Grand National race
notes, I decided to surf the net for a while and I found that Hotter have
already introduced online a number of shoes and boots from their new winter
range … disaster … they have a pair of purple leather ankle boots for sale
this coming season! My favourite colour,
so I desperately need a pair. Okay, so
I don’t actually need them, but I want them sooooooooooooooooo
badly!!! And I’m resigned to the fact
that I’ll have to pay full price too, to ensure ownership; oh well, at least
that rarely happens! I’ve
already been seduced by the summer sales – Hotter, Kipling and Marks &
Sparks! In the latter’s online sale I
found a jacket reduced from £29.50 to £14.00, two Per Una
tops reduced from £22.50 each to £8.00 each, and a maxi skirt reduced from
£35.00 to £16.00. That’s £109.50
reduced to £46.00 … a bargain; although it would have been cheaper not to buy
anything of course! But girls will be
girls … |
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Friday
15 July 2916 |
|
There are three runners of interest tomorrow, two
of them being at Market Rasen: 15:55 McCabe Creek (Alan King/Tom Bellamy) –
Handicap Hurdle 16:30 Laser Blazer (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) –
Novices’ Handicap Chase As it is mid-July, tomorrow is their Summer Plate
Day. Haydock Park: 19:35 Jamacho (Brian
Ellison/B A Curtis/raised by Apple Tree Stud) – Novice Stakes (2-year-olds)
[7 furlongs] Then, on Sunday, there are runners of interest at
both Stratford and Newton Abbot … Stratford: 14:15 Classic Colori
(Martin Keighley/Andrew Tinkler) – Selling Hurdle 17:05 Marley Joe (Martin Keighley/Andrew Tinkler) – Handicap Hurdle Div I Newton Abbot: 14:05 Invocation (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson)
& Schoolboy Error (Jamie Osborne/Richard Johnson) – Juvenile Hurdle 15:45 Stynes (Graeme
McPherson/William Featherstone/EPDS Racing) – Handicap Hurdle [2 miles 2
furlongs & 110 yards] 17:30 Londonia (Graeme
McPherson/Richard Johnson/EPDS Racing) – Novices’ Handicap Hurdle I’ve
nothing special planned for the weekend, so I guess I’ll be spending time
drafting diaries. I’m hoping, fingers
crossed, that I can finish my Aintree diaries this weekend; that will leave
me with just Sandown Park to complete.
Notwithstanding that I still need to collate and proof all of my
drafts. |
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Thursday
14 July 2016 |
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Many Happy Returns of the Day to Choc Y He’s 38 today |
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Wednesday
13 July 2016 |
|
There were
a number of runners of interest today and this is how they fared: Lingfield Park: Ardamir (Alan King/William Twiston-Davies/Apple
Tree Stud) finished 3rd in the Maiden Stakes for 3 & 4-year-olds [1 mile
4 furlongs] (9 ran). Sandown
Park: Tyrell
(Alan King/Fergus Sweeney/Apple Tree Stud) finished a close 3rd in the
Handicap for 3-year-olds [1 mile 6 furlongs] (6 ran). Uttoxeter: Kokomo
(Noel Williams/James Davies) finished 7th in the Novices’ Hurdle (10 ran);
including jockey change Theatre
Goer (Noel Williams/Wayne Hutchinson) finished 2nd Handicap Hurdle [2 miles 7
furlongs & 70 yards] (7 ran); including jockey change Hindon Road (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) finished 3rd
Handicap Chase [2 miles 4 furlongs] (7 ran); as expected, Weyburn
was a non-runner Chato (Alan
King/Wayne Hutchinson) won the Newcomers’
Standard Open NH Flat Race (8 ran); Wayne’s 14th winner of the
season. There
don’t appear to be any runners of interest tomorrow. Alan
King’s Royal Ascot winner, Primitivo, has been sold
to race in Hong Kong: http://www.racinguk.com/news/article/44382/royal-ascot-winner-primitivo-sold-to-hong-kong I’ve booked 7 days’ annual leave ... but I won’t
get excited yet, as 6 of those days are in November! I’ve still got 10 days to book, 5 of which
can be carried over into 2017. I’ve
managed another set of race notes this evening ... and I’ve still got the
music from The Musketeers and The Living and the Dead going round and round
in my head!!! And, of
course, it’s a special day for our favourite jockey tomorrow ... |
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Tuesday
12 July 2016 |
|
There were
two runners of interest at Worcester today and this is how
they fared: Weyburn (Martin Keighley/Andrew Tinkler)
finished 7th in the Handicap Hurdle [2 miles 7 furlongs] (8 ran). Precision
Five (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) finished 2nd in the Mares’ Maiden Hurdle
(12 ran). Also, one
of EPDS Racing’s horses, Celtic Artisan, ran in a Ladies Pro-Am race at
Beverley today – he finished 7th of 14. There are
a number of runners of interest tomorrow ... and one is a surprise: Lingfield Park: 16:10 Ardamir (Alan King/William Twiston-Davies/Apple
Tree Stud) – Maiden Stakes for 3 & 4-year-olds [1 mile 4 furlongs]; he’s
now an Apple Tree Stud horse, not a Dunkley & Reilly horse. Sandown
Park: 20:40
Tyrell (Alan King/Fergus Sweeney/Apple Tree Stud) – Handicap for 3-year-olds
[1 mile 6 furlongs]; blinkers again ... and if he keeps being stepped up in
distance, the next move might be hurdles! Uttoxeter: 14:15
Kokomo (Noel Williams/James Banks) – Novices’ Hurdle 16:30
Theatre Goer (Noel Williams/James Banks) – Handicap Hurdle [2 miles 7
furlongs & 70 yards] 17:05 Hindon Road (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – Handicap Chase
[2 miles 4 furlongs]; Weyburn also hold an entry
but ran at Worcester today 17:35 Chato (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – Newcomers’ Standard
Open NH Flat Race Evidently
EPDS is going to send Menace to have his wind checked; there’s no suggestion
there’s anything wrong, it’s just to confirm his breathing is okay. He’s currently pencilled in to run at
Stratford on 28 July. Tom
Bellamy was the fourth jockey taking part in last Saturday’s Barbury Castle Challenge, along with Richard Johnson, Tom
Scudamore and Wayne Hutchinson. This very
sad story has been reported in the press over the past couple of days: http://www.racinguk.com/news/article/44346/gary-moore-mourns-death-of-woolfall-treasure What kind
of a person would do such an evil thing to a poor defenceless animal? Wicked b*stard. According
to their website, ‘general’ admission
tickets for the Aintree Festival (as opposed to hospitality) go on sale on
Monday 01 August; a date for my diary. I’ve had
two tunes going round and round in my head for the past two days, alternating
... The Musketeers theme tune and music from The Living and the Dead! Again,
despite putting aside time to watch this evening’s episode of the
aforementioned The Living and the Dead, I managed to draft another set of
race notes for my diary. Yes, I know
I’ve watched the entire series on iPlayer, but it’s
so good that I’m watching it all over again on TV! |
|
Monday
11 July 2016 |
|
There was
one runner of interest today, at Wolverhampton: Dalavand (Jamie Osborne/William Carson/Apple Tree Stud)
finished 2nd in the Claiming Stakes [1 miles 4 furlongs & 50 yards] (6
ran). There are
two runners of interest tomorrow, at Worcester: 19:00 Weyburn (Martin Keighley/Andrew Tinkler)
– Handicap Hurdle [2 miles 7 furlongs] 20:00
Precision Five (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – Mares’ Maiden Hurdle With
little of interest on TV this evening, I actually had time to write some race
notes for one of my Aintree diaries!
Every little helps. But I’m not
hopeful for the remaining evenings this week, as there are too many
programmes I want to watch. I didn’t
find out about the football result until watching the BBC breakfast programme
this morning ... I’m glad France lost! |
|
Sunday
10 July 2016 |
|
Here are today’s results for my runners of
interest at Stratford: Invocation (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) finished
3rd, Jazzy (Martin
Keighley/Andrew Tinkler) won and Schoolboy Error
(Jamie Osborne/Conor O’Farrell/part-owned by Apple
Tree Stud) finished 2nd in the Juvenile Hurdle (10 ran); Martin Keighley’s 4th winner of the season. Avispa (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) won the NH Novices’ Hurdle (7 ran); Wayne’s 13th winner of the season. The Kvilleken (Martin
Keighley/Tom Bellamy) finished 2nd in the Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap
Hurdle Div I (11 ran). Lady Persephone (Alan King/William Featherstone)
finished 4th in the Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle Div II (10 ran) The last
winner I reported for Wayne was number 10; since that time he’s ridden
Rossetti to victory at Stratford on 14 June and Indian Stream won at Market Rasen on 17 June – both trained by Neil Mulholland. I had to check back through the Racing
Post’s results pages for the past month to find these! There’s
one runner of interest tomorrow, at Wolverhampton: 19:40 Dalavand (Jamie Osborne/William Carson/Apple Tree Stud) –
Claiming Stakes [1 miles 4 furlongs & 50 yards] Many
congratulations to Andy Murray for winning his third Grand Slam title, it
being his second Wimbledon title; it is so well deserved. I know he’s contested many Grand Slam
finals and lost, but that’s no disgrace as he’s only ever played Federer or Djokovic in these
matches. Also
congratulations to Heather Watson who, with her Finnish partner, won the
Mixed Doubles title; Wimbledon was the first time they’d ever played tennis
together. GB players
also won the Men’s Wheelchair singles and doubles and Jordanne
Whiley won the Women’s Wheelchair doubles with her
Japanese partner. It was an excellent
tournament all round for the Brits ... and we certainly need something to
smile about at the moment! I loved
last night’s episode of The Musketeers – it was the best so far this
series. There are only four more
episodes to go, this being the final series, but the storyline is now
beginning to build up to the big finale.
I love it ... especially Aramis (Santiago
Cabrera)! I’m still
battling on with my diaries – this year I’m working in chronological order
and am midway through Ladies Day at Aintree.
So that’s 4½ done with 2½ to go; although I still have to collate and
proof-read every one. I’d love to do
some crafting, but must finish my diaries first. |
|
Saturday
09 July 2016 |
|
There is
one result to report from Doncaster last Thursday: Sam
Missile (James Fanshawe/Frederik
Tylicki) finished 2nd in the Handicap for
3-year-old plus [1 mile 4 furlongs] (6 ran). Jared Sullivan, major owner and sponsor of the
Paul Nicholls yard, has decided to disperse his National Hunt interests: However, Harry Derham
evidently tweeted today to say that both Silviniaco
Conti and Zarkandar will be remaining with Paul,
rather than being sent to the sales. Alan King has two Potensis
horses in his yard – Zipple Back and a 4-year-old
mare named Cybelle Colombre. I understand the Eventers
beat the Jockeys in the JCB Challenge at Barbury
Castle Horse Trials today. There are three National Hunt fixtures tomorrow,
Perth, Southwell and Stratford, with
runners of interest at the latter: 14:20 Invocation (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson)
& Jazzy (Martin Keighley/Andrew Tinkler) &
Schoolboy Error (Jamie Osborne/Conor
O’Farrell/part-owned by Apple Tree Stud) – Juvenile Hurdle 17:05 Avispa (Alan
King/Wayne Hutchinson) – NH Novices’ Hurdle 17:40 The Kvilleken
(Martin Keighley/Tom Bellamy) – Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle Div I 18:10 Lady Persephone (Alan King/William
Featherstone) – Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle Div II Having mentioned that the second series of Channel
4’s sci-fi drama Humans is currently being filmed, it transpires that St
Albans will appear as a location therein: http://www.hertsad.co.uk/news/channel_4_hit_sci_fi_drama_humans_filmed_in_st_albans_1_4601217 Strictly Come Dancing’s ex-dancer Gleb Savchenko was interviewed
by This Morning’s Holly Willoughby and James Martin recently: http://www.itv.com/thismorning/showbiz/so-why-did-you-really-quit-strictly-gleb-savchenko Gleb is appearing on
Celebrity Masterchef this week, along with Jimmy
Osmond. It was a
shame that Serena Williams won the Wimbledon Women’s Singles title today ...
I can’t stand her! But I will
be rooting for Andy Murray tomorrow. I
felt sorry for Roger Federer yesterday and would
have liked him to have reached the Men’s final instead of Milos
Raonic; I’ve mellowed since the days when he used
to win too often. I hated Roger back
in the day when he used beat Andre! |
|
Wednesday
06 July 2016 |
|
There were
two runners of interest today and this is how they fared: Yarmouth: Dalavand (Jamie Osborne/William Carson/Apple Tree Stud)
finished 2nd in the Selling Stakes (3 & 4-year olds) [1 mile 3 furlongs
& 104 yards] (6 ran). Bath: Tyrell (Alan King/Fergus Sweeney/Apple Tree Stud) won the Handicap for
3-year-olds [1 miles 3 furlongs & 144 yards] (13 ran); price 8-1. He wore first time blinkers and made the
running today; his rivals simply couldn’t catch him, including the Jonjo O’Neill-trained favourite which finished 2nd. Tomorrow
there is one runner of interest, at Doncaster: 17:05 Sam
Missile (James Fanshawe/Frederik
Tylicki) – Handicap for 3-year-old plus [1 mile 4
furlongs] Apple Tree
Stud’s Empress Rock didn’t meet her reserve at Tattersalls
today (£40,000) and they are now waiting to see if anyone makes an offer for
her. Menace is
fine following yesterday’s run; he did sustain a cut on one of his legs, but
it is only superficial. The plan now
is to run him in a 0-100 handicap, over a stiff 2 miles 5 furlongs, and with
conditional jockey Will Featherstone aboard!
Fellow shareholder, Caroline, visited our Head Office today, so we had
a chat about yesterday’s run. The nice
weather brought my work colleagues out into the nearby park at lunchtime
today – I saw Susan, Festus and Helen sitting on benches at a variety of
locations, and I spent a few minutes chatting to the latter, putting the
world to rights, as you do! |
|
Tuesday
05 July 2016 |
|
There were
two runners of interest this evening, at Uttoxeter, and this is how they
fared: Miss Crick
(Alan King/Kevin Dowling) finished 2nd in the Conditional Jockeys’ Novices’
Hurdle (7 ran). Menace
(Noel Williams/James Banks) finished 17th in the Handicap Hurdle [2 miles 7
furlongs & 70 yards] (19 ran). He
led to the 4th, then led again at the 6th, made a mistake at the next and was
headed before 3 out; he soon lost his place and was behind when eased
approaching the last ... 3 miles is too far for him. But he is a nice little jumper, in the
main, and would make a lovely ROR horse! Additionally,
EPDS Racing’s Anti Cool (Robin Dickin/Charlie Poste) was pulled up in the Novices’ Handicap Chase. There are
two runners of interest tomorrow: Yarmouth: 15:10 Dalavand (Jamie Osborne/William Carson/Apple Tree Stud) –
Selling Stakes (3 & 4-year olds) [1 mile 3 furlongs & 104 yards] Bath: 20:30
Tyrell (Alan King/Fergus Sweeney/Apple Tree Stud) – Handicap for 3-year-olds
[1 miles 3 furlongs & 144 yards] Choc
checked into Tattersalls at Newmarket today, ahead
of their 3-day sale (Wednesday to Friday); Apple Tree Stud’s Empress Rock is
lot 93. |
|
Monday
04 July 2016 |
|
Here are
today’s results for my runners of interest at Worcester: Dineur (Peter Bowen/Jamie Moore) finished 3rd in the
Handicap Chase [2 miles & 4 furlongs] (7 ran). Sid’s Topper
(Martin Keighley/Richard Johnson) finished 8th in the Standard Open NH Flat
Race (9 ran); race comments state that he pulled hard. Jeans Lady
(Martin Keighley/Andrew Tinkler) was pulled up in
the Novices’ Handicap Hurdle (16 ran). Royal
Plaza (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) finished 3rd and Bobble Emerald (Martin
Keighley/Andrew Tinkler) was a non-runner in the
Handicap Hurdle [2 miles] (11 ran). There are
two runners of interest tomorrow, at Uttoxeter: 17:50 Miss
Crick (Alan King/Kevin Dowling) – Conditional Jockeys’ Novices’ Hurdle 19:50
Menace (Noel Williams/James Banks) – Handicap Hurdle [2 miles 7 furlongs
& 70 yards] – it’s a big field, with 20 runners declared! Kieran
Fallon announced his retirement today; he’s also been suffering from
depression. I’m still
feeling down in the dumps ... it’s totally related to my job, as I feel okay
when I’m at home. The weather is
depressing too, and I don’t currently have anything planned apart from two ‘outings’ in mid-August; one being
Lesley’s 60th birthday party, and also a local bead fair. |
|
Sunday
03 July 2016 |
|
After a
quiet few days, with Hindon Road (Alan King) a
non-runner at Newton Abbot on Friday, and Celtic Artisan (EPDS Racing) a
non-runner at Market Rasen today, there are a number
of runners of interest tomorrow, at Worcester: 14:30 Dineur (Peter Bowen/Jamie Moore) – Handicap Chase [2
miles & 4 furlongs] 15:00
Sid’s Topper (Martin Keighley/Richard Johnson) – Standard Open NH Flat Race 15:35
Jeans Lady (Martin Keighley/Andrew Tinkler) –
Novices’ Handicap Hurdle 17:40
Royal Plaza (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) & Bobble Emerald (Martin
Keighley/Andrew Tinkler) – Handicap Hurdle [2
miles] I notice
that Quantum Of Solace has transferred from Noel Williams’ yard to Martin
Keighley’s too. I’ve also
discovered that Hurricane Vic left Alan King’s yard in April and has been
point-to-pointing whilst trained by Simon Robinson; he’s run three times,
finishing second twice and third once.
I think I
must be suffering from the grottiest snottiest cold ever! It just won’t go away. Having spent much of yesterday just moping
around doing very little, apart from a few Sudoku puzzles whilst also
watching the tennis on TV, I finally got back into harness with my diary
drafting today. I really don’t need
setbacks caused by feeling under the weather, as it’s already progressing
more slowly than expected or hoped. I
succumbed to watching the remaining five episodes of The Living and the Dead
via BBC iplayer.
I found the series intriguing, like a book you just cannot put
down. I know that one of the critics
said it wasn’t scary enough for a ghost story, but I don’t think that was the
point. It was the way that the storylines
knitted together and interlinked to form the whole which made it so good. Then, at the end when you thought everyone
was going to live happily ever after ... or at least those who’d survived
until the end ... the final scene threw a spanner into the works and
presumably has now left an opening for a sequel. Although
set in Somerset, the house used as the location is Horton Court in South
Gloucestershire, near Chipping Sodbury. It has also featured in Poldark
and Wolf Hall; the National Trust property is not currently open to the
public, although the route of the Cotswold Way does pass by it. Colin Morgan, who stars as the main
character Nathan Appleby, is reprising his role in the second series of
Channel 4’s Humans which is being filmed currently. Humans was one of
my favourite serials last year, so I’m looking forward to that too. |
