A Big Day!

There are six meetings taking place this afternoon with flat cards from Newbury, Newmarket, Thirsk and Doncaster as well as jumps fixtures from Uttoxeter and Bangor.  Using prize money as the barometer, Newbury is the big meeting of the day with £750,000 on offer.  The Grade One Lockinge is the feature and Ryan Moore is aboard the favourite, Rhododendron (one of four O'Brien runners) although if Limato is fit and well, he could land this for Henry Candy.  Meanwhile, it is a big weekend in France with the French Gold Cup and Champion Hurdle being run at Auteuil.  There are no runners Pond House over the weekend, with many of the residents out enjoying the sunshine as you can see from the picture above.

It is Peter Deal's 79th birthday today.  You will remember some of his stars such as Make A Stand and Blowing Wind, while David also won the Chester Cup for him with the fantastic dual-purpose Mamlook.  Peter is the youngest 79 year old I have ever see - I keep saying it, but it must be his lovely wife Pam that keeps him looking so young!

There are loads of jobs in racing being advertised at present and it is not just for work riders.  It just goes to show that there is a difficulty recruiting and retaining in the industry.  I see that Highclere are advertising for a Racing Manager...if only I were a couple of years younger!

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The FA Cup Final between Manchester United and Chelsea takes place at 5.15pm on BBC1.  I just can't get used to the kick-off being so late - it is a bit like the new(ish) start time for the Grand National.  Anyway, Chelsea can be backed at 2/1 and they look the likeliest winners to me.  I wonder if David will be having a wager?  He is a big Chelsea fan.  It could be that their manager, Antonio Conte could win the Cup and still get the sack.  Meanwhile, Brendan Rogers hopes that Celtic will beat Motherwell in today's Scottish Cup Final.  If they succeed they will be landing the treble for the second successive year, mind you there is not much strength in depth at present.  That will please, Sean and Bob.

There is also the small matter of a Royal wedding taking place today as Prince Harry marries Meghan Markle.  I wish them well for the future, but I am sure there must be something more entertaining to watch on the television!

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Not many of you will know that my grandfather rode National Hunt horses until he was run over by a steam roller.  Fortunately for him, he went on to be a successful flat jockey.  Have a nice weekend...

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