JULY 2017
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Monday
31 July 2017 |
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There are
two results today, the first at Newton
Abbot: Kapgarde King (Jamie Snowden/Sam Twiston-Davies)
finished 3rd in the Handicap Chase [3 miles 1 furlong & 170 yards] (8
ran). Miles To
Memphis ran today, at Galway, in a Handicap for what appears to be amateur
riders [2 miles & 1 furlong]; he finished 5th of 20. There are
a number of runners of interest tomorrow: Worcester: 17:40 Cottersrock (Martin Keighley/Wayne Hutchinson) – Pershore Plum Festival Land O’Plums
Handicap Chase [2 miles & 110 yards] ... this is Worcester’s most
well-known race of the year. 18:10
Viking Mistress (Martin Keighley/Richard Johnson) – Handicap Chase [2 miles
& 110 yards] 18:40 Altesse De Guye (Martin
Keighley/Andrew Tinkler) – Handicap Hurdle [2 miles
7 furlongs] Yarmouth: 15:25
Celtic Artisan (Rebecca Menzies/Dougie
Costello/EPDS Racing) – Handicap [1 mile & 3 furlongs] It has
been reported that Jack Sherwood has moved from Paul Nicholls’ yard to Henry
Daly. There was bound to be an opening
at the latter, with Richard Johnson now riding for Warren Greatrex
as well as Philip Hobbs amongst others. A number
of well-known races have been revamped for this coming season. The 3 miles 1 furlong Listed Handicap Chase
run on Beecher Chase day, which was won by Many Clouds last season, has been
promoted to a Grade 2 and will be renamed the Many Clouds Chase too. The Listed
Handicap Chase run on Grand National Day has been promoted to a Grade 3; that’s
the race won by Sizing Codelco this year. Also, the Cheltenham Festival’s Pertemps Handicap Hurdle Final will now be a Grade 3
rather than Listed, to bring it into line with the Coral Cup and the County
Hurdle. |
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Sunday
30 July 2017 |
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Here are today’s results for my runners of
interest, at Uttoxeter: City Dreamer (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) was a
non-runner and Cecilator (Noel Williams/Leighton Aspell/EPDS Racing) finished last in the Juvenile Hurdle
(6 ran). Buckle Street (Martin Keighley/Andrew Tinkler) finished 3rd in the Handicap Hurdle [2 miles 7
furlongs & 70 yards] (7 ran). There’s
one runner of interest tomorrow, at Newton Abbot: 14:15 Kapgarde King (Jamie Snowden/Sam Twiston-Davies)
– Handicap Chase [3 miles 1 furlong & 170 yards] It’s been
another busy day ... I got up at 07:40 despite turning in after 01:00 this
morning! I cleaned my car before
settling down to proof read another diary; I’m going to chill out this
evening because there’s much of interest on BBC1 and I deserve it! |
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Saturday
29 July 2017 |
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Yesterday it was reported that many of the seated
ticket areas for the 2018 Grand National have already sold out … but it’s not
to the regular attendees who should have got first pick, but to selfish money
grabbing people who bought them in bulk and have subsequently sold them on to
ticket resale sites where you can only now buy them at inflated prices. It occurs with all sorts of events these days and
the Aintree organisers were careless in allowing it to happen by not
instigating safety measures and checks.
I’m sure they have carried out checks in previous years, and it
wouldn’t be too difficult to look back at each customer’s order history to
confirm previous attendance; although you would have to be the person who has
the account and paid the previous bills in order to gain access to the
pre-sale ... but that seems fair to me!
Fortunately I got the tickets I wanted before
10:00 on Tuesday morning; but I don’t purchase a ticket within any of the
seated areas anyway. I prefer to be
within the thick of the action, even if it does mean standing on my feet all
day! Having discovered that the ‘early bird’ link is open to all, I forwarded the email yesterday
evening to my friend Sandra and she booked in the early hours of this
morning. She’s a regular customer
having attended for the past three years, unlike those opportunists who took
advantage of Aintree’s lax booking system procedures. Bryan Cooper has lost his retainer with the Gigginstown Stud: https://www.racingpost.com/news/news/cooper-sacked-as-number-one-rider-by-gigginstown/294727 Jockey Robbie Power has failed a concussion test
and will miss next week’s Galway Festival as a result: It’s a ringer!
I know it’s now old news, but here’s the story about the wrong horse
running in a race at Yarmouth on Thursday; it won, as a 3-year-old beat the
2-year-olds: https://www.racingpost.com/news/yarmouth-fiasco/drama-as-wrong-horse-wins-race/294547 https://www.racingpost.com/news/yarmouth-fiasco/how-the-mistaken-identity-drama-unfolded/294609 I guess that if the trainers aren’t paying full
attention to what they are doing, perhaps each horse should have its
microchip re-scanned just before it enters the Parade Ring! There was another runner of interest at Ffos Las on Tuesday, but I missed it: Miss Condi (Martin Keighley/Ed Greatrex) finished last in the Novices’ Stakes [7½
furlongs] There’s one result from yesterday, at Uttoxeter … and it’s a winner: Spice Girl (Martin
Keighley/Harry Stock) won the Standard Open NH Flat Race (7 ran); Martin’s
7th
National Hunt winner of the season. Well done Team Keighley. And racing returns to Uttoxeter tomorrow, Sunday: 14:45 City Dreamer (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson)
& Cecilator (Noel Williams/Leighton Aspell/EPDS Racing) – Juvenile Hurdle; “Molly” won’t run if there’s been too
much rain. 15:45 Buckle Street (Martin Keighley/Andrew Tinkler) – Handicap Hurdle [2 miles 7 furlongs & 70
yards] Today, the English and Irish Oaks winner, Enable
beat the boys and her elders to win Ascot’s big race, the King George VI and
Queen Elizabeth Stakes. Her jockey
Frankie Dettori has been starving himself for the past week in order to do
the weight – his mount had an age allowance and a sex allowance too. I have no
specific plans this weekend but, as usual, Saturday has flown by without me
achieving as much as I’d have liked. L By the
time I’d done my washing and hacked away at ... sorry I mean pruned ... a
couple of garden shrubs (an Escallonia Apple
Blossom and a Deutzia Rosalind) and placed the cut-offs in the green dustbin,
it was lunchtime. I was then overcome with laziness this afternoon, before I
kicked back into ‘website action’
at 17:30! |
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Tuesday
25 July 2017 |
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There was
one runner of interest yesterday, Monday, at Ayr: Jamacho (Brian Ellison/Ben Robinson/raised by Apple Tree
Stud) finished 6th in the Handicap [1 mile 2 furlongs] (7 ran). And, today
on the flat at Ffos Las: Authorized
Too (Noel
Williams/Fergus Sweeney) won but Sporty Yankee
(Martin Keighley/Tom Marquand) finished last in the Handicap [2 miles] (8
ran). I don’t
tend to pick up on flat runners, unless they are listed on my ATR tracker, so
I found out that Noel’s horse had run and won today because a photo was
tweeted: https://mobile.twitter.com/noelwilliams03/status/889896181010239488/photo/1 And I
obviously missed the fact that Authorized Too won a race on the all-weather
at Kempton Park on 12 July too. Choc has tweeted
a video of Apple Tree Stud’s yearlings being prepared for the Doncaster
sales: https://twitter.com/Choc_Thornton/status/889763179823329281 Ex-jockey
Gerard Tumelty and his partner Sarah Welford, who
both work at Apple Tree Stud, tied the knot recently. Sarah is Blazing Bailey’s ‘mum’! Having
been sent the special pre-sale link at 08:00 this morning, I purchased my
Aintree Festival tickets today; it came as no surprise that prices have
increased for 2018. However, it was
impossible to book on the phone because the lines were all engaged and there
was no waiting in a queue, calls were automatically terminated following an
information message. Also, today, there
was no option to purchase car parking dockets online, so I had to enter into
a messaging conversation, after which a ticket line operator phoned me in
order to get details and add these manually to my order! What a palaver!!! I’m so glad that’s over for another
year! It seems
to me that the cost of parking a car at the Cheltenham Festival and the
Aintree Festival has rocketed for 2018.
It’s become very expensive if you’re a single person who needs to
travel to the venue from some distance away.
Besides, it’s impossible to stay too close, because local
accommodation is too expensive. It’s a
Catch 22 situation. |
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Sunday
23 July 2017 |
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Here are
this weekend’s results; firstly Saturday: Market Rasen: Royal Plaza
(Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) finished 4th in the Handicap Chase [2 miles 1
furlong & 43 yards] (6 ran). Newmarket: Jamacho (Brian Ellison/PJ McDonald/raised by Apple Tree
Stud) was a non-runner in the Handicap [1 mile 2 furlongs] due to the ground
being unsuitable. And on Sunday: Stratford: Ocean
Eleven (Martin Keighley/Andrew Tinkler), along with
a second horse, slipped-up on a bend during the Novices’ Hurdle (7 ran); the
commentator reported both horses and jockeys to be okay following this incident. The Kvilleken (Martin Keighley/Harry Stock) finished 5th in
the Selling Hurdle (7 ran). Cut And
Run (Martin Keighley/Andrew Tinkler) finished 5th
in the Mares’ Standard Open NH Flat Race (8 ran). Newton
Abbott: Amadeus Rox (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) finished 2nd in the
Juvenile Hurdle (7 ran). There’s
one NH fixture tomorrow, at Cartmel, but no runners
of interest. I don’t know if there are
any runners of interest on the flat tomorrow as I’m writing this blog before
any ATR tracker notifications might arrive. The good
news is that I’ve completed the proof-reading and uploading of my Cheltenham
Festival diaries; also selection and uploading of photos from Day One
thereof. The bad news is that I’d
hoped to do more this weekend ...
everything seems to take much longer than one expects. Although it doesn’t help when the sales are
on, because I get sidetracked surfing the net for bargains!!! |
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Friday
21 July 2017 |
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Just one
result today, from Newbury: Sexy Legs
(Lucinda Egerton/Gabriele Malune/EPDS
Racing) finished last in the Apprentice Handicap [6 furlongs] (4 ran); but
she still won £240.50. There are
two runners of interest tomorrow: Market Rasen: 17:05
Royal Plaza (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – Handicap Chase [2 miles 1 furlong
& 43 yards] Newmarket: 17:35 Jamacho (Brian Ellison/PJ McDonald/raised by Apple Tree
Stud) – Handicap [1 mile 2 furlongs] And on
Sunday: Stratford: 14:10
Ocean Eleven (Martin Keighley/Andrew Tinkler) –
Novices’ Hurdle 14:40 The Kvilleken (Martin Keighley/Harry Stock) – Selling Hurdle 17:10 Cut
And Run (Martin Keighley/Andrew Tinkler) – Mares’
Standard Open NH Flat Race Newton
Abbott: 15:50
Amadeus Rox (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – Juvenile
Hurdle Today’s
racing was overshadowed by a tragic accident at Haydock
Park in which a stalls handler suffered serious injuries which proved to be
fatal. It didn’t happen when loading
the horses but when the stalls were being moved ahead of the fourth race. Condolences to the family and friends of Stephen
Yarborough. RIP There was
an incident at Killarney when a drone being operated by a spectator hit a
horse in the parade ring. It seems to
me that every idiot and criminal has a damn drone; the only people who don’t
seem to have any drones are the London Fire Brigade who have
needed to borrow specialised drones from fire departments in neighbouring
counties following the recent tragedy in West London. It is
Richard Johnson’s birthday today; he’s 40! I’ve no
plans for this weekend, apart from further proof-reading and uploading photos
to this website. |
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Thursday
20 July 2017 |
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Just one
runner of interest tomorrow, at Newbury: 17:25 Sexy
Legs (Lucinda Egerton/Gabriele Malune/EPDS
Racing) – Apprentice Handicap [6 furlongs] I’ve been
looking through twitter to see if I can find anything interesting to bulk out
today’s blog and I’ve found a photo of jockey Jeremiah McGrath who has been
to visit Triolo D’Alene: https://mobile.twitter.com/wickhamwicks/status/888133231970615296/photo/1 The horse
was retired due to an injury sustained during a race at Kempton Park last
February but looks to be making an excellent recovery. It wasn’t a good season for the poor old
boy, as he’d already lost his best friend Simonsig
in a fatal accident at Cheltenham; but he’s now found a good home with the Vigors who look after Bobsworth
in retirement too. They look
after Nicky Henderson’s horses during the summer holidays too, and here is Altior at grass earlier in the month: https://mobile.twitter.com/wickhamwicks/status/882665221503975424/photo/1 And Brain
Power too ... sometimes when you’ve got an inch you just have to scratch it: https://mobile.twitter.com/wickhamwicks/status/882660232094154752/photo/1 |
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Wednesday
19 July 2017 |
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Here are
today’s results for my two runners of interest at Uttoxeter: Lord
Topper (Jamie Snowden/Miss Page Fuller) finished 2nd and Holy Street (Alan
King/Wayne Hutchinson) finished 5th in the Handicap Hurdle [2 miles 7
furlongs & 70 yards] (10 ran). There are
no National Hunt fixtures until Cartmel and Market Rasen on Saturday, nor has my ATR tracker reported any
flat race runners for tomorrow. |
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Tuesday
18 July 2017 |
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Worcester: Avispa (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) finished 5th but Adrrastos (Jamie Snowden/Aidan Coleman) won the Novices’ Handicap
Chase (6 ran); Jamie’s 5th winner of the season. Buckle
Street (Martin Keighley/Andrew Tinkler) finished
2nd in the Handicap Hurdle [2 miles 7 furlongs] (8 ran). Bath: Londonia (Graeme McPherson/Oisin
Murphy/EPDS Racing) finished 2nd in the Handicap [1 mile 5 furlongs & 11
yards] (4 ran). And here
are connections with Adrrastos this evening: https://mobile.twitter.com/TMBloodstock/status/887366675062022144/photo/1 Just two
runners of interest tomorrow, and they are both in the same race at Uttoxeter: 15:35 Lord
Topper (Jamie Snowden/Miss Page Fuller) & Holy Street (Alan King/Wayne
Hutchinson) – Handicap Hurdle [2 miles 7 furlongs & 70 yards] Ian Popham has been to visit the retired Annacotty: https://mobile.twitter.com/HannahBishop79/status/887400161940582400/photo/1 Barters
Hill is looking well after his summer break and, hopefully, will be able to
return to the track this season following his injury: https://mobile.twitter.com/RandyW33K5/status/886921106581532672/photo/1 There was
news yesterday that Daryl Jacob will be riding as Ben Pauling’s first jockey
this season, when he’s not required to ride the Munir/Souede horses. And, of
course, this follows on from the news that Richard Johnson will be riding for
Warren Greatrex when Philip Hobbs doesn’t need his
riding services. I had already noticed
that Gavin Sheehan was being gently eased towards the sidelines by the yard,
although he does still ride for them. Evidently
it is actor James Norton’s birthday today ... I do like a nice Cancerian!!! He’s
32. |
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Monday
17 July 2017 |
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There are
four runners of interest tomorrow: Worcester: 18:00 Avispa (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) & Adrrastos (Jamie Snowden/Aidan Coleman) – Novices’
Handicap Chase 19:00
Buckle Street (Martin Keighley/Andrew Tinkler) –
Handicap Hurdle [2 miles 7 furlongs] Bath: 16:30 Londonia (Graeme McPherson/Oisin
Murphy/EPDS Racing) – Handicap [1 mile 5 furlongs & 11 yards] There had
been a thought to run Londonia (aka Lennie) in the listed handicap hurdle race at Market Rasen on Saturday.
However it transpires that a possible rival, John Constable, currently
has an official rating of 150 and that would mean Lennie
on 110 would compete at a stone out of the handicap if he did! Jamie
Snowden has tweeted a photo of Pride of Pemberley;
the horse’s summer holiday is over and he’s back in work ahead of his autumn
campaign: https://mobile.twitter.com/jamiesnowden/status/886913811076308992/photo/1 |
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Sunday
16 July 2017 |
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Here are
yesterday’s results for my runners of interest on the flat: Chester: Celtic
Artisan (Rebecca Menzies/Megan Nicholls) finished
9th in the Handicap [1 mile 2 furlongs & 70 yards] (11 ran) Salisbury: Cecilator (Noel Williams/Dougie
Costello) finished 6th in the Handicap [1 mile 1 furlong & 201 yards] (9
ran); I imagine that juvenile hurdling now beckons for the filly. Although there was a suggestion that ‘Molly’ might have been coming into
season yesterday. Miles to Memphis won the Ladies’ Derby Handicap, ridden by Lisa O’Neill (7 ran);
she won the JT McNamara National Hunt Challenge Cup Amateur Riders’ Novices’
Chase aboard Tiger Roll on the first day of this year’s Cheltenham Festival. And the
results for today too: Southwell: Thady Quil (Martin
Keighley/Andrew Tinkler) finished 4th in the
Handicap Hurdle Div I [2 miles 7 furlongs & 209 yards] (10 ran). The Kvilleken (Martin Keighley/James Nixon) was pulled up in
the Handicap Hurdle Div II [2 miles 7 furlongs & 209 yards] (10 ran). Ask Alice
(Martin Keighley/Lizzie Kelly) finished 6th in the Mares’ Standard Open NH
Flat Race (12 ran). Stratford: Between
The Waters (Jamie Snowden/William Featherstone) finished 4th in the Handicap
Chase [2 miles 6 furlongs & 126 yards] (9 ran). Our Three Sons (Jamie Snowden/Miss Page Fuller) won the Handicap Hurdle
[2 miles & 70 yards] (5 ran); Jamie’s 4th winner of the season. Wonga
Swinger (Sam Thomas/Charlie Deutsch) was pulled up in the Conditional
Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle Div I [2 miles 2 furlongs & 148 yards] (9 ran). It was a
very close finish involving Our Three Sons: https://mobile.twitter.com/jamiesnowden/status/886607552070512640/photo/1 The
winning connections: https://mobile.twitter.com/GlennParsons5/status/886601479607508992/photo/1 Tom Scudamore rode a 4-timer at Perth this afternoon. There are
no runners of interest tomorrow, Monday. I’ve been
less than productive with regard to my website-related proof-reading this
weekend ... as I’ve been glued to the Wimbledon tennis finals most of the
time. I’m pleased that Muguruza won the Women’s Singles final and I didn’t mind
who won the Men’s Singles final – it was nice for Federer
to claim a record-breaking 8th title, especially as he’s now broken Sampras’
record too! I did, however, feel very
sorry for Marin Ĉilić but, hopefully,
he’ll get the opportunity to win the Championship at a future date as he’s
still young at 28. I have
almost finished the book I was reading too, Bloodline by Felix Francis. I shall be
suffering from Wimbledon withdrawal symptoms this coming week, but will
hopefully now have plenty of time to concentrate on my neglected
proof-reading. |
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Friday
14 July 2017 |
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Many happy returns of the day to
Choc He’s 39 today
Pictured here at Aintree in 2014
with his mum Sally One of my
first tasks of the day was to switch on my PC and log onto my facebook account to wish my favourite ex-jockey a Happy
Birthday. I was one of the first to
leave Choc a message and I got a ‘like’
from him too. J There’s
currently a lull with regards to National Hunt racing, although there are
three jumps fixtures on Sunday. However,
there are runners of interest on the flat tomorrow: Chester: 16:40
Celtic Artisan (Rebecca Menzies/Megan Nicholls) –
Handicap [1 mile 2 furlongs & 70 yards] Salisbury: 20:20 Cecilator (Noel Williams/Dougie
Costello) – Handicap [1 mile 1 furlong & 201 yards] Miles to
Memphis runs at the Curragh tomorrow, he’s taking
part in the Ladies’ Derby Handicap being run at 18:30. I’ve
decided to list Sunday’s runners of interest ... just in case I don’t get
around to writing a blog entry tomorrow evening. Southwell: 16:30 Thady Quil (Martin
Keighley/Andrew Tinkler) – Handicap Hurdle Div I [2
miles 7 furlongs & 209 yards] 17:05 The Kvilleken (Martin Keighley/James Nixon) – Handicap Hurdle
Div II [2 miles 7 furlongs & 209 yards] 17:40 Ask
Alice (Martin Keighley/Lizzie Kelly) – Mares’ Standard Open NH Flat Race Stratford: 14:40
Between The Waters (Jamie Snowden/William Featherstone) – Handicap Chase [2
miles 6 furlongs & 126 yards] 15:15 Our Three
Sons (Jamie Snowden/Miss Page Fuller) – Handicap Hurdle [2 miles & 70
yards] 17:30
Wonga Swinger (Sam Thomas/Charlie Deutsch) – Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap
Hurdle Div I [2 miles 2 furlongs & 148 yards] I’ve no
special plans for the weekend, apart from watching the Wimbledon tennis
finals on TV. And I ought to make an
effort to do some more diary proof reading, seeing as I’ve now finished
describing every last one of the races from Cheltenham and Aintree. I’ve even completed a draft of the diary about
my visit to Robin Dickin’s yard last Saturday. And I’m
also thinking about writing a diary about my visit to Abbotts View Alpacas,
because I have so many lovely photographs!
In addition, I have some recently purchased beads to make a number of
necklaces, plus numerous balls of wool in my stash to knit. And I’m currently reading ‘Bloodline’ by Felix Francis. So, all in all, I think I’ve got plenty to
be getting on with. |
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Wednesday
12 July 2017 |
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There were
no results to report yesterday as both Royal Plaza and Lord Topper were
non-runners at Uttoxeter. But there
were three runners of interest today, on the flat, and this is how they
fared: Lingfield Park: Whatalove (Martin Keighley/George Wood) finished 7th in a
Handicap [1 mile 1 furlong] (10 ran). Jazzy
(Martin Keighley/Tom Queally) won a Handicap [1
mile 3 furlongs & 133 yards] (8 ran). Bath: Londonia (Graeme McPherson/Tom Marquand/EPDS Racing)
finished 2nd in a Handicap [1 mile 5 furlongs & 11 yards] There
don’t appear to be any runners of interest tomorrow, Thursday. A new cria has been born at Abbotts View Farm; Jo hopes to call
him Freddie, although her family are in favour of naming him Lord Farquaad. He’s
dark brown in colour and very cute, so to be named after a villain in Shrek
isn’t very suitable is it? https://www.facebook.com/AbbottsViewAlpacas/ As well as
wanting to return to Abbotts View for another walk, I also fancy a trip to
the Ashdown Forest Llama Park as I want to walk a llama too. I have visited the Park on a previous
occasion, many moons ago, but we didn’t go for a walk that day – besides, it
was January! I also recall we drove on
to Eastbourne and ate fish and chips on the pier before returning home. Here is
the report regarding Yanworth’s disqualification
following his 7th place in the Champion Hurdle: Tommy Carberry, father of Paul and Nina (and other siblings),
and Grand National winning jockey aboard L’Escargot
(1975) and trainer of the 1999 winner BobbyJo, has
passed away aged 75. RIP I have now
begun drafting my stable visit diary for last Saturday’s trip to Robin Dickin’s yard in Warwickshire. |
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Monday
10 July 2017 |
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Yesterday’s
adventure was a visit to Abbotts View Farm in Buckinghamshire to walk an
alpaca and meet other animals too. My
alpacas’ name is Sir Keith. I must
have bonded with him well, because evidently he usually doesn’t like being
fussed over! Jo and
James own the farm, and James said I could take him home with me because he’s
not one of his favourites! He used to
kick a lot when they first got him. That
would be fine ... except you have to keep at least two, preferably three, due
to being very much a herd animal. |
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There are
two results to report from yesterday, at Market Rasen: Mille Nautique (Alan King/Tom Bellamy) finished 2nd in the
Handicap Chase [2 miles 3 furlongs & 34 yards] (12 ran). The Tourard Man (Alan King/Kevin
Dowling) won the Handicap Hurdle [2 miles 7 furlongs & 16
yards] (5 ran); Kevin looks after the horse at Barbury
Castle. This was Alan’s 13th winner of
the current NH campaign. There are
no results to report from today. There are
two runners of interest at Uttoxeter tomorrow: 19:35
Royal Plaza (Alan King/Tom Bellamy) – Handicap Chase [1 mile 7 furlongs &
214 yards] 20:35 Lord
Topper (Jamie Snowden/Miss Page Fuller) – Handicap Hurdle [2 miles 7 furlongs
& 70 yards] EPDS
Racing’s Celtic Artisan holds an entry at Pontefract, but he has experienced
an allergic reaction and is very unlikely to run. Yesterday
I forgot to mention that the Jump Jockeys beat the Eventers
in the Barbury Castle JCB Challenge. I gather
Musselburgh has gained a reprieve and been granted a temporary licence to
continue until the end of the year. I had
hoped to begin drafting my stable visit diary this evening but I became so
engrossed in the Nadal vs
Muller match at Wimbledon that I ran out of time. L |
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Saturday
08 July 2017 |
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I know I
shouldn’t moan about beautiful, hot summer days but ... all it makes one want
to do is NOTHING! However, today
I was out and about and took a trip to Robin Dickin’s
yard in Warwickshire to meet Galactic Power and a number of his stable-mates. |
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Anti
Cool |
Dontminddboys |
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Galactic
Power |
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And, despite
deciding to take the scenic route home, intentionally I hasten to add, I was
in time to watch Agassi on TV too, overseeing Djokovic
on Wimbledon’s Centre Court. J There’s
one result to report today, from Nottingham: Suspect
Package (James Fanshawe/Daniel Muscutt/Apple
Tree Stud) finished 3rd in the 3-year-old Stakes race [1 mile 2 furlongs
& 50 yards] (7 ran). There are
two runners of interest tomorrow, at Market Rasen: 14:55
Mille Nautique (Alan King/Tom Bellamy) – Handicap
Chase [2 miles 3 furlongs & 34 yards] 16:35 The Tourard Man (Alan King/Kevin Dowling) – Handicap Hurdle
[2 miles 7 furlongs & 16 yards] I have
another adventure scheduled for tomorrow, and it is non-racing, non-tennis,
but more about that in my next blog! |
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Wednesday
05 July 2017 |
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Here are
today’s results for my runners of interest: Worcester: Thady Quil (Martin Keighley/Andrew Tinkler) won the Handicap Chase [2
miles 4 furlongs] (9 ran); Martin’s 5th winner of the season. Spice Girl (Martin Keighlet/Harry
Stock) won the Mares’ Standard
Open NH Flat Race (10 ran); Martin’s 6th winner of the season. Pinkie
Brown (Johnny Farrelly/Aidan Coleman) finished 6th
in the Handicap Hurdle [2 miles 4 furlongs] (8 ran). Ocean
Eleven (Martin Keighley/Andrew Tinkler) finished
5th in the Novices’ Hurdle (Brush Hurdler Qualifier) (6 ran). Holy
Street (Alan King/Kevin Dowling) was a non-runner in the Handicap Hurdle [2
miles 7 furlongs] Rockchasebullett (Fergal O’Brien/David
Noonan/EPDS Twitterati Racing Club) finished 5th in
the Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle (9 ran). Perth: Pantxoa (Fergal O’Brien/Paddy Brennan/ex-Alan
King-trained) finished 5th in The Kilmany Cup
Handicap Chase [2 miles 7 furlongs & 180 yards] (8 ran). Beat That
(Nicky Henderson/David Mullins) fell at the last in the Novices’ Chase (5
ran). Bingo D’Olivate (Gemma
Anderson/Steven Fox/ex-Noel Williams-trained) finished last in the Handicap
Hurdle [2 miles & 47 yards] (6 ran). There are
no runners of interest tomorrow. Yanworth failed a Champion Hurdle
post-race drugs test; the drug is legal but mustn’t be in the horse’s system
during a race. https://www.racingpost.com/news/champion-hurdle-favourite-yanworth-failed-drug-test/291782 JP McManus has purchased Sprinter Sacre’s 2-year-old brother at the Arqana
sales, Flinteur Sacre,
for 125,000 euros.
https://mobile.twitter.com/mjyharris/status/882565367046045699/photo/1 I didn’t
have a very good night’s sleep last night – I had heartburn, and a
neighbour’s alarm went off at around 01:30 too. Then, to add insult to injury, when I did
get to sleep I dreamt that I went to dinner with Roger Federer. Surely if I’d been feeling 100% it would
have been Andre Agassi! Andre is
at Wimbledon this year; he’s coaching Novak Djokovic. I’m a bit of a lightweight, as I really
should be making the effort the go to the tournament to see him again. Unfortunately camping and queuing are a
young person’s pursuit, not for someone of my age; the last time I did that
was in 2006. It was the year of
Andre’s retirement and he lost to Nadal in the
third round. |
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Tuesday
04 July 2017 |
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Sorry
there’s been no blog since Saturday but for the past three days I’ve been
feeling under the weather again. I
think I’ve finally conquered the initial issues, but even this evening I’m
still not feeling 100% and will be reaching for the Gaviscon
soon! Firstly
there’s sad news to report, from Down Royal the week before last; the ex-Alan
King-trained Turn Over Sivola suffered a fatal
injury when he landed awkwardly over a fence having jumped too big. That’s very sad; the 10-year-old deserved a
long and happy retirement having lost his form in recent times.
RIP Turn Over Sivola pictured at Aintree having finished as runner-up to Parsnip Pete in the 2014 Red Rum Handicap Chase There’s a
result to report from Sunday, at Uttoxeter: Fact Of
The Matter (Jamie Snowden/Gavin Sheehan) finished 11th in the Summer Cup
(Open Handicap – Listed) [3 miles 2 furlongs & 13 yards] (20 ran); he missed
the break as it was a standing start, and he was behind as a result and this
didn’t suit his style of racing. There’s
one result to report from today (Tuesday) at Chepstow: Tyrell
(Alan King/Fergus Sweeney/Apple Tree Stud) finished 4th in the Handicap [2
miles] (8 ran). There has
been news that the Epsom Derby winner Wings Of Eagles has been retired having
suffered a serious fracture to a near-fore sesamoid
during Saturday’s Irish Derby. A horse
has two small sesamoid bones to the rear of each pastern;
they provide anchor points for the two branches of the suspensory
ligament which runs down the back of each cannon bone. The BHA
has refused to renew Musselburgh’s licence; the racecourse is run by the
Musselburgh Joint Racing Committee comprising of four members of the local
Council and three racecourse representatives.
The BHA needs the racecourse to agree to an independent review of its
board structure and has until 06 July to agree to its demands. This
evening’s Stratford fixture was the first broadcast upon Racing UK – it was
ATR previously. Willie Twiston-Davies was interviewed by the channel and, having
recovered well from the back and rib injuries sustained on Day One of this
year’s Cheltenham Festival, he has until September to decide if he will
return to race-riding or become his father Nigel’s assistant instead. He’s been busy recently buying horses for
the yard. The JCB
Champions Challenge, Eventers vs
Jockeys, will take place at the Barbury Horse
Trials on Saturday. Bridget Andrews
will be captaining the jockeys’ team which is due to consist of Nico de Boinville, Wayne
Hutchinson and her boyfriend Harry Skelton. There are
a number of runners of interest tomorrow: Worcester: 14:20 Thady Quil (Martin
Keighley/Andrew Tinkler) – Handicap Chase [2 miles
4 furlongs] 15:20
Spice Girl (Martin Keighlet/Harry Stock) – Mares’
Standard Open NH Flat Race 15:50
Pinkie Brown (Johnny Farrelly/Aidan Coleman) –
Handicap Hurdle [2 miles 4 furlongs] 16:20
Ocean Eleven (Martin Keighley/Andrew Tinkler) –
Novices’ Hurdle (Brush Hurdler Qualifier) 16:50 Holy
Street (Alan King/Kevin Dowling) – Handicap Hurdle [2 miles 7 furlongs] 17:20 Rockchasebullett (Fergal O’Brien/David Noonan/EPDS Twitterati Racing Club) – Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap
Hurdle Perth: 15:40 Pantxoa (Fergal O’Brien/Paddy Brennan/ex-Alan
King-trained) – The Kilmany Cup Handicap Chase [2
miles 7 furlongs & 180 yards] 16:40 Beat
That (Nicky Henderson/David Mullins) – Novices’ Chase 17:10
Bingo D’Olivate (Gemma
Anderson/Steven Fox/ex-Noel Williams-trained) – Handicap Hurdle [2 miles
& 47 yards] |
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Saturday
01 July 2017 |
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There is
no result to report from Nottingham on Thursday as Pantomine put her foot through the partition in her
horsebox on the way to the racecourse, sustaining cuts; she is okay but the
vets advised against running. What a
silly mare! Jamacho was due to run at Chester yesterday, but the
ground was deemed unsuitable so he was a non-runner too. But there
is one result to report from today, Saturday, at Newcastle on the
all weather: Sam
Missile (James Fanshawe/Daniel Muscutt/Apple
Tree Stud) dead-heated for 6th in the Northumberland Plate [2 miles & 56
yards] (20 ran). It was
quite a race for trainer James Fanshawe - he had
three runners engaged and won it with Higher Power; his third runner, Lord
George, finished 4th. So, with 8
prizes, all of his charges won money. There’s
one runner of interest tomorrow, at Uttoxeter: 15:30 Fact
Of The Matter (Jamie Snowden/Gavin Sheehan) – Summer Cup (Open Handicap –
Listed) [3 miles 2 furlongs & 13 yards]; Henllan
Harri, the winner of Sandown’s Bet365 Gold Cup,
also takes part for the Bowens. My weekend
hasn’t panned out as I expected. I’d
been hoping to attend the EPDS Racing’s visit to Graeme McPherson’s
yard this morning, near Stow-On-The-Wold.
However, yesterday, I felt ill from mid-morning. It seemed such a long day at work, as
throughout the day I was thinking ‘I
must go home soon’ because I don’t feel well. I had stomach and abdominal
pains, plus intermittent nausea. I
made it to the end of play, eventually, but came home, had a bath and went to
bed at 18:30! I felt a little bit
better when I woke up at just gone 21:00, but was leaden legged and thought
I’d do best to remain at home today, just in case of a relapse. I do feel
better today, but seem to have mislaid my appetite ... which is not like me
at all! I think it was a virus, as a
work colleague had something very similar earlier in the week and went to the
doctors twice because of it; and that was the prognosis for her. Oh well,
maybe I’ll write my Grand National race notes tomorrow, as I’ve just been
lounging around today, doing nothing.
I had originally put it off for a week or two, thinking I’d be writing
up yard visit notes instead. |
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