JANUARY 2019
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What’s new this month? |
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19 January 2019 – Kempton Park Winter Festival – Boxing Day Diary (26
December 2018) 01 January 2019 – Newbury Ladbrokes Trophy Day Diary (01 December 2018) |
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Wednesday
30 January 2019 |
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There were
no results to report from Tuesday, as Lingfield
Park was abandoned. And no results
today either, as Plumpton was also abandoned. However,
here are tomorrow’s runners of interest ... just in case weather conditions
improve! Wincanton:
(inspection at 08:00) 13:25 Colditz Castle
(Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – Novices’ Hurdle 15:30 Valdez (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) &
Grand Vision (Colin Tizzard/Aidan Coleman) –
Handicap Chase [2 miles 4 furlongs & 35 yards] 16:30 Mr Woolley (Neil King/Wayne Hutchinson) –
Standard Open NH Flat Race Fakenham: (inspection at 07:00) 15:20 Coole Well (Jamie
Snowden/Max Kendrick) – Novices’ Hurdle 16:20 Blue Bullet (Jamie Snowden/Page Fuller) –
Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Chase The controversy into the Henry Oliver ‘arm waving’ incident at Uttoxeter continues … the BHA obviously hasn’t got enough
to do: Worryingly, the current rate of equine fatalities
is at its highest level since 2014: |
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Monday
28 January 2019 |
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Here are
today’s results for my runners of interest: Kempton
Park: Talkischeap (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) finished 2nd in the
Novices’ Chase (7 ran). Mystical
Clouds (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) finished 3rd in the Novices’ Hurdle (9
ran). Second
Time Around (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) fell at the 11th fence during the
Handicap Chase [2 miles 4 furlongs & 110 yards] (9 ran). Ludlow: Diva Du Maquis (Noel Williams/Gavin Sheehan) finished 5th in the
Mares’ Handicap Hurdle (8 ran). Hey Bill
(Graeme McPherson/Kielan Woods) finished 4th in the
Handicap Chase [3 miles 1 furlong & 125 yards] (6 ran). And just two
runners of interest tomorrow, both in the same race at Lingfield Park: 13:30
Fatima Blush (Jamie Snowden/Sam Twiston-Davies)
& Burren Walk (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) –
Mares’ Intermediate Open NH Flat Race (Qualifier) |
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Sunday
27 January 2019 |
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RIP Casse
Tete Sadly the
Gary Moore-trained Casse Tete,
who was pulled up during the Grade 3 Handicap Chase at Cheltenham yesterday,
had to be put to sleep having suffered a bad injury. RIP Here are today’s
results for my runners of interest: Sedgefield: Bobble
Emerald (Martin Keighley/Leighton Aspell) was
pulled up before three out during the Handicap Hurdle [2 miles & 178
yards] Young
Phoenix (Martin Keighley/Paddy Brennan) was pulled up before the 11th fence
during the Novices’ Handicap Chase (Qualifier) (8 ran). Gold
Mountain (Martin Keighley/Leighton Aspell) was
pulled up before two out during the Handicap Hurdle [2 miles 5 furlongs &
34 yards] (7 ran). Fontwell Park: Grange
Ranger (Jamie Snowden/Gavin Sheehan) finished 4th in the Maiden Hurdle (10
ran); the race was sponsored by the Jamie Snowden Racing Club. And here
are Monday’s runners of interest: Kempton
Park: 13:30 Talkischeap (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – Novices’ Chase 14:05
Mystical Clouds (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – Novices’ Hurdle 14:40
Second Time Around (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – Handicap Chase [2 miles 4
furlongs & 110 yards] Ludlow: 14:20 Diva
Du Maquis (Noel Williams/Gavin Sheehan) – Mares’
Handicap Hurdle 16:00 Hey
Bill (Graeme McPherson/Kielan Woods) – Handicap
Chase [3 miles 1 furlong & 125 yards] |
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Saturday
26 January 2019 |
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Here are
today’s results for my runners of interest: Cheltenham: Our Power
(Alan King/Tom Cannon) finished 4th in the JCB Triumph Trial Juvenile Hurdle
(9 ran). Azzerti (Alan King/Richard Johnson) was hampered and
fell three out during the Novices’ Handicap Chase (8 ran); both horse and
jockey were fine. Terrefort (Nicky Henderson/Daryl Jacob) finished 3rd in
the Cotswold Chase (Grade 2) [3 miles 1 furlong & 56 yards] (6 ran). The race was won by Frodon,
with Elegant Escape as runner-up; Paul Nicholls expects his charge to now
head to the Gold Cup. I don’t think Terrefort stayed, and will presumably attempt the Ryanair Chase. The Grade
2 Cleeve Hurdle was won by Paisley Park, from West
Approach and Black Op (12 ran). The
winner is now the favourite for the Cheltenham Festival’s Stayers’
Hurdle. Doncaster: Ballywood (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) finished 2nd in the
Lightening Novices’ Chase (Grade 2) (4 ran); the race was won by Dynamite
Dollars. Dingo
Dollar (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) finished 6th in the Skybet
Handicap Chase (Listed) [2 miles 7 furlongs & 214 yards] (11 ran); the
race was won by Go Conquer. Mahlermade (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) finished 2nd in the
Handicap Chase (Qualifier) [2 miles 7 furlongs & 214 yards] (5 ran). Hotter
Than Hell (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) finished 2nd, Parody (Paul
Nicholls/Harry Cobden) finished 6th and Redbridge Gold (Jamie Snowden/Gavin
Sheehan) won the Mares’ Standard Open NH Flat Race (7 ran); Jamie’s 23rd
winner of the
season. Uttoxeter: Blue
Bullet (Jamie Snowden/Page Fuller) was pulled up, Hollywood All Star (Graeme McPherson/Tom
Humphries/EPDS Racing) was pulled up and Midnight Jitterbug (Martin Bosley/Joe Anderson) was pulled up in the Conditional
Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle (10 ran). Lostnfound (Jamie Snowden/James Davies) was pulled up in
the Mares’ Limited Handicap Chase (Qualifier) (11 ran). Lingfield Park: Three
Weeks (David O’Meara/Danny Tudhope/Apple Tree Stud)
finished 2nd in the Handicap [1 mile 4 furlongs] (4 ran). And
tomorrow’s runners of interest: Sedgefield: 13:10
Bobble Emerald (Martin Keighley/Leighton Aspell) –
Handicap Hurdle [2 miles & 178 yards] 13:40
Young Phoenix (Martin Keighley/Paddy Brennan) – Novices’ Handicap Chase
(Qualifier) 15:10 Gold
Mountain (Martin Keighley/Leighton Aspell) –
Handicap Hurdle [2 miles 5 furlongs & 34 yards] Fontwell Park: 15:00
Grange Ranger (Jamie Snowden/Gavin Sheehan) – Maiden Hurdle Woooo Hoooo
... I’ve finally finished my crochet project! J |
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Friday
25 January 2019 |
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Happy Burns Night!
Four
winners today ... of the equine variety! Huntingdon: Scarlet Dragon (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) won the Novices’ Hurdle
(Qualifier) (14 ran); Alan’s 64th winner of the season and Wayne’s 60th winner of the season. Price 2-1. Samson The
Man (Noel Williams/Wayne Hutchinson) finished 7th and Sammylou (Graeme McPherson/Kielan Woods) won the NH Novices’
Handicap Hurdle (13 ran); Graeme’s 12th winner of the season. Price 20-1, having shortened from 33-1! Oscar
World (Martin Keighley/Leighton Aspell) finished
7th in the Novices’ Handicap Chase (13 ran). Daydream Aulmes (Graeme McPherson/Kielan Woods) won the Handicap Hurdle [2 miles 4 furlongs &
145 yards] (17 ran); Graeme’s 13th winner of the season. Price 11-2. Doncaster: Stylist
Moment (Alan King/Tom Cannon) finished 5th in the Novices’ Limited Handicap
Chase (6 ran). Manofthemountain (Jamie Snowden/Gavin
Sheehan) finished 2nd in the NH Maiden Hurdle (Qualifier) (4 ran) Giving Glances (Alan King/Tom Cannon) won the Fillies’ Juvenile
Hurdle (Listed) (8 ran); Alan’s 65th winner of the season. Price
11-4. After a
successful day, had I been a betting woman, here are tomorrow’s runners of
interest ... and the return of the lovely Terrefort
too J Cheltenham: 12:40 Our
Power (Alan King/Tom Cannon) – JCB Triumph Trial Juvenile Hurdle 13:15 Azzerti (Alan King/Richard Johnson) – Novices’ Handicap
Chase 14:25 Terrefort (Nicky Henderson/Daryl Jacob) – Cotswold Chase (Grade
2) [3 miles 1 furlong & 56 yards]; he’s scheduled to have 5 rivals – Frodon, Elegant Escape, Valtor,
Minella Rocco and Allysson
Monterg. Daryl
Jacob has chosen to ride Terrefort, not his stable
companion Valtor: The Grade
2 Cleeve Hurdle takes place at 15:35, with 12
runners declared – Agrapart, Lil Rockerfeller, Midnight Shadow, Paisley Park, Sam Spinner,
Unowhatimeanharry, Wholestone,
Black Op, Aux Ptit Soins,
Aye Aye Charlie, The Mighty Don and West Approach. Doncaster: 13:30 Ballywood (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – Lightening
Novices’ Chase (Grade 2) 15:15
Dingo Dollar (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – Skybet
Handicap Chase (Listed) [2 miles 7 furlongs & 214 yards] 15:50 Mahlermade (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – Handicap Chase
(Qualifier) [2 miles 7 furlongs & 214 yards] 16:25
Hotter Than Hell (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) & Parody (Paul
Nicholls/Harry Cobden) & Redbridge Gold (Jamie Snowden/Gavin Sheehan) –
Mares’ Standard Open NH Flat Race Alan King is
hoping for further success in the Skybet Chase: Uttoxeter: 13:05 Blue
Bullet (Jamie Snowden/Page Fuller) & Hollywood All Star (Graeme
McPherson/Tom Humphries/EPDS Racing) & Midnight Jitterbug (Martin Bosley/Joe Anderson) – Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap
Hurdle 15:25 Lostnfound (Jamie Snowden/James Davies) – Mares’ Limited
Handicap Chase (Qualifier) Lingfield Park: 15:05
Three Weeks (David O’Meara/Danny Tudhope/Apple Tree
Stud) – Handicap [1 mile 4 furlongs] For the
first time ever, I’ve received a message to say I’ve used up 80% of my mobile
phone inclusive data. This wouldn’t be
so bad, except I still have a couple of weeks to go until my personal month
end! It’s another symptom of ‘Maddenitis’!!! And I still
haven’t finished my crochet project ... my problem is, in the words of
Bodyguard character Julia Montague, “I’m
emotionally distracted”!!! |
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Thursday
24 January 2019 |
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Both Wetherby and Fakenham were abandoned
today, so there are no results to report! The BHA
has delayed its decision regarding the intended changes to the shoeing rules! Here are
tomorrow’s runners of interest: Doncaster: 12:50
Stylist Moment (Alan King/Tom Cannon) – Novices’ Limited Handicap Chase 13:25 Manofthemountain (Jamie Snowden/Gavin Sheehan) – NH
Maiden Hurdle (Qualifier) 14:30
Giving Glances (Alan King/Tom Cannon) – Fillies’ Juvenile Hurdle (Listed) Huntingdon: 13:00
Scarlet Dragon (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – Novices’ Hurdle (Qualifier) 13:35
Samson The Man (Noel Williams/Wayne Hutchinson) & Sammylou
(Graeme McPherson/Kielan Woods) – NH Novices’
Handicap Hurdle 14:05
Oscar World (Martin Keighley/Leighton Aspell) –
Novices’ Handicap Chase 15:45
Daydream Aulmes (Graeme McPherson/Kielan Woods) – Handicap Hurdle [2 miles 4 furlongs &
145 yards] * * *
* * * * * * Richard Madden has already flown back to Los Angeles, where he
is due to be a presenter at this coming Sunday’s Screen Actors Guild Awards
(27 January). With
regards to his career he said: “Nobody knows what’s next. I’m still looking
and haven’t made any decisions. I have
meetings in LA but I don’t think you’ve lost me to Hollywood just yet!” He said
the accolades he had received for his Bodyguard role had “certainly given me
a lot more confidence in my career”. He added “It’s been like a mad dream
that I haven’t woken up from.” In the
meantime, Rocketman is due for release in May, in
which he plays the role of John Reid.
Perhaps he’ll be around for the publicity tour, along with Taron Egerton, and will
presumably receive a nomination for his role in Bodyguard from the British TV
BAFTAS; the ceremony of which takes place on Sunday 12 May. * *
* * *
* * * * Today is
my Friday J as I’m using up a day
of my carried over 2018 annual leave!
Use it or lose it! |
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Wednesday
23 January 2019 |
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Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner
Richard Madden won the award for Best Drama
Performance at
yesterday evening’s National Television Awards, with Bodyguard winner of the Best New Drama too. J Here is Richard’s winner’s speech: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0oQ88AgbQ7A And his post-award interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Z7C-QPj7L4 If Richard
gets the opportunity to play Willy Loman in Death
of a Salesman on stage, when he reaches his sixties, I’ll just have to hope
I’m still around and fit enough to attend it!
That’s the drawback of liking a very much younger man! I was
running so late by the time I’d watched, and re-watched the NTA highlights,
last evening, that I didn’t have time to write a blog yesterday. But perhaps that’s not a bad thing,
considering today’s fixtures at Hereford and Catterick
were abandoned and it would have been a waste of my time listing the runners! There’s
one result from Monday, at Leicester: Jessica
Rabbit (Graeme McPherson/Tom Humphries/EPDS Racing) finished 8th in the
Mares’ NH Novices’ Hurdle (Qualifier) (10 ran). And
tomorrow, at Wetherby, if it passes an
inspection: 13:35
Follow The Swallow (Graeme McPherson/Tom Humphries) – Handicap Chase (Series)
[3 miles & 45 yards] 15:20
Somewhere To Be (Martin Keighley/Paddy Brennan) – Handicap Chase [2 miles 3
furlongs & 85 yards] 15:55 Coole Well (Jamie Snowden/Max Kendrick) – NH Novices’
Hurdle (Qualifier) Hertfordshire
had more snow than expected yesterday.
I decided to catch a bus, from the station to home; the only trouble
was, that it took longer for one to arrive at the bus stop where I was
waiting than it would have taken me to walk home! But, looking on the bright side, I kept dry
in the main. The pavements weren’t too
bad this morning, only icy in exposed places. I still
haven’t made much progress on my crochet project ... I’ve been prevented from
doing so due to a bad bout of ‘Maddenitis’! |
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Monday
21 January 2019 |
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Here is
today’s result for my one runner of interest, at Sedgefield: King Vince
(Jamie Snowden/Gavin Sheehan) finished 5th in the Handicap Chase [2 miles 3
furlongs & 65 yards] (6 ran). And
tomorrow, at Leicester: 14:10
Jessica Rabbit (Graeme McPherson/Tom Humphries/EPDS Racing) – Mares’ NH
Novices’ Hurdle (Qualifier) |
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Sunday
20 January 2019 |
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Here are today’s results for my runners of
interest: Exeter: Galactic Power (Robin Dickin/Jack
Quinlan/EPDS Racing) finished 6th in the Handicap Hurdle [2 miles 2 furlongs
& 111 yards] (9 ran). Ayr: Ask Ben (Graeme McPherson/Kielan Woods) won the Novices’ Hurdle (5 ran); Graeme’s 11th
winner of the
season. Just one
runner of interest tomorrow, at Sedgefield: 14:20 King
Vince (Jamie Snowden/Gavin Sheehan) – Handicap Chase [2 miles 3 furlongs
& 65 yards] A lovely photograph of Altior;
taken yesterday at Ascot: https://mobile.twitter.com/mjyharris/status/1086693006500159493/photo/1 Trainer Nicky Henderson is blaming Special Tiara
for setting a bad example at Kempton, following Altior’s
left-handed waywardness during the Clarence House Chase: One lady fan made a special trip to Ascot
yesterday to see her equine hero: Another tweet from Walkon;
this time he’s trotting over a few poles: https://mobile.twitter.com/walkonFRhorse/status/1087046794146648064/photo/1 I’ve not
managed to finish my crochet project ... but that’s not really a surprise,
although I have spent around 3 hours doing it this weekend; hopefully
sometime this week. J |
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Saturday
19 January 2019 |
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Here are today’s results for my runners of
interest: Taunton: Telson Barley (Graeme
McPherson/Kielan Woods) finished 3rd in the
Handicap Hurdle [2 miles 3 furlongs & 1 yard] (16 ran). Big Chief Benny (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson)
finished 4th in the Seniors’ Handicap Hurdle [2 miles 3 furlongs & 1
yard] (9 ran). Early Morning Rain (Jamie Snowden/Sam Twiston-Davies) finished 2nd and Glasha’s
Peak (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) finished 4th in the Mares’ Standard Open NH
Flat Race (14 ran); Alan’s charge is a half-sister to Peggies
Venture. Altior duly won the 3-runner
Grade 1 Clarence House Chase but, he did jump noticeably out to his left on a
number of occasions today. The winning
distance was 7 lengths, unchallenged, over the returning Fox Norton. A quick reminder of tomorrow’s runners of
interest: Exeter: 13:10 Galactic Power (Robin Dickin/Jack
Quinlan/EPDS Racing) – Handicap Hurdle [2 miles 2 furlongs & 111 yards] Ayr: 13:25 Ask Ben (Graeme McPherson/Kielan Woods) – Novices’ Hurdle As you can
see from my note above, I’ve completed and uploaded my Kempton Park Boxing
Day diary. J That means I can concentrate 100% on my
crafting ... Richard Madden ... and of course my blogs, until I next go on a
racing-related outing! |
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Friday
18 January 2019 |
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Here are today’s results for my runners of
interest at Chepstow: Dontminddboys (Robin Dickin/Jack Quinlan/EPDS Racing) finished 13th in the
Handicap Chase [2 miles 7 furlongs & 131 yards] (16 ran); the feedback
was that he didn’t like today’s ground and also needs a step up in trip! Breaking Waves (Noel Williams/Wayne Hutchinson)
finished 6th in the Novices Hurdle (16 ran). There’s not a lot happening tomorrow, despite it
being Saturday with three NH fixtures taking place! Taunton: 13:05 Telson Barley
(Graeme McPherson/Kielan Woods) – Handicap Hurdle
[2 miles 3 furlongs & 1 yard] 14:15 Big Chief Benny (Alan King/Wayne
Hutchinson) – Seniors’ Handicap Hurdle [2 miles 3 furlongs & 1 yard] 16:25 Early Morning Rain (Jamie Snowden/Sam Twiston-Davies) & Glasha’s
Peak (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – Mares’ Standard Open NH Flat Race Meanwhile, at Ascot, the Grade 1 Clarence House
Chase takes place at 15:35 and features Altior,
Diego Du Charmil and Fox Norton; the latter returns
having been on the injury side-lines for 389 days. There are no runners of interest at Haydock Park. There are two runners of interest on Sunday: Exeter: 13:10 Galactic Power (Robin Dickin/Jack
Quinlan/EPDS Racing) – Handicap Hurdle [2 miles 2 furlongs & 111 yards] Ayr: 13:25 Ask Ben (Graeme McPherson/Kielan Woods) – Novices’ Hurdle Following disappointing form during recent Novice
Chases, Lil Rockerfeller is to be re-routed back to
hurdling with the Stayers’ Hurdle in mind. All of my plans are ‘home-based’ this weekend.
I need to collate, proof-read and upload my Kempton Park diary, also
transfer some recordings to DVD, plus complete my current crocheting project which
is 2/3rds finished; I estimate the latter is going to take a further 8 hours,
so this may be optimist! You’ll also not be surprised to learn that I have
some Richard Madden-related DVDs to watch too; I’m currently viewing Hope
Springs, a TV drama series, released in 2009.
This certainly wasn’t Richard’s first appearance
in a TV series, as way back in 1999 he appeared in CBBC’s Barmy Aunt
Boomerang, alongside Toyah Willcox: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64AFsaz7WXg Richard
was born on 18 June 1986, so is currently 32 years old. |
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Thursday
17 January 2019 |
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Here are
today’s results for my runners of interest ... lots of runners but only one
winner: Market Rasen: Deyrann De Carjac (Alan King/Tom Cannon) finished 2nd in the
Novices’ Hurdle (8 ran). Pershing Missile (Graeme McPherson/Kielan Woods) was pulled up during the Handicap Hurdle [2
miles 7 furlongs & 6 yards] (8 ran). Shantewe (Jamie Snowden/Gavin
Sheehan) finished 3rd in the Mares’ Standard Open NH Flat Race (Listed) (6
ran). Cranbrook Causeway (Graeme
McPherson/Kielan Woods) finished 5th in the
Handicap Chase [2 miles 7 furlongs & 191 yards] (7 ran). Ludlow: Back On The Lash (Martin
Keighley/Richard Johnson) won and War Chief (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson)
finished 9th in the Novices’ Hurdle (Qualifier) (11 ran); Martin’s 17th
winner of the
season. Brillare Momento
(Martin Keighley/Sam Twiston-Davies) was pulled up
during the Mares’ Novices’ Chase (Qualifier) (3 ran). Reve (Martin
Keighley/Harry Skelton) finished 2nd and Stop The World (Tom George/Wayne
Hutchinson) finished 3rd in the Maiden Hurdle (13 ran). Acacia Dream (Martin Keighley/Leighton Aspell) finished last and Perfect Predator (Alan
King/Wayne Hutchinson) finished 2nd in the Standard Open NH Flat Race (6
ran). Wincanton: Thistle Do Nicely (Jamie Snowden/Tom
O’Brien/part-owned by Apple Tree Stud) finished 2nd in the NH Novices’ Hurdle
(13 ran). Mick Maestro (Alan King/Tom Bellamy) finished 3rd
in the Handicap Hurdle (Qualifier) [1 mile 7 furlongs & 65 yards] (7
ran). And here are tomorrow’s runners of interest, at Chepstow: 13:05 Dontminddboys
(Robin Dickin/Jack Quinlan/EPDS Racing) – Handicap
Chase [2 miles 7 furlongs & 131 yards] 13:35 Breaking Waves (Noel Williams/Wayne
Hutchinson) – Novices Hurdle With the
ground unsuitable at Ascot for Un De Sceaux, Altior is due to have just two rivals in Saturday’s Grade
1 Ascot Chase – namely Diego Du Charmil and Fox
Norton. |
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Wednesday
16 January 2019 |
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Here are
today’s results for my runners of interest ... and the Alan King/Wayne
Hutchinson partnership suffered a bad case of 4th-itis! Newbury: Harambe (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) finished 4th in the
Novices’ Hurdle (16 ran). Midnightreferendum (Alan King/Wayne
Hutchinson) finished 4th in the Mares’ NH Novices’ Hurdle (Qualifier) (8
ran). Midnight
Glance (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) finished 4th in the Standard Open NH Flat
Race (12 ran). Plumpton: Anti Cool
(Robin Dickin/Jack Quinlan/EPDS Racing) was pulled
up in the Handicap Chase [2 miles & 214 yards] (7 ran). Here are
tomorrow’s runners of interest: Market Rasen: 12:30 Deyrann De Carjac (Alan King/Tom Cannon) – Novices’ Hurdle 13:00 Pershing Missile (Graeme McPherson/Kielan Woods) – Handicap Hurdle [2 miles 7 furlongs &
6 yards] 14:40 Shantewe (Jamie
Snowden/Gavin Sheehan) – Mares’ Standard Open NH Flat Race (Listed) 15:45 Cranbrook
Causeway (Graeme McPherson/Kielan Woods) – Handicap
Chase [2 miles 7 furlongs & 191 yards] Ludlow: 12:40 Back On The Lash (Martin Keighley/Richard
Johnson) & War Chief (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – Novices’ Hurdle
(Qualifier) 13:10 Brillare Momento (Martin Keighley/Sam Twiston-Davies)
– Mares’ Novices’ Chase (Qualifier) 13:45 Reve (Martin
Keighley/Harry Skelton) & Stop The World (Tom George/Wayne Hutchinson) –
Maiden Hurdle 16:00 Acacia Dream (Martin Keighley/Leighton Aspell) & Perfect Predator (Alan King/Wayne
Hutchinson) – Standard Open NH Flat Race Wincanton: 13:20 Thistle Do Nicely (Jamie Snowden/Tom
O’Brien/part-owned by Apple Tree Stud) – NH Novices’ Hurdle 13:55 Mick Maestro (Alan King/Tom Bellamy) –
Handicap Hurdle (Qualifier) [1 mile 7 furlongs & 65 yards] Alan
King’s Weekender column was published today.
He writes that it’s the driest winter he’s ever known ... and he’s
been in racing since 1985! He couldn’t
run Valdez at Kempton Park last Saturday as the ground was too quick for
him. Most of
Alan’s horses were vaccinated against flu last Friday and Saturday, so they
are on the easy list this week, ahead of the build up to the Festivals. Also, it’s been decided that Running Cloud
will be switched back to the flat, and Fret D’Estruval
will be heading back to France following two modest efforts in this country! |
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Tuesday
15 January 2019 |
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Here are
today’s results for my runners of interest at Lingfield Park: Oscar
World (Martin Keighley/Bryony Frost) was a non-runner in the Novices’
Handicap Chase Ardamir (Laura Mongan/Tom Cannon/formerly
owned by Apple Tree Stud) finished 7th in the Handicap Hurdle [2 miles] (9
ran). Cloud
Hopper (Jamie Snowden/Page Fuller) was pulled up in the Handicap Hurdle [2
miles & 7 furlongs] (17 ran). Primogeniture
(Martin Keighley/Mr Patrick Berkins) finished 10th
in the Amateur Riders’ Handicap Hurdle (12 ran). And here
are tomorrow’s runners of interest: Newbury: 13:40 Harambe (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – Novices’ Hurdle 15:20 Midnightreferendum (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – Mares’
NH Novices’ Hurdle (Qualifier) 15:50
Midnight Glance (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – Standard Open NH Flat Race Plumpton: 14:00 Anti
Cool (Robin Dickin/Jack Quinlan/EPDS Racing) –
Handicap Chase [2 miles & 214 yards] Jerry
McGrath took a heavy fall at Fontwell Park
yesterday but according to his agent, and contrary to a report that he’d
broken a bone in his shoulder, he should be back in action in a few days. I’m gutted
... the Marks and Sparks shop, just a 5-minute walk from my office, has been
earmarked for closure. What am I going
to do? L I love
their cappuccino chocolate bars ... and their liquorice Catherine wheels ...
not to mention their knickers, socks, tights, thermal vests, fleeces, jeggings, slippers, skirts, jumpers, cardigans, coats,
loungewear ... but, I guess, it will save me
money!!! If I want something, or need
to collect something, I’ll have to visit one of their other shops at the
weekend; how annoying. |
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Monday
14 January 2019 |
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RIP Midnight Chase (pictured in the foreground) There’s sad news regarding retired racehorse
Midnight Chase; he’s been put to sleep following a short illness. Here are today’s results for my runners of
interest: Fontwell Park: Marlow Moss (Jamie Snowden/Gavin Sheehan) was
pulled up in the Mares’ NH Maiden Hurdle (11 ran). Brigade Of Guards (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson)
finished 8th and Timcoda (Jamie Snowden/Gavin
Sheehan) finished 6th in the Maiden Hurdle (12 ran). And
tomorrow’s runners of interest, at Lingfield Park: 14:10
Oscar World (Martin Keighley/Bryony Frost) – Novices’ Handicap Chase 14:40 Ardamir (Laura Mongan/Tom
Cannon/formerly owned by Apple Tree Stud) – Handicap Hurdle [2 miles] 15:10
Cloud Hopper (Jamie Snowden/Page Fuller) – Handicap Hurdle [2 miles & 7
furlongs] 15:40
Primogeniture (Martin Keighley/Mr Patrick Berkins)
– Amateur Riders’ Handicap Hurdle Here’s
sending get well soon wishes to Noel Fehily, who
underwent an emergency operation for appendicitis on Saturday. Richard Madden was nominated for a Critics’
Choice Award and the awards ceremony took place in Santa Monica yesterday
evening, but unfortunately on this occasion he didn’t win. But we were treated to him making an appearance,
and here he is on the red carpet: |
|
Sunday
13 January 2019 |
|
Here are yesterday’s results for my runners of
interest: Kempton
Park: Running Cloud (Alan King/Tom Cannon) finished 4th
and Tiffin Top (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) finished 3rd in the Juvenile
Hurdle (5 ran). Top Notch (Nicky
Henderson/Daryl Jacob) won the
Chase (Listed) [2 miles 4 furlongs & 110 yards] (5 ran). Sleep Easy (Neil Mulholland/Wayne Hutchinson)
finished 11th in the Lanzarote Handicap Hurdle
(Listed) [2 miles & 5 furlongs] (14 ran). Dino Velvet (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) finished
5th in the Handicap Hurdle [2 miles] (8 ran). Warwick: Sammylou (Graeme McPherson/Kielan Woods) was brought-down as a result of a melee on
the flat and Percy Prosecco (Noel Williams/Tom
Garner) finished 4th in the Novices’ Handicap Hurdle (12 ran). Millstone (Alan King/Brendan Powell) finished 5th
in the ‘Newcomers’ Standard Open NH Flat Race (6 ran). Wetherby: Simply A Legend (Alan King/Tom Bellamy) finished
2nd in the Handicap Hurdle [2 miles 3 furlongs & 154 yards] (7 ran); an
excellent result following 1029 days on the injury sidelines! Fourshoes (Alan King/Tom
Bellamy) finished 2nd in the Fillies’ Junior Standard Open NH Flat Race (7
ran). No results to report today. And here are tomorrow’s runners of interest: Fontwell Park: 13:55 Marlow Moss (Jamie Snowden/Gavin Sheehan) –
Mares’ NH Maiden Hurdle 14:55 Brigade Of Guards (Alan King/Wayne
Hutchinson) & Timcoda (Jamie Snowden/Gavin
Sheehan) – Maiden Hurdle Today it was reported that Richard Madden and his
girlfriend Ellie Bamber have split up due to his
recent high-profile career success: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-6585661/Richard-Madden-Ellie-Bamber-SPLIT.html That’s the price of fame I guess. He’s certainly been very busy recently,
filming Rocketman, appearing on various shows in
the US to publicise Bodyguard, not to mention attending awards shows and
other events, and making himself available for press and magazine interviews
and photo-shoots. Today I rescued a third copy of the current issue
of GQ! I just couldn’t help myself; it
was sitting there all alone on the shelf at the local supermarket and needed
a good home!!! I’ve been
productive this weekend, with regards to drafting race notes; I’ve now
completed those for Kempton Park, with the aim of uploading the diary next
weekend. J But I’ve not been so productive on the
crochet front! L Maybe I’ll get some done this evening … |
|
Friday
11 January 2019 |
|
RIP Willoughby Court Very sad news was reported today ... Willoughby
Court has been put to sleep following surgery and an infection: The Druids Nephew has been retired having been pulled
up at Cheltenham on New Year’s Day; he’s reported to have ‘tweaked’ a tendon and connections are
keen that the 12-year-old stays sound so that he can go hunting and possibly
do some RoR classes too. There’s controversy regarding a new ruling about
shoeing racehorses: There was travel chaos for a number of Gary
Moore’s horses, and those from other yards too, heading to Huntingdon today: Here are today’s results for my runners of
interest: Huntingdon: Bentons Lad (Graeme
McPherson/Tom Humphries) finished 5th in the Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap
Hurdle (7 ran). Shanty Alley (Ben
Case/Wayne Hutchinson) won the NH Maiden Hurdle
(Qualifier) (9 ran); Wayne’s
59th winner of the
season. Fret D’Estruval (Alan
King/Daryl Jacob) finished 3rd in the Chatteris Fen
Juvenile Hurdle (4 ran). I’m A Believer (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson)
finished 4th and Poperinghe Ginger (Graeme
McPherson/Kielan Woods) finished 2nd in the Mares’
Maiden Hurdle (10 ran). Here are my runners of interest tomorrow: Kempton Park: 12:20 Running Cloud (Alan King/Tom Cannon) &
Tiffin Top (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – Juvenile Hurdle 14:05 Top Notch (Nicky Henderson/Daryl Jacob) –
Chase (Listed) [2 miles 4 furlongs & 110 yards]; he’s due to have four
opponents, Chabel, Black Corton,
Hammersly Lake and Speredek. 14:40 Sleep Easy (Neil Mulholland/Wayne
Hutchinson) – Lanzarote Handicap Hurdle (Listed) [2
miles & 5 furlongs] 15:45 Dino Velvet (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) –
Handicap Hurdle [2 miles] Warwick: 12:40 Sammylou (Graeme
McPherson/Kielan Woods) & Percy Prosecco (Noel Williams/Tom Garner) – Novices’ Handicap
Hurdle 16:05 Millstone (Alan King/Brendan Powell) – ‘Newcomers’ Standard Open NH Flat Race Wetherby: 14:50 Simply A Legend (Alan King/Tom Bellamy) – Handicap
Hurdle [2 miles 3 furlongs & 154 yards] 15:55 Fourshoes (Alan
King/Tom Bellamy) – Fillies’ Junior Standard Open NH Flat Race There are no National Hunt runners of interest to
report for Sunday, Kelso being the only fixture this side of the Irish Sea! OMG, an
e-mail message arrived yesterday telling me it’s only 12 weeks to the start
of the Aintree Festival ... it seems hardly any time at all since I finished
writing about last year’s one!!! Jack
Hobbs’ first foal has arrived, a filly out of Cinderella Rose; Wildehearted Woman is in foal to him too. Typically,
there are too many good programmes on TV tonight ... The Victorian House of
Arts and Crafts (BBC2) clashes with Grantchester
(ITV), and a new series of two-hour Most Haunted editions (Really) clashes
with them both if I watch BBC2 at 21:00 followed by ITV on plus one! I need to
catch up on some sleep this weekend, but also make a start of my Kempton Park
Boxing Day diary race notes. Hopefully
I’ll find time to do some crochet too ... and binge on DVDs featuring young
Mr Madden (he’s 32!). I refuse to
crochet and watch the DVDs at the same time; Richard needs my undivided
attention ... although I do have a habit of dozing off to sleep and having to
replay the lost moments!!! |
|
Thursday
10 January 2019 |
|
Here are
today’s results for my runners of interest: Catterick: Vieux
Lille (Jamie Snowden/Page Fuller) unseated his rider during the North Yorkshire
Grand National Handicap Chase [3 miles 5 furlongs & 214 yards] (6 ran);
evidently, having blundered, the reins snapped and consequently Page parted
company with him. Leicester: Midnight
Chill (Jamie Snowden/Gavin Sheehan) finished 2nd in the Novices’ Handicap
Chase (7 ran). Blue
Bullet (Jamie Snowden/Gavin Sheehan) finished 4th in the Handicap Chase [2
miles 4 furlongs & 45 yards] (5 ran). Southwell: Three Weeks (David O’Meara/Joe
Fanning/owned by Apple Tree Stud) won
the Handicap [1 mile & 13 yards] (5 ran) (5 ran). Here are
tomorrow’s runners of interest: Huntingdon: 13:00 Bentons Lad
(Graeme McPherson/Tom Humphries) – Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle 13:30 Shanty Alley (Ben Case/Wayne Hutchinson) –
NH Maiden Hurdle (Qualifier) 14:30 Fret D’Estruval
(Alan King/Daryl Jacob) – Chatteris Fen Juvenile
Hurdle 15:30 I’m A Believer (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson)
& Poperinghe Ginger (Graeme McPherson/Kielan Woods) – Mares Maiden Hurdle The
National Television Awards take place on Tuesday 22 January 2019, with both
Bodyguard (New Drama) and Richard Madden (Drama Performance) nominated in
their respective categories. And it’s
the general public who vote for their favourites ... it’s free to vote online
and categories can be skipped if you don’t have a clue regarding the
nominees!!! https://www.nationaltvawards.com/vote It would
have been great to go but tickets went on sale following last year’s ceremony,
so there’s very little choice now ... just seats over the back of
beyond! It’s a pity I don’t have a
crystal ball, otherwise I might have seen Mr Madden within it!!! Never mind, it’s being shown live on
ITV. The Bafta TV Awards take place on Sunday 12 May ... so I’ve
made a note in my diary! Evidently
Richard is heading back to California at the end of this month, to sit in the
warm sunshine beside a pool and read scripts in search of his next
project! Next up for him for release
is Rocketman, a musical drama based on the life of
Elton John. It is due to premier in
May; he plays the role of John Reid, Elton’s first boyfriend. There
won’t be a second series of Bodyguard until at least 2020. I like to think that his character Sgt David
Budd, having received extensive counselling for his PTSD, has now moved with
his family to a remote Scottish island where they live on a croft, and raise
a few sheep too. His wife Vicky will
be working as the district nurse and there they will remain until Richard
re-inhabits the character and his services are needed once more!!! Bearing in mind his fictional daughter Ella
will probably have headed off to the mainland to attend secondary school, as
a boarder, whilst fictional son Charlie, who has special educational needs,
will attend the small island school. |
|
Wednesday
09 January 2019 |
|
Here are
today’s results for my runners of interest: Doncaster: Talkischeap (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) won the Novices’ Chase (2
ran); Alan’s 63rd winner of the season and Wayne’s
58th winner of the
season. Young
Phoenix (Martin Keighley/Paddy Brennan) finished 6th in the Handicap Hurdle
[3 miles & 84 yards] (13 ran).
Sadly there were two fatalities in this race, the David Dennis-trained
Damier and the Philip Hobbs-trained Katie Connell;
neither were the result of falls. RIP Colonel
Miller (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) finished last in the Maiden Hurdle (7
ran). Fibonacci
(Alan King/Tom Bellamy) finished 6th and Outofthequestion
(Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) finished 5th in the Novices’ Hurdle (7 ran). Taunton: Raving
Bonkers (Martin Keighley/Matt Griffiths) fell at the last when tailed off in
the Maiden Hurdle (12 ran). And
tomorrow’s runners of interest: Catterick: 14:45
Vieux Lille (Jamie Snowden/Page Fuller) – North Yorkshire Grand National
Handicap Chase [3 miles 5 furlongs & 214 yards] Leicester: 12:35
Midnight Chill (Jamie Snowden/Gavin Sheehan) – Novices’ Handicap Chase 15:25 Blue
Bullet (Jamie Snowden/Gavin Sheehan) – Handicap Chase [2 miles 4 furlongs
& 45 yards] Southwell: 13:55
Three Weeks (David O’Meara/Joe Fanning/owned by Apple Tree Stud) – Handicap
[1 mile & 13 yards] In today’s
Weekender, Alan King reveals that The Unit has suffered a tendon injury so
will be on the sidelines for quite a while. Tests have
shown that Samcro has been suffering from a
deep-seated lung infection and will now undergo a 10-day course of
antibiotics. This makes it very
unlikely that he will be able to run at the Cheltenham Festival. I’m
looking forward to Hunted returning to Channel 4 tomorrow evening and Grantchester returns on ITV at 09:00 on Friday. However, series 4 of the latter will be the
last for James Norton, having headed off to pastures new. |
|
Tuesday
08 January 2019 |
|
Here are
today’s results for my runners of interest at Bangor-On-Dee: Voie Dans
Voie (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) finished 3rd in
the Handicap Chase [3 miles & 5 yards] (7 ran). Paddys Runner (Graeme McPherson/Kielan
Woods) finished 3rd in the Handicap Hurdle [2 miles 7 furlongs & 7 yards]
(10 ran). Here are
tomorrow’s runners of interest: Doncaster: 13:00 Talkischeap (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – Novices’ Chase 13:35
Young Phoenix (Martin Keighley/Paddy Brennan) – Handicap Hurdle [3 miles
& 84 yards] 14:10
Colonel Miller (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – Maiden Hurdle 14:45
Fibonacci (Alan King/Tom Bellamy) & Outofthequestion
(Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – Novices’ Hurdle Taunton: 13:45
Raving Bonkers (Martin Keighley/Matt Griffiths) – Maiden Hurdle Following
his impressive win at Plumpton on Sunday, Master
Dino has been diagnosed with a hairline leg fracture so will miss the
Cheltenham Festival and be on the sidelines for a year. I’ve got
to go back on the First Defence, as work colleagues have colds again; it’s
just unbelievable the number of viruses they pick up. |
|
Monday
07 January 2019 |
|
Winner, winner, chicken dinner!!! There was wonderful news overnight; Richard
Madden won the Golden Globe for ‘Best Performance
by an Actor in a Television Series Drama.’ I’m so pleased for him; he’s such a talented
actor. His portrayal of Police
Sergeant David Budd, who is assigned to act as the Home Secretary’s
bodyguard, is amazing. His character was
also an army veteran endeavouring to overcome the PTSD resulting from time
served in Afghanistan. Not to mention
terrorism and organised crime! I wish I could report that I saw him accept his
prize live; but unfortunately there was trouble with my facebook
feed … it kept freezing and large-scale messages popped up intermittently
too, thus obscuring the screen! And,
for the sake of my laptop security, I didn’t want to sign-up with any of the
broadcasting websites suggested. I gave up at around 02:40; then, as I was logging
off, I saw newsfeed which informed me Richard had won his nominated category
around an hour previously! I had watched the Red Carpet pre-show arrivals,
broadcast live on satellite TV, but I didn’t spot him there either. L Fortunately there is a lot of post-event coverage
on the internet J: So here he is, in all of his glory, looking
gorgeous of course … his face is so expressive and he’s extremely photogenic
too: https://celebrity.nine.com.au/2019/01/07/08/21/golden-globes-2019-winners-list The ceremony was held in LA and his mum and dad
flew in especially to attend too. An interesting fact – Richard is paranoid about
fire risks and always checks the fire escape routes when visiting unfamiliar
locations; his dad was a fireman, so he’s well aware of the tragic consequences
posed by fire. And here are a number of interviews I found on Youtube; the first two appear to be Red Carpet ones,
before the ceremony: Interviewed on Entertainment Tonight: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Wt16CPHKew Interviewed on IMDb: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-RcaI68Hc8 The announcement of the winner; he is
congratulated by Julianne Moore, and Idris Elba (his
co-star in The Take aka Bastille Day), who were sitting at the same table and
the award was presented by cast members from The Big Bang Theory: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tLyD_RsU4jc The post award press conference: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFm-0LDk2LI On Access ... Richard tells the interviewer that
his dad told him to write some victory speech notes, just in case he won! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1_3ykpoxcM On E News too: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3WY87OcspI I’ve also joined the ‘Richard Madden Appreciation Society’ closed group on Facebook ... as I feel I’m appreciating him rather a
lot!!! That’s all of the news from ‘Richard Madden Central’ for now ... so it’s back to the racing!!! There was one runner of interest today, at Musselburgh; notified too late for me to include yesterday: Tyrell (Andrew Crook/John Kington/formerly
owned by Apple Tree Stud) finished 4th in the Handicap Hurdle (Qualifier) [2
miles 7 furlongs & 180 yards] (7 ran). And here are tomorrow’s runners of interest, at Bangor-On-Dee: 13:40 Voie Dans Voie (Alan King/Wayne
Hutchinson) – Handicap Chase [3 miles & 5 yards] 14:50 Paddys Runner (Graeme McPherson/Kielan
Woods) – Handicap Hurdle [2 miles 7 furlongs & 7 yards] |
|
Sunday
06 January 2019 |
|
Here are yesterday’s
results for my runners of interest: Sandown Park: Sensulano (Noel Williams/Barry Geraghty) finished last in the Mares’ Hurdle (Listed) …
but only 2 ran, the other being Laurina! One of the
non-runners was lame and the other had banged her head! The 2018
Veterans’ Series Final was won by Houblon Des Obeaux, trained by Venetia Williams and ridden by Charlie
Deutsch (17 ran). Buywise
took a horrible fall at the last, when closing in fast upon the winner;
fortunately both he and Adam Wedge were fine.
Theatre Guide finished as runner-up, with On Tour 3rd and Rock Gone
4th. Pete The Feat was one of 6 who
were pulled up. Although Buywise is fine today, Evan Williams feels the veteran
may struggle with form moving forward: It seems that Evan Williams doesn’t quite ‘get it’ with regard to the affection many of the racing public
hold for the racehorses they see season after season, regardless of each
horse’s level of ability! Wincanton: Midnight Maestro
(Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) fell at the first fence during the Novices’
Limited Handicap Chase (7 ran). Timoteo (Alan King/Wayne
Hutchinson) finished 7th in the Handicap Hurdle [2 miles 5 furlongs & 82
yards] (14 ran). Theinval (Nicky Henderson/Jeremiah
McGrath) finished 6th in the Handicap Chase [2 miles 4 furlongs & 35
yards] (7 ran). Alrightjack (Jamie Snowden/Gavin
Sheehan) finished 8th and Colditz Castle (Alan
King/Wayne Hutchinson) finished 3rd in the Maiden Hurdle (16 ran). Kempton Park (AW): Ardamir (Laura Mongan/Liam Jones/formerly owned by Apple Tree Stud)
finished last in the Handicap [1 mile 7 furlongs & 218 yards (10 ran)];
Buckle Street was withdrawn having refused to enter the stalls and has now
been retired. And
today’s results from Plumpton: Good Man
Pat (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) finished 3rd in the Novices’ Chase (6 ran).
The French-trained Master Dino, who won the race and is owned by Munir & Souede, is now the
JLT Novices’ Chase favourite. King Vince
(Jamie Snowden/Gavin Sheehan) finished 4th in the Handicap Chase [2 miles 3
furlongs & 164 yards] (8 ran). OMG, here is a photo of Choc as a very young
jockey: https://mobile.twitter.com/AnaglogsDaughtr/status/1081259931972583426/photo/1 I missed most of the racing yesterday, having
received a last-minute surprise invite to the cinema from my brother and his
family; we saw Mary Poppins Returns. Joel Dawson, who plays Georgie
Banks, reminds me of Choc; according to Emily ‘Mary Poppins’ Blunt, the child actor
was a nightmare to work with!!! Brian Hughes joined the exclusive 1,000 winners
club when triumphing aboard My Old Gold at Wetherby
on Friday. Grumeti is back in action
again, at home: https://twitter.com/i/status/1081615852183670784 There are no National Hunt runners of interest
tomorrow; at Chepstow or Musselburgh. It’s not been
a productive weekend, with regard to both drafting my diary race notes and
crocheting! L |
|
Friday
04 January 2019 |
|
Here are
today’s results for my runners of interest at Lingfield
Park: Arkyn (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) won the Standard Open NH Flat
Race (11 ran); Alan’s 62nd winner of the season and Wayne’s 57th winner of the season. Bastien (Alan King/Wayne
Hutchinson) finished 3rd in the Novices’ Chase (4 ran). And
tomorrow: Sandown
Park: 13:50 Sensulano (Noel Williams/Barry Geraghty)
– Mares’ Hurdle (Listed); she has three rivals ... but one of them is Laurina! 17 horses
are due to go to post in the 2018 Veterans’ Series Final at 15:00 – Exitas, Loose Chips, Buywise,
Bishops Road, Theatre Guide, Kings Lad, On Tour, Rock Gone, Houblon Des Obeaux, Le Reve, Henllan Harri, 15-year-old Pete The Feat, Tenor Nivernais, Cultram Abbey, Band Of Blood, Rathlin
Road and Halo Moon. Despite the
fixture featuring the Grade 1 Tolworth Novices’
Hurdle and the aforementioned Listed Mares’ Hurdle, I think this is actually
the race of the day. So let’s hope all
the old boys come back safe and sound.
Wincanton: 14:05
Midnight Maestro (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – Novices’ Limited Handicap
Chase 14:40 Timoteo (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – Handicap Hurdle [2
miles 5 furlongs & 82 yards] 15:15 Theinval (Nicky Henderson/Jeremiah McGrath) – Handicap
Chase [2 miles 4 furlongs & 35 yards] 15:50 Alrightjack (Jamie Snowden/Gavin Sheehan) & Colditz Castle (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – Maiden
Hurdle Kempton
Park (AW): 19:15 Ardamir (Laura Mongan/Liam
Jones/formerly owned by Apple Tree Stud) & Buckle Street (Martin
Keighley/Poppy Bridgwater) – Handicap [1 mile 7 furlongs & 218 yards]; Ardamir is still a maiden despite having run 29 times on
the flat. And Buckle Street has
misbehaved the last twice when hurdling, having refused to race! He also refused to race, again over
hurdles, on his seasonal debut in September.
And on
Sunday, at Plumpton: 13:10 Good
Man Pat (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – Novices’ Chase 15:10 King
Vince (Jamie Snowden/Gavin Sheehan) – Handicap Chase [2 miles 3 furlongs
& 164 yards] Having
disappointed over fences, connections have decided to revert Black Op to
hurdling for the remainder of this season; he may next line up in the Cleeve Hurdle. A
firm decision will be made during the summer regarding a future chasing
career; after he had been extensively schooled by Yogi Breisner. Sorry ...
but I’m going ‘off piste’
again ... with further Youtube video links,
featuring the very attractive Richard Madden: Firstly
his appearance on the Graham Norton Show, publicising Cinderella, and The
Take (aka Bastille Day) – this is the show in almost its entirety: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K6JRf6L5WSY I shall
refer to this one as the Netflix ‘water
story’: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0MPXo_Q7F0 Richard appeared on Access Live, speaking about
Bodyguard: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZO0dV8ITQjU And on the IMDb Show: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HYYOhI3Y72A The Golden Globes take place in LA on Sunday
evening and Richard has been nominated as Best Actor in a TV Series – Drama,
for Bodyguard ... so he was interviewed via videolink
following the nomination: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pS1Ed31nyz4 Richard is actually a redhead ... his hair is often
dyed for his roles! I don’t have any plans for
the weekend. Although, of course, I
still have my Kempton Park diary to complete and a crochet project in
progress too. |
|
Thursday
03 January 2019 |
|
Here is
today’s result for my runner of interest at Ludlow: Follow The Swallow (Graeme McPherson/Tom
Humphries) finished 2nd in the ‘Hands
& Heels’ Handicap Chase for Conditional Jockeys and Amateur Riders (6
ran). Although connections are still unsure as to what
is troubling Might Bite, he has undergone a breathing operation today: I forgot to mention, yesterday, that Jamie
Snowden now has a McNeill Family-owned horse in his charge – namely Kiltealy Briggs, who is closely related to the 2011 Grand
National winner Ballabriggs. There is news that Balnaslow
may lose his 2018 Aintree Foxhunters’ Chase title: It appears the 7th equine casualty at last year’s
Cheltenham Festival was Melrose Boy, who ran in the Martin Pipe Conditional
Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle: Just two runners of interest tomorrow, both at Lingfield Park: 12:30 Arkyn (Alan
King/Wayne Hutchinson) – Standard Open NH Flat Race 14:35 Bastien (Alan King/Wayne
Hutchinson) – Novices’ Chase Apple Tree
Stud’s Pacific Fleet has been sold and will race for his new connections at
Dundalk tomorrow. |
|
Wednesday
02 January 2019 |
|
Just one
result to report today, from Hereford: Primogeniture
(Martin Keighley/Bryony Frost) finished 8th in the Conditional Jockeys’
Handicap Hurdle (15 ran). And one runner of interest over the jumps
tomorrow, at Ludlow: 14:15 Follow The Swallow (Graeme McPherson/Tom
Humphries) – ‘Hands & Heels’ Handicap
Chase for Conditional Jockeys and Amateur Riders. Nicky Henderson remains baffled by Might Bite’s
recent poor showing in the King George: Jamie
Snowden features as the Stable Tour in this week’s Weekender. He reveals that Thistle Do Nicely, who is
partly owned by Apple Tree Stud, is likely to run in the Dovecote Hurdle at
Kempton next month, after which connections may consider the Supreme Novices’
at Cheltenham. Jamie states that the
horse is suited by a truly run race on good ground. |
|
Tuesday
01 January 2019 |
|
Happy New Year ...
... and a Happy Retirement to
Alvarado Here are today’s results for my runners of
interest: Cheltenham: Mr Pumblechook (Alan
King/Wayne Hutchinson) finished 6th in the Novices’ Hurdle (Listed) (7 ran). Thomas Crapper (Robin Dickin/Jack
Quinlan) finished 8th in the Handicap Chase [3 miles 2 furlongs & 70
yards] (9 ran). Beware The Bear won
the race, having made virtually all, and 14-year-old Alvarado was retired
after the race. Karezak (Alan King/Wayne
Hutchinson) was pulled up before three out and Forecast (Martin
Keighley/Gavin Sheehan) finished 4th in the Handicap Hurdle [2 miles 7
furlongs & 213 yards] (14 ran). Cyrus Darius (Colin Tizzard/Robbe Power) finished last in the Relkeel
Hurdle (Grade 2) (6 ran). The race was
won by the Sue Smith-trained Midnight Shadow. Fuseau (Alan King/Wayne
Hutchinson) finished 4th in the Standard Open NH Flat Race (Listed) (10 ran). The Grade 2 Dipper Novices’ Chase was won by Lostintranslation, who fought back to win the prize
having been headed two out by Defi Du Seuil; 4 ran, with Crucial Role a non-runner. Exeter: Rock Steady (Alan King/Tom Cannon) finished 6th
in the Novices’ Hurdle (Qualifier) (9 ran). Cliffs Of
Dover (Paul
Nicholls/Bryony Frost) won the
Handicap Hurdle [2 miles 2 furlongs & 111 yards] (6 ran). Drunken Pirate (Noel Williams/Tom Garner)
finished 5th in the NH Maiden Hurdle (18 ran). Catterick: Hogan’s Height (Jamie Snowden/Page Fuller)
won the Novices’ Hurdle
(6 ran); Jamie’s 22nd winner of the season. Musselburgh: Dans Le Vent (Jamie
Snowden/Aidan Coleman) finished 4th in the Handicap Hurdle [2 miles 7
furlongs & 180 yards] (5 ran). Just one
runner of interest tomorrow, at Hereford: 12:50
Primogeniture (Martin Keighley/Bryony Frost) – Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap
Hurdle I’m not a fan of split-screen TV … and I really
don’t need to watch Irish racing; in fact I decided to watch ITV Racing for
the races which both they and Racing TV covered today: Amazingly, Young Hustler is still with us and has
just turned 32: https://www.racingpost.com/news/latest/young-hustler-looking-good-as-he-prepares-to-hit-32/359507 Evidently the Rooneys
are boycotting Cheltenham, believing horses risk a higher rate of injury at
the Gloucestershire track than elsewhere … oh well, each to their own: I took my
Christmas decorations down today ... a task which I’d completed before
08:00! I then went for a two mile plus
walk. The next task was to sew up one
of the snoods which I’d finished knitting a few weeks ago. I’ve also
begun a new crocheted snood ... after two false starts! The first time having completed two rows, I
felt a number of the foundation chains were too loose, so I undid it. Then the second time, whilst creating the
foundation row, I thought one of the chains looked a little strange, so again
I undid it!!! I just can’t help being
a perfectionist! Anyway, the snood is
now up and running and will probably take around 10 days to complete. Yesterday
I finished and uploaded my Newbury diary.
So that leaves just the Kempton Park diary to complete. |
