MAY 2014
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Saturday 31 May
2014 |
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Just one
runner of interest at Stratford this evening and this
is how he fared: Howwrongcanyoube (Alan King/Jack
Doyle) finished 3rd in the Maiden Open NH Flat Race (10 ran). Barry Geraghty rode at Stratford but didn’t have a good
evening; two rides for Nicky Henderson, both pulled up including in the
bumper! Scoop 6
bonus hunter Craig Brazier was out of luck today,
but the bonus was won but a group of 3 who pooled resources to increase their
chance. More There’s
National Hunt racing at Fakenham tomorrow but no
runners of interest. I’m spending a quiet weekend at home, unlike for
the past two weeks; I’ve spent today working on Day 2 of my Cheltenham
diaries, combined with doing a little bit of gardening this afternoon. |
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Friday 30 May
2014 |
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Just one
runner of interest tomorrow, at Stratford: 20:55 Howwrongcanyoube (Alan King/Jack Doyle) – Maiden Open NH
Flat Race There was
another water-jump ‘incident’ at
Stratford this evening, with Sam Twiston-Davies losing
out in the Stewards’ room to AP McCoy. More Balthazar King
was out of luck in France yesterday, when he fell 5 out in the Anjou-Loire Challenge at Le Lion d'Angers. More My back is
bad again this evening, and my neck is feeling stiff too. I’ve not done any lifting at work since
Tuesday, so I’m not sure why it’s hurting now rather than three days
ago. My C’s and T’s x-ray results have
come through and my doctor wishes to see me again so, presumably, there is
something slightly amiss. |
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Thursday 29 May
2014 |
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Here are
today’s results of interest: Worcester: Bold Tara (Martin
Keighley/Ollie Garner) finished 3rd in what appears to have been an
incident-packed Novices’ Handicap Chase (11 ran). Georgian
King (Martin Keighley/Ian Popham) finished 2nd in
the Handicap Chase [2 miles 7 furlongs] (7 ran). Kyles Faith (Martin Keighley/Ian
Popham) finished 3rd in the Novices’ Claiming
Hurdle (9 ran). My Lad
Percy (Martin Keighley/Ian Popham) was a non-runner
in the Handicap Hurdle [2 miles 4 furlongs] Midnight Thomas (Martin Keighley/Ian Popham) won the Novices’ Handicap Hurdle (7 ran);
Martin’s 2nd winner of the season. Meanwhile at Wetherby, Lovcen
won the Novices’ Chase (3 ran). There’s just one National Hunt fixture tomorrow,
in the evening at Stratford and the card includes the Hunter Chases
Championships too; but no runners of interest in any of the other races. |
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Wednesday 28 May
2014 |
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A number
of runners of interest tomorrow: Worcester: 14:10 Bold
Tara (Martin Keighley/Ollie Garner) – Novices’ Handicap Chase 14:40
Georgian King (Martin Keighley/Ian Popham) –
Handicap Chase [2 miles 7 furlongs] 15:40 Kyles Faith (Martin Keighley/Ian Popham)
– Novices’ Claiming Hurdle 16:40 My
Lad Percy (Martin Keighley/Ian Popham) – Handicap
Hurdle [2 miles 4 furlongs] 17:10
Midnight Thomas (Martin Keighley/Ian Popham) – Novices’
Handicap Hurdle Meanwhile at Wetherby, Lovcen
has his first run for the Sophie Leech yard, to be ridden by Paul Moloney. The race
is at 18:30, a Novices’ Chase. There’s news on Alan King’s website that one of
the ‘lucky’ eight Scoop 6 winners
has visited the yard today, Chatez having won the
final leg and thus made Craig Brazier a millionaire. More |
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Tuesday 27 May
2014 |
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With the
deteriorating ground conditions due to the inclement weather, there was just
one runner of interest at Huntingdon this evening: Havingotascoobydo (Martin Keighley/Ian Popham) was a non-runner in the Handicap Chase [2 miles
4½ furlongs] Ronaldinho (Alan King/Aidan
Coleman) was a non-runner in the Novices’ Hurdle Turn Over Sivola (Alan King/AP McCoy)
won the Novices’ Chase (5 ran). Laser
Blazer (Alan King/Aidan Coleman) was a non-runner in the Maiden Hurdle The sole
National Hunt fixture takes place at Cartmel tomorrow,
so no runners of interest. Retired
star sprinter Lochsong has passed away aged 26
following a bout of colic. More It’s the Belvoir Hunt’s Open Day next Sunday 01
June; I wonder if Choc and family will attend. Click
here for more
details. Now that it’s Spring Watch time, my weekday diary
writing will be taking place after 21:00 ... and even later if I watch Spring
Watch Unsprung too! |
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Monday 26 May
2014 |
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Just one
runner of interest, at Uttoxeter yesterday: Handazan (Alan King/Paddy
Brennan) was pulled up in the Beginners’ Chase (4 ran). Four
runners of interest at Huntingdon tomorrow evening: 18:50 Havingotascoobydo (Martin Keighley/Ian Popham) – Handicap Chase [2 miles 4½ furlongs] 19:20 Ronaldinho (Alan King/Aidan Coleman) – Novices’ Hurdle 19:50 Turn
Over Sivola (Alan King/AP McCoy) – Novices’ Chase –
it appears to be a very weak race, so perhaps AP will finally be the one to
persuade the horse that he’d like to win!
If anyone can, he can! 20:50
Laser Blazer (Alan King/Aidan Coleman) – Maiden Hurdle
Me, Millie (or Milly?) and Rebel (photo courtesy
of friend Steph) I spent an
excellent day at the Herts Show yesterday. The weather was fine all day, and sunny
most of the time too. Michelle, Steph and I chose the right day to go, as the weather was
very damp on Saturday. Heavy footfall
had made areas of the ground a little muddy in light of day one’s prevailing
conditions but it soon washed off my boots when I got home. I have a bit of a red nose today ... I
didn’t wear sunblock, as it no longer seems to
agree with me. I applied some prior to
my Eastbourne trip but all it did was make my skin tingle a lot, so I had to
wash it off again. My
favourite animals at the Show were Prince the Shire foal and the
alpacas. We saw a couple of guys from
the BoldDogs Lings Motocross Stunt Display team
performing on two occasions during the day; I gather they are appearing on
this year’s Britain’s Got Talent. The
programme is not my kind of thing ... but I might tune in on this one
occasion just to see how they get on!
Click here to view more photos from the Herts
Show It’s back to the grindstone again today, and I’ve
been working on my Cheltenham diaries with the hope of completing part two of
day one before I turn in this evening.
There had been a possibility of doing some gardening today, but it has
been too wet. |
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Saturday 24 May
2014 |
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One runner
of interest today, at Ffos Las: Mirkat (Alan King/Aidan
Coleman) finished 3rd in the Standard Open NH Flat Race (6 ran). Tomorrow just
one runner of interest, at Uttoxeter: 14:30 Handazan (Alan King/Paddy Brennan) – Beginners’ Chase The Scoop
6 was won by eight winning tickets ... and the final leg, at Haydock, was won by the Alan King-trained Chatez! A nice
prize to win by the triumphant horse too, namely £43,575! The horse is in the same ownership as Smad Place. If you’ve
been following the story of Joseph the Shire who was born on 17 May and
recently orphaned, he’s found a new foster mum. Aaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
J I
thoroughly enjoyed my trip to London to see The Phantom of the Opera. Unbelievably, the show is now in its 28th
year! But, if you’ve not seen it, I
would definitely recommend it. |
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Friday 23 May
2014 |
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Here are
today’s results for my runners of interest at Towcester this evening: Desert
Robe (Alan King/Jack Doyle) finished a head 2nd in the NH Novices’ Hurdle (10
ran); an excellent effort following 510 days on the injury sidelines,
especially as Towcester is no pushover! Kyles Faith (Martin
Keighley/Ian Popham) finished 4th in the Novices’
Handicap Chase (8 ran). Tomorrow
just one runner of interest, at Ffos Las: 20:45 Mirkat (Alan King/Aidan Coleman) – Standard Open NH Flat
Race And on
Sunday, at Uttoxeter: 14:30 Handazan (Alan King/Paddy Brennan) – Beginners’ Chase Even Barry
Geraghty will be riding at Fontwell
Park on Sunday, as Nicky Henderson has a runner! Leighton Aspell was in the wars at Towcester,
his mount Morning Reggie having fallen in the 18:50. ATR were reporting that he’d damaged his
collarbone; that’s bad luck, as he’s only just returned from having broken
his collarbone. But, never mind, he
won the Grand National! There’s
news regarding the Martin Keighley horses which went to the Sales on
Wednesday. Court In Session (aka
Judge) was sold for £6,000 to Matt Sheppard’s yard. Hail Tiberius didn’t sell in the ring, but
was purchased afterwards and is to be trained by Neil King; Typhon De Guye didn’t meet his
reserve so returned to the yard and will spend the summer chasing. It’s
another busy weekend for me, and following a very busy week at work. What I really want to do is lie down in a
darkened room for three days! Actually
I’m really looking forward to going to the theatre tomorrow afternoon ... to see
Phantom of the Opera. Lesley is
treating me; it’s my late combined Christmas and birthday present. I’ve always wanted to see the show but have
never got around to going. Then, on
Sunday, I’m attending day two of the Herts County
Show with work colleagues Steph and Michelle; I’ve
not been to the show for years and am looking forward to seeing the alpacas
and anything horsey and, come to think of it, I like cows and lambs too ...
and little piggies!
I may be able to put in a few hours work on my Cheltenham
diaries on Monday. I have however,
finished part one of Day 1 and I uploaded it late yesterday evening. Click here to read. |
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Thursday 22 May
2014 |
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Tomorrow
there are runners of interest at Wetherby: Prettyasapicture (Alan King/Aidan
Coleman) finished 3rd in the Mares’ Maiden Hurdle (8 ran). Shady Lane
(Alan King/Jack Doyle) finished 5th in the Handicap Chase [2 miles] (6 ran). Hayjack (Martin
Keighley/Aidan Coleman) was a non-runner in the Handicap Chase [3 miles 1
furlong] having run at Worcester yesterday. There are
a couple of runners of interest tomorrow at Towcester: 18:50
Desert Robe (Alan King/Jack Doyle) – NH Novices’ Hurdle 19:20 Kyles Faith (Martin Keighley/Ian Popham)
– Novices’ Handicap Chase Cheltenham
Festival winner and Grand National stalwart Blowing Wind has been put to
sleep aged 21. More Sandown
Park this evening looks a lot quieter than it was on bet365 day last month! https://twitter.com/KBurkeRacing/status/469511793782820864/photo/1 |
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Wednesday 21 May
2014 |
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Here are
today’s results for my runners of interest: Newton Abbot: Tiger Feat
(Alan King/Gerard Tumelty) finished 3rd in the
Standard Open NH Flat Race (6 ran). Worcester: Hayjack (Martin
Keighley/Aidan Coleman) finished 2nd in the Handicap Chase [2 miles 4
furlongs] (3 ran). Tomorrow
there are runners of interest at Wetherby: 14:00 Prettyasapicture (Alan King/Aidan Coleman) – Mares’
Maiden Hurdle 15:05
Shady Lane (Alan King/Jack Doyle) – Handicap Chase [2 miles] 16:50 Hayjack (Martin Keighley/Aidan Coleman) – Handicap Chase
[3 miles 1 furlong]; but he ran at Worcester today. I presume
that Wayne is also on the sidelines at present; confirmation would be listed
in the Racing Post. He was stood down
at Aintree last Friday following a fall, although he did ride on Saturday and
Sunday. The
Cheltenham racecourse redevelopment is well underway; the old buildings have
all gone, as has the sheltered area above the Winners’ Enclosure. The latter shelter came in extremely handy
last October during a very heavy downpour! https://twitter.com/CheltenhamRaces/status/469124141254455296/photo/1 I think the members’ lawn is to be tarmaced over which will be good, as I hate getting my
shoes and boots muddy when it rains. |
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Tuesday 20 May
2014 |
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Well, that
was very annoying. I logged on
yesterday evening only to discover there was a problem with my website. Was there a technical problem? No, upon logging into my account to
investigate, I discovered that I’d overlooked the fact that the credit card I
use to pay for my subscription had recently expired. And I’ve been so engrossed in my website
diaries that I missed the warning email from the host services company, so
they suspended me yesterday. So I
settled my bill at 19:30 and, although the website was still unavailable when
I turned in at 22:30, I logged on at 07:00 this morning and it was back. Yippee! Anyway,
today was the first day of the DBS Spring sale and a number of the Alan King
horses have found new homes: Kumbeshwar was purchased by
Lucinda Russell for £23,000 https://twitter.com/lucindavrussell/status/468791365347053568/photo/1 Bless The
Wings has gone to Tom Malone for £16,000 Duroble Man was sold to
Richard Venn for £14,000 Lotus Pond
was purchased by David Smith/Willie Bryan for £4,500 Frizzo sold for £5,000 to
Tony Coyle Jojabean was sold to Brendan Bashford Bloodstock for £6,200 Gold Ingot
was purchased by Mr & Mrs GT Bailey for £8,000 Lidar was sold to Anthony
Stroud Bloodstock Limited for £12,000 Forresters Folly has gone to FSF
Racing for £3,000 Super
Lunar was purchased by HP Hogarth for £26,000 And last
but not least, Tante Sissi
is listed as having been purchased by the vendor; Steve Ayres who has been
looking after her (and Balder Succes) tweeted to
say she’s off to have babies!!! And
tomorrow, Typhon De Guye,
Hail Tiberius and Court In Session from the Martin Keighley yard go under the
hammer. L There’s
sad news regarding The Fox’s Decree; he was fatally injured during a
point-to-point at the weekend. L RIP Foxy. Seen here when racing for the Martin
Keighley yard: https://twitter.com/belindakeighley/status/468488886902358016/photo/1 Silviniaco Conti has been named
the highest-rated Anglo-Irish chaser of the 2013 / 2014 season. Balder Succes
tops the minimum distance Novices’ chaser category. More There were
no National Hunt fixtures today, but there are a couple of runners of
interest tomorrow: Newton Abbot: 16:40
Tiger Feat (Alan King/Gerard Tumelty) – Standard
Open NH Flat Race Worcester: 18:40 Hayjack (Martin Keighley/Aidan Coleman) – Handicap Chase
[2 miles 4 furlongs] With my mind fully occupied yesterday with the
worries of restoring my website, I didn’t get around to commencing the race
comments on my Cheltenham diaries. But
the DVD is now in the machine ... and they will shortly be off for the
Supreme Novices!!! |
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Sunday 18 May
2014 |
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Three
runners of interest today and this is how they fared: Stratford: Midnight
Sail (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) was pulled up in the Handicap Chase (7
ran). Westerly
Breeze (Martin Keighley/Ian Popham) finished 2nd in
the Handicap Hurdle (6 ran). Tante Sissi
(Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) finished 3rd in the Novices’ Handicap Chase (5
ran). There’s
National Hunt racing at Towcester tomorrow but no
runners of interest. Long Run
was out of luck in Paris today. More But
Thousand Stars had better luck. More I’m feeling especially tired this evening as I’ve
been on a trip with friends Lesley and Fay to Eastbourne today, by train. We
went to visit our friend Angy together with her
daughters Rebecca and Chloe. It was a
lovely day, and the weather was excellent; although the trains were a little
crowded at times, standing room only between Haywards
Heath and East Croydon on the return journey! |
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Saturday 17 May
2014 |
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There were
a number of runners of interest today and this is how they fared: Bangor-on-Dee: Grumeti (Alan
King/Wayne Hutchinson) won the Novices’ Chase (5 ran); Wayne’s 3rd
winner of the
season. Outsider Fairyinthewind,
an ex-Alan King inmate, finished 2nd. Hung
Parliament (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) finished 7th in the Handicap Hurdle
[2 miles 1 furlong] (9 ran). Belle De Londres (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) finished 6th in the
Mares’ Standard Open NH Flat Race (10 ran). Uttoxeter: Midnight
Thomas (Martin Keighley/Ian Popham) was a
non-runner in the Handicap Hurdle [2 miles] Court In
Session (Martin Keighley/Ian Popham) finished 4th
in the Handicap Chase [2 miles] (8 ran). And here
is a recap on tomorrow’s runners of interest: Stratford: 15:20
Midnight Sail (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – Handicap Chase 15:50
Westerly Breeze (Martin Keighley/Ian Popham) –
Handicap Hurdle 16:50 Tante Sissi (Alan King/Wayne
Hutchinson) – Novices’ Handicap Chase As hoped, I’ve now completed and uploaded my
final 2014 Aintree diary; I managed to squeeze in its completion around my
busy schedule today. Click here to read. |
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Friday 16 May
2014 |
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A number
of runners of interest at Aintree this evening and this
is how they fared: No
Substitute (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) fell in the Handicap Chase [2 miles 4
furlongs] (6 ran). Lidar (Alan King/Aidan
Coleman deputised for Wayne Hutchinson or should that be substituted in view
of his previous ride) finished 6th and Any Currency (Martin Keighley/Ian Popham) finished 5th in the Handicap Chase [3 miles 1
furlong] (11 ran) and one of my favourites Forgotten Gold (Tom George/Paddy
Brennan) finished 7th! There are
a number of runners of interest tomorrow: Bangor-on-Dee: 13:55 Grumeti (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – Novices’ Chase 15:40 Hung
Parliament (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – Handicap Hurdle [2 miles 1 furlong] 17:20
Belle De Londres (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) –
Mares’ Standard Open NH Flat Race Uttoxeter: 18:10
Midnight Thomas (Martin Keighley/Ian Popham) –
Handicap Hurdle [2 miles] 19:15
Court In Session (Martin Keighley/Ian Popham) –
Handicap Chase [2 miles] And on
Sunday ... Stratford: 15:20
Midnight Sail (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – Handicap Chase 15:50
Westerly Breeze (Martin Keighley/Ian Popham) –
Handicap Hurdle 16:50 Tante Sissi (Alan King/Wayne
Hutchinson) – Novices’ Handicap Chase Ruby Walsh
will be partnering Long Run in Sunday's Grand
Steeple-Chase de Paris at Auteuil, as under French rules amateur riders are
not permitted to ride in certain designated races. More There’s more news about the Brian Meehan horses
involved in a motorway accident yesterday in which two people were
killed. One of the racehorses suffered
serious injuries, and their American coloured stable pony Pistolero
died. More |
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Thursday 15 May
2014 |
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A number
of runners of interest at Aintree tomorrow evening: 18:05 No
Substitute (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – Handicap Chase [2 miles 4 furlongs] 19:50 Lidar (Alan King/Wayne
Hutchinson) & Any Currency (Martin Keighley/Ian Popham)
– Handicap Chase [3 miles 1 furlong] ... and one of my favourites Forgotten
Gold (Tom George/Paddy Brennan)! And my Aintree Ladies’ Day diary has been
completed and uploaded. Click here to read. |
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Wednesday 14 May
2014 |
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Here are
today’s results for my runners of interest: Uttoxeter: Billy
Biscuit (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) finished 2nd in the NH Novices’ Hurdle
(7 ran). Say When
(Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) finished 6th in the NH Maiden Hurdle (10 ran). Bold Tara
(Martin Keighley/Ollie Garner) was a non-runner in the Novices’ Handicap
Chase Minx Of
The Lamp (Alan King/Gerard Tumelty) finished 15th
and Daisy Picker (Noel Williams/James Banks) was pulled up in the Mares’
Standard Open NH Flat Race (16 ran). Worcester: Kyles Faith (Martin Keighley/Ian Popham)
won the Novices’ Handicap Chase (8 ran); Martin’s 1st winner of the season.
Well done to the team. Altesse De Guye (Martin Keighley/Ian Popham)
finished 4th in the Intermediate Open NH Flat Race (9 ran). Georgian
King (Martin Keighley/Ian Popham) finished 8th in
the Handicap Chase (10 ran). Sequoia
Forest (Martin Keighley/Ian Popham) unseated in the
Maiden Hurdle (6 ran). No runners
of interest tomorrow. Having
completed both Day 2 and Day 3 drafts of my Aintree Festival diaries, they
solely need to be proof-read now. So
that’s my evening tasks for the next couple of days, hopefully. My weekend is totally booked up now, so Monday
will be the earliest I can begin the race comments on my Cheltenham
diaries. I have major plans for
Saturday and Sunday of the following weekend too, so that leaves just Bank
Holiday Monday free. But I’m sure my
website will be up-to-date again by the end of June! Especially as it is an obsession to get
everything back in order again!!! |
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Tuesday 13 May
2014 |
|
Four
runners of interest today and this is how they fared: Ffos Las: Solstice
Star (Martin Keighley/Tom Siddall) finished 2nd in
the Standard Open NH Flat Race (6 ran). Southwell: Frizzo (Alan King/Wayne
Hutchinson) finished 2nd in the Novices’ Limited Handicap Chase (6 ran). Johnny Og (Martin Keighley/Ian Popham)
was brought down in the Handicap Hurdle [2 miles 4½ furlongs] (11 ran). Wincanton: Yanworth (Alan King/Gerard Tumelty) won the Standard Open NH
Flat Race (8 ran). And, at
Wincanton, Dave Crosse rode another double! Nine
runners of interest tomorrow: Uttoxeter: 13:55
Billy Biscuit (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – NH Novices’ Hurdle 14:25 Say
When (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – NH Maiden Hurdle 16:35 Bold
Tara (Martin Keighley/Ollie Garner) – Novices’ Handicap Chase 17:40 Minx
Of The Lamp (Alan King/Gerard Tumelty) & Daisy
Picker (Noel Williams/James Banks) – Mares’ Standard Open NH Flat Race Worcester: 14:35 Kyles Faith (Martin Keighley/Ian Popham)
– Novices’ Handicap Chase 15:35 Altesse De Guye (Martin
Keighley/Ian Popham) – Intermediate Open NH Flat
Race 16:10
Georgian King (Martin Keighley/Ian Popham) –
Handicap Chase 16:45 Sequoia Forest (Martin Keighley/Ian Popham) – Maiden Hurdle |
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Monday 12 May
2014 |
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Despite it
being the ‘off-season’ for National
Hunt racing, there are four jump fixtures tomorrow; with runners of interest
at three of these: Ffos Las: 20:45
Solstice Star (Martin Keighley/Tom Siddall) –
Standard Open NH Flat Race Southwell: 18:30 Frizzo (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – Novices’ Limited
Handicap Chase 19:05
Johnny Og (Martin Keighley/Ian Popham)
– Handicap Hurdle [2 miles 4½ furlongs] Wincanton: 17:10 Yanworth (Alan King/Gerard Tumelty)
– Standard Open NH Flat Race A
greyhound track at Towcester? How tacky is that? More And Milton Keynes is
just a stone’s throw away and their track closed! I’ve been
reading Charlie Longsdon’s website blog and he
mentions that Charlie Deutsch broke a wrist when his mount fell at Plumpton yesterday.
So he’s lost the services of Noel Fehily for
the moment, and now his conditional too.
Following yesterday’s farce at Ludlow, Martin
Keighley has written about the incident in today’s blog. More Balder Succes is relaxing during his summer holiday, following a
busy season: https://twitter.com/orse_racing_lad/status/465812824610971648/photo/1 |
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Sunday 11 May
2014 |
|
Three
runners of interest today and this is how they fared: Ludlow: The
Novices’ Limited Handicap Chase in which Hayjack
(Martin Keighley/Aidan Coleman) was declared void due to a false start and
the flag person missing the signal to stop the runners. Here is
the report on the BHA website: The Stewards
held an enquiry to consider why the the Advanced
Flag Operator (AFO) had failed to react to the Starter waving his flag,
having called a false start. They interviewed, the Starters, John Suthern, AFO and the riders: Adam Wedge, Andrew Tinkler, Aidan Coleman, Sam Twiston-Davies,
Nick Scholfield, Paul Moloney,
Richard Johnson, Miss L Gardner, Conor O’Farrell,
and Will Kennedy. Having heard their evidence and viewed recordings of the
start, the Stewards noted that the AFO had failed to see the Starter wave his
flag due to his view being obstructed by the oncoming runners. They further enquired
into the flag deployment by the Ludlow Groundstaff
and why the race wasn’t stopped earlier. They interviewed Simon Sherwood, the
Clerk of the Course, Bob Davies, the Racecourse General Manager and Dave
Roberts, the Groundstaff Manager, in the presence
of the riders. As the AFO had failed to raise the re-call flag following the
Starter having declared a false start, the Stewards ordered the race to be
Void under Rule (B)40.1.2 and ordered a report on both incidents to be
forwarded to the British Horseracing Authority. Plumpton: Hurricane
Vic (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) finished 4th and Kincora
Fort (Noel Williams/James Banks) finished 2nd in the Standard Open NH Flat
Race (12 ran). There’s National Hunt racing at Towcester tomorrow evening but no particular runners of
interest. I’ve spent a busy weekend concentrating on my
Aintree diaries; I’ve finished and uploaded Day 1, and finished but not
proof-read Day 2. I’ve even begun Day
3 too! I’m trying to get ahead, as
most of my time has been booked up next weekend, and two of the three days
during the following Bank Holiday weekend too! Click here to read the first of my Aintree diaries. |
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Saturday 10 May
2014 |
|
There was a
mixed card at Haydock Park this afternoon and this is how my runners of
interest fared: L’Unique (Alan King/Wayne
Hutchinson) finished 5th in the Handicap Hurdle [3 miles] (13 ran). Montbazon (Alan King/Wayne
Hutchinson) finished a distant 4th in the Handicap Hurdle (registered as the Swinton Hurdle) [2miles] (13 ran). Pantxoa (Alan King/Wayne
Hutchinson) finished 5th in the Handicap Chase (8 ran); ‘Pancho’ doesn’t like the ground so can
be forgiven for this run. McVicar (Alan King/Wayne
Hutchinson) finished 5th in the Handicap Chase [2 miles 4 furlongs] ( 9 ran). Alan had a
runner on the flat there too: Chatez (Alan King/Fergus
Sweeney) finished 2nd in the One mile Handicap, having been caught close home
(8 ran). The ‘Swinton’
Hurdle was won by Ballyglasheen, who was the only
horse in the race without a Scoop 6 ticket nomination, so no-one made it to
the sixth and final leg! The money
rolls over again! More And a
reminder of tomorrow’s runners of interest: Ludlow: 14:45 Hayjack (Martin Keighley/Aidan Coleman) - Novices’
Limited Handicap Chase Plumpton: 17:00
Hurricane Vic (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) & Kincora
Fort (Noel Williams/James Banks) – Standard Open NH Flat Race Here is a
lovely photo of Freddie and Harry Keighley on the gallops this morning, with
friend Mary. Their new pony, a roan,
is named Dinky: https://twitter.com/martinkeighley7/status/465030662727413760/photo/1 |
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Friday 09 May
2014 |
|
There’s a
mixed card at Haydock Park tomorrow with a number of runners of interest: 13:50 L’Unique (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – Handicap Hurdle
[3 miles] 15:30 Montbazon (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – Handicap Hurdle
(registered as the Swinton Hurdle) [ 2miles] 16:40 Pantxoa (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – Handicap Chase 17:15 McVicar (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – Handicap Chase [2
miles 4 furlongs] Alan has a
runner on the flat there too: 14:25 Chatez (Alan King/Fergus Sweeney) – One mile Handicap There’s an
overview of tomorrow’s runners on Alan King’s news page: http://alankingracing.co.uk/news.htm Then, on
Sunday, there are three runners of interest too: Ludlow: 14:45 Hayjack (Martin Keighley/Aidan Coleman) - Novices’
Limited Handicap Chase Plumpton: 17:00
Hurricane Vic (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) & Kincora
Fort (Noel Williams/James Banks) – Standard Open NH Flat Race Choc tweeted a selfie earlier today;
he’s wearing a neck brace and William is getting in on the act too. https://twitter.com/Choc_Thornton/status/464660791862759424/photo/1 I will
endeavour not to moan about my stiff and grinding neck and aching back;
although the latter has been bothering me all day today. I have an appointment next Friday for my
C’s and T’s to be x-rayed to discover whether it’s just old age wear and tear
or otherwise. There is
news on the Racing Forum Memorials page that Captain Cutter has been put down
due to complications following an injury incurred during the Albert Bartlett
Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival. It is reported he broke his shoulder; I
thought he was lame behind ... but what do I know? I saw him loaded into the horse ambulance
prior to being taken back to the racecourse vets for assessment that
day. RIP I’ve no plans for this weekend, other than
watching the racing on TV and continuing the drafting of my diaries. |
|
Thursday 08 May
2014 |
|
No runners
of interest today, as Friendly Society was a non-runner at Newton Abbot, and no runners of
interest tomorrow either. Richard
Johnson didn’t ride today having suffered a painful fall at Worcester
yesterday evening. Also further news
regarding Noel Fehily. More There’s also additional news regarding the
controversy surrounding the start of this year’s Grand National. More With mention of the upcoming DBS Spring Sales (20
to 22 May) in various quarters, I’ve been doing my research and have found a
number of horses from Barbury Castle which are
currently due to be sold: Bless The Wings, Kumbeshwar L, Tante Sissi, Duroble Man, Lotus Pond,
Frizzo, Jojabean, Gold
Ingot, Lidar L, Forresters
Folly and the Million In Mind’s Super Lunar. And if you
wish to take a look down the list for other horses you may know, then here is
the link: http://www.dbsauctions.com/catalogue.aspx?saleId=290&saletype=Mixed |
|
Wednesday 07 May
2014 |
|
One runner
of interest tomorrow, at Newton Abbot: 15:35
Friendly Society (Noel Williams/James Banks) – Handicap Chase News that
Noel Fehily is now on the injury sidelines, having
sustained a fractured cheekbone and eye socket at Fakenham
yesterday when Superior Quality fell; he’d fallen aboard his first ride of
the day too. However,
Paddy Brennan was back in action at Worcester this evening, and Leighton Aspell is due to return at Wincanton tomorrow. Both suffered broken collarbones and had
been out of action since 15 April. Also news that jockey Denis O’Regan
will no longer be riding as first jockey for trainer John Ferguson. More |
|
Tuesday 06 May
2014 |
|
There were
runners of interest at Exeter this evening and this
is how they fared: Roberto
Pegasus (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) finished 3rd in the Maiden Hurdle (17
ran). Lidar (Alan King/Wayne
Hutchinson) finished 4th in the Handicap Chase (7 ran). Hindon Road (Alan King/Wayne
Hutchinson) was a non-runner in the Handicap Hurdle [2 miles 7½ furlongs] Springboks
(Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) finished 12th in the Standard Open NH Flat Race
(15 ran); also Pattara (Noel Williams/Gerard Tumelty) finished 11th. There’s
afternoon jumps racing from Kelso and evening jumps racing from Worcester
tomorrow, but no specific runners of interest. Meally and William have
acquired a silver tabby kitten, which she has named Bumble Bear (?) It seems to have taken ages to proof my Sandown
Park diary, but here it is. Click here |
|
Monday 05 May
2014 |
|
Here are
today’s results from Kempton Park: Laser
Blazer (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) finished 3rd in the Novices’ Hurdle [2
miles] (13 ran). Handazan (Alan King/Wayne
Hutchinson) finished 3rd in the Beginners’ Chase (7 ran); his jumping was put
under a little pressure at the end, but a promising debut nonetheless over
the larger obstacles. Simply A Legend (Alan
King/Wayne Hutchinson) won the Novices’ Hurdle [2 miles 5 furlongs] (7 ran);
Wayne’s 2nd winner of the
season. Court In
Session (Martin Keighley/Ian Popham) finished 5th
and Fine Words (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) finished 7th in the Handicap
Hurdle (14 ran). Turn Over Sivola (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) finished 2nd (where
else?) in the Handicap Chase [2 miles] (7 ran); the race was won by Australia
Day, who has been waiting for suitably fast jumping ground and led from
pillar to post. Uriah Heep (Alan King/Mr Joshua Newman) finished 7th and Kyles Faith (Martin Keighley/Mr HRL Cornock)
was pulled up in the Amateur Riders’ Handicap Hurdle (15 ran). There was
a ‘swan’ incident during the last –
with the rider of Dark Energy (Harry Beswick) being
unseated when the horse collided with one of the birds as they travelled
around the lake bend! There will be a
stewards enquiry; the swans are a regular hazard on the Kempton Park track,
but the professional jockeys tend to give them a wide berth! Now we know why! One nil to the swan!!! And guess
what? Here is the conclusion of the
Stewards Enquiry. The Stewards
held an enquiry into the fall of Mr H Beswick, the
rider of DARK ENERGY, entering the back straight. They interviewed Mr Beswick and the Clerk of the Course. Having heard their
evidence and viewed recordings of the incident the Stewards found that the
fall was caused by two swans which were on the track. The rider stated his
horse stumbled when his mount hit the swan causing him to become unseated.
The Clerk of the Course reported that they have a procedure where the ground staff remove the swans from the course but on this
occasion they had come back on the track since being chased off. Being
satisfied that no other horse or rider was involved, the Stewards forwarded a
report to the British Horseracing Authority. I don’t
think Harry is going to live this one down ... a pictured scene from the
movie Hot Fuzz is now doing the rounds on twitter. https://twitter.com/FShoemark/status/463353889052692480/photo/1 Four
course records were set too, three over jumps and one over hurdles. Four
runners of interest at Exeter tomorrow evening: 17:50
Roberto Pegasus (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – Maiden Hurdle 18:50 Lidar (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – Handicap Chase 19:20 Hindon Road (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – Handicap
Hurdle [2 miles 7½ furlongs] 20:20
Springboks (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – Standard Open NH Flat Race Here is a link to the NHS site regarding rib injuries. Three to six weeks to heal and important
that the patient doesn’t smoke whilst recovering. And that’s not to mention the small bone
chip to Choc’s C4 vertebra which also needs to be
sorted out. Damn the clumsy nag! Talking of
injured jockeys, Paddy Brennan has also been on the sidelines with a broken
collarbone; hence the reason he missed the opportunity of winning rides at
the Punchestown Festival. Not that you can ever really say that any
horse would have won had a different jockey been onboard. With nowhere to go today L I’ve been concentrating on my Sandown Park
diary, with a long break during the afternoon to watch the racing on
RUK. I’ve completed the final draft
and now just need to complete the proof-reading before uploading it. |
|
Sunday 04 May
2014 |
|
As
expected, there are a number of runners of interest at Kempton Park tomorrow ... but,
with Choc on the injury sidelines, no reason for me to attend L 13:45
Laser Blazer (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – Novices’ Hurdle [2 miles] 14:15 Handazan (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – Beginners’ Chase 14:50
Simply A Legend (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – Novices’ Hurdle [2 miles 5
furlongs] 16:00
Court In Session (Martin Keighley/Ian Popham) &
Fine Words (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – Handicap Hurdle 16:35 Turn
Over Sivola (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – Handicap
Chase [2 miles] 17:10 Uriah
Heep (Alan King/Mr Joshua Newman) & Kyles Faith (Martin Keighley/Mr HRL Cornock)
– Amateur Riders’ Handicap Hurdle I’ve
finished transferring the Sandown Park action to DVD; and I’ve been shopping
today ... to M&S. I found one item
which I’ve been looking for in my size and length – a pair of stone coloured jeggings. And,
being me, I purchased a pair of indigo jeggings
too. I also found a purple scarf;
jersey and ‘butterfly’ lace – I
already have one in dark blue, having foregone the cream, peach and green
versions! It was the last one they
had, so I’m very pleased I got there just in time. Plus two just above the knee linen skirts
in teal and mulberry. That was far
more than I’d intended to spend. No
change there then. Oh, and a birthday
card for mum. But I did
walk to the shop, and back again; according to Google that’s a round-trip of
6.6 miles. It was hard work on the way
back; I must be getting old. The 1000
Guineas was won by the Andre Fabre-trained Miss France. More Don’t you just hate it
when the away- team wins? And, finally, many happy returns of the day to AP
McCoy who reaches the 40 milestone today! |
|
Saturday 03 May
2014 |
|
Three
runners of interest at Uttoxeter today and this is how
they fared: Fred Le
Macon (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) finished 3rd in the NH Maiden Hurdle (13
ran). Dundee (Alan King/Wayne
Hutchinson) won the Handicap Hurdle [3 miles] (12 ran); Wayne’s 1st
winner of the
new season. Sapphire
Moon (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) finished 4th in the Novices’ Handicap
Hurdle (12 ran). Annie
Power won the Mares’ Champion Hurdle at Punchestown. More There were
a couple of winners for the home team today too, namely Chartreux
and the slightly crazy Deep Trouble. More Night Of
Thunder was the 40-1 winner of the 2000 Guineas at Newmarket today. More There’s no
National Hunt racing tomorrow. I’ve finished
uploading the photos I took at Sandown Park last Saturday. Click here And I’ve almost completed the task of
transferring Sandown’s racing action to DVD too. |
|
Friday 02 May
2014 |
|
Firstly, here
is news from Fontwell Park: Mirkat (Alan King/Wayne
Hutchinson) finished 9th in the Standard Open NH Flat Race (14 ran); I liked
the winner, the Charlie Longsdon-trained No No Manolito, a cute bay horse
with a blaze, two stockings and a sock. Noel Williams
had a winner too, when Friendly Society triumphed in a Handicap Chase under
James Banks. Anf
here is a picture of the horse: https://twitter.com/noelwilliams03/status/462319795774705665/photo/1 And Dave
Crosse rode a double!!! A Handicap
Hurdle aboard Castlemorris King and a Handicap
Chase aboard Cypress Grove. Jezki got the better of
Hurricane Fly in Punchestown’s Champion Hurdle. More It’s been a long
season for the latter, who is also giving 4 years away to his rival. Vautour won the 2 miles 4
furlong Grade 1 Champion Novice Hurdle.
But not in such good style as Faugheen
earlier in the week. More But they did swap
distances from their victorious runs at Cheltenham. Leighton Aspell will be returning from injury next Wednesday,
having broken his collarbone 18 days ago ... I missed that, because I didn’t
know he had! Still no news
update regarding Choc’s recuperation I’m
afraid. Check out
Gavin James’ photographs of Choc and Pantxoa taken
at Cheltenham on 16 April: http://www.gjmultimedia.co.uk/raceday_galleries/cheltenham-16-04-14/index.html This
sounds interesting if you live in or near Liverpool and your dad is a racing
fan: https://twitter.com/AintreeRaces/status/462189282862858240/photo/1 My late
father hated horseracing! It used to
drive him mad when I wanted to watch it on Grandstand as a child ... It is
reported on the Racing Forum that Kaylif Aramis (pictured below at Sandown Park last Saturday)
broke a shoulder in a freak accident this week and had to be put down. RIP
Three
runners of interest at Uttoxeter tomorrow: 13:35 Fred
Le Macon (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – NH Maiden Hurdle 14:45
Dundee (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – Handicap Hurdle [3 miles] 17:05
Sapphire Moon (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – Novices’ Handicap Hurdle I’ve no plans for the weekend ... it’s a shame
Kempton Park has fallen off the radar with Choc’s
absence. |
|
Thursday 01 May
2014 |
|
Quevega is retired following her 2nd place in the World
Series Hurdle at Punchestown
today
(pictured here
at the Cheltenham Festival in 2013) The main event at Punchestown today was Balder Succes
(Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) who finished 3rd in the Ryanair
Novice Chase (Grade 1) [2 miles] (8 ran); the race was won by the other
English raider in the field, the 25-1 shot, God’s Own trained by Tom George
and ridden by Barry Geraghty. Arnaud took on Champagne Fever for the lead
at the beginning of the race and Wayne rode his mount just behind this pace
but, in the end, it played into the hands of those who had held up their
horses, with Moscow Mannon claiming 2nd under Davy
Russell, a 20-1 shot. And, of course,
God’s Own was runner-up to the Alan King runner in the Pendil
Novices’ Chase at Kempton in February!
More Parsnip Pete unseated Alain Cawley
in the Handicap Chase at 16:15 (16 ran); Duke Of Lucca finished 5th in the
Cross Country Chase at 16:50 (19 ran); Jetson was
the shock winner of the World Series Hurdle, beating Quevega
into 2nd place; At Fishers Cross finished 3rd, Fingal
Bay 5th, Knockara Beau 8th and Reve
De Sivola 7th (9 ran). More Meanwhile at Towcester: Dont
Call Me Oscar (Martin Keighley/Ian Popham) finished
12th and last of the finishers in the Handicap Hurdle [2 miles 5 furlongs]
(17 ran). Sequoia Forest (Martin Keighley/Ollie Garner)
fell and Taffy Dare (Alan King/Gerard Tumelty)
finished 6th in the Novices’ Hurdle (12 ran). Shady Lane (Alan King/Noel Fehily)
finished 2nd in the Maiden Chase (6 ran). Briery
Queen (Noel Williams/James Banks) finished 3rd in the Mares’ Standard Open NH
Flat Race (16 ran). One runner
of interest tomorrow, at Fontwell Park: 20:00 Mirkat (Alan
King/Wayne Hutchinson) – Standard Open NH Flat Race |
