Exeter Racecourse Visit

We were joined by a few of the team from Exeter racecourse (pictured above) yesterday as they were on a bit of a staff day out.  It was good to see them (especially the young ladies!) and they were given a tour of the yard and watched some of the horses in action on the gallops.

There is a busy day of action ahead with six meetings taking place with flat cards from Newmarket, Thirsk, Ffos Las, Hamilton, Goodwood and Newcastle.  If you are after a bit of jumping I'm afraid you are out of luck again, unless you want to pop on over to Down Royal in Ireland that is!  Typically, the Irish card carries the most prize money too.

One of our former members of staff, Mikey Ennis rode his final race earlier in the week and has now joined the Godolphin operation and will travel all around the world.  You may recall that Mikey rode Big Occasion to victory in the Midlands National in 2013 as an amateur.  We wish him the best of luck with his new job.

Stable jockey Tom Scudamore was among the winners yesterday when he scored aboard Alan Jones' Humble Ben at Fontwell.  He was quite well supported and it is always worth keeping an eye on his runners - the trainer said "Humble Ben was retired but he told us that he was not ready to retire".  The horses seem to be getting smarter these days!

I see that Cheltenham Festival Cross Country Chase winner Any Currency has been stripped of his success after tests showed traces of corticosteroid triamcinolone acetonide.  He had apparently had the same treatment (closer to the race) in each of the two previous years but had been fine to race.  It seems to have taken them an awfully long time to throw the winner out...furthermore they didn't fine trainer Martin Keighley.  The BHA seem to work in strange ways to me.

*****

It is the Belgian Grand Prix this weekend from the legendary Spa circuit and Lewis Hamilton will have to start from the back of the grid having incurred a raft of penalties through the first part of the season.  No driver has ever won from last on the grid, with John Watson coming closest when winning the 1983 US Grand Prix from 22nd (of 26) from Nicky Lauda...not a lot of people know that!  Anyway, such is the superiority of Mercedes at the moment it should certainly make things a bit more interesting!

I don't want to talk about football after the Hammers managed to lose to Astra last night.  How on earth could my side lose to a Vauxhall car?!

*****

Mrs Barnes has decided to leave me as she says that I never take her seriously.  It's okay though, she will be back tomorrow!  Keep smiling...

Tweet