Gold Standard!

David had a nice winner on the flat at Kempton yesterday afternoon as Purple 'N Gold seemed to win the 1m2f handicap well despite missing the break at the start.  Jockey Jim Crowley refused to panic and soon had his mount in midfield, and quickening to the front off the home turn he had enough in hand to hold on for the win on only his second start for the yard.  We obtained him from a claimer at this course in November and he is looking like a good value buy already - he could win again on the level before making the switch to timber.

There are four meetings taking place this afternoon - a jumps card at Catterick as well as three all-weather flat cards at Wolverhampton, Lingfield and Kempton.  The stable does not have any runners today.

I was watching the action from Doncaster yesterday afternoon and saw Jason Maguire take a crashing fall from Nodform Richard who crashed through the fifth fence - in fact, he never lifted a leg and attempted to run right through it.  Jockey Jason Maguire was absolutely burried and was helped into the ambulance, but somehow he managed to pass the medics and was straight back in the saddle to ride Overturn in the novices' chase.  These jockeys are made of tough stuff, although you can understand his motivation when you have a top class horse like Overturn to look forward to.  Overturn looked very good on only his second chase outing, standing off some fences and shortening up at others when required - he certainly looks Cheltenham bound and it will be fascinating if he lines up alongside Simonsig.

Listening to the orange man, Matt Chapman on Attheraces it seems as though he wants to find trouble in every single race.  He even said that Eddie Ahern was going to be referred to the Jockey Club for his ride aboard Scrub...he was incorrect and had to apologise.  I do think that these racing channels are guilty of perhaps over-analysing everything and looking for problems that don't exist.  Maybe Matt needs a new pair of bins?  He could keep the ones he already uses for his sunbed!

Having said that, there was a right touch landed on the all-weather at Lingfield yesterday when a horse that had finished last of six at Wolverhampton and last of ten at Kempton in a pair of maidens bolted up in a handicap from a mark of 48.  Furthermore he was backed from 14/1 to 5/1 - personally, if I were a Steward I would have liked to have known what happened in those maidens (I just wish I had been in on the gamble!).

*****

There was another turn-up as Chelsea were beaten 2-0 at home by Swansea in the Cup semi-final yesterday.  I cannot see the Welsh team losing that sort of lead in the return fixture on home soil.