Crus' Cup Trial

It should be a thrilling day's racing with Cheltenham getting the go-ahead for their Trials meeting this afternoon and I will be sat firmly in front of the television as there are four televised races on Channel 4.  The stable has five runners at the Prestbury Park track - Battle Group, Shoegazer, Grands Crus, His Excellency and The Pier.  Obviously Grands Crus is the really interesting one in the Argento Chase, a recognised Gold Cup trial.  His task has been made somewhat easier by the defection this morning of Tidal Bay, although it is still a high quality race.  Grands Crus should be sharper than when competing in the King George at Kempton on Boxing Day and if back to his best he would be a threat to them all.  There are also meetings taking place at Lingfield and Wolverhampton on the all-weather this afternoon.

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It's FA Cup day today and the Brighton versus Arsenal match looks to be a cracker.  Brighton are a very good home team and this will be no foregone conclusion for the Gunners.  QPR can forget about their league battle as they take on MK Dons at home - my three very short ones for the weekly shop would be Manchester United at 3/10, Middlesborough at 4/11 and QPR at 4/6.

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What a great semi-final success for Andy Murray to beat Roger Federer in the Australian Open tennis.  It took over four hours and Murray won it in five sets - Murray seems to be hitting the ball harder and his first serve is a lot stronger and more consistent than it used to be.  In the end Federer looked to be a little tired and resigned and I wouldn't be surprised if Murray has the upper hand in future clashes with the great Swiss champion.  Murray now meets Djokovic in the final and the Croatian will have to be at his very best to fend off an in-form Murray.  It was good to see Rod Laver in the crowd, he is undoubtedly one of the all-time greats and a truly lovely chap - I once spent a week with Rod promoting Dunlop sports gear in Nigeria.

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I was amused by the remarks of the Sandals Hotel chain - they said they were disappointed that Ms Price (aka Jordan) was not happy with her stay and as a gesture of goodwill they are willing to give her a refund as long as she does not choose their resorts for future weddings or stays!

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Thought for the day...Broken pencils are pointless!  Boom boom.