What No Jumps?!

It's another blank day on the jumping front with just three meetings taking place on the level this afternoon at Redcar, Windsor and Newcastle.  I thought that Bois des Aigles ran respectably enough when finishing sixth in a fair looking maiden hurdle at Wincanton yesterday afternoon.  He has certainly shown enough ability in his three starts over timber to suggest that he can be competitive in handicaps once allotted a mark by the assessor.  There were loads of non-runners on account of the terrible ground yesterday - the rain had really managed to get into it and conditions became extremely testing, a theme that was replicated at most of the tracks.  Bathwick Tyres sponsored every one of the races at Wincanton yesterday and also presented prizes to the grooms responsible for each of the winners - well done to them, Wayne and Sarah give so much to our sport and it is great to see them also recognise the hard work of the stable staff that is put in at home.

I was watching the racing from Uttoxeter on Saturday and saw jockey Noel Fehily take the wrong course aboard his mount Hassadin.  I wonder if Fehily had walked the course?  The said that they would normally go to the left of those rails, although he didn't really know why they were there.  Clerk of the course Charlie Moore explained that the rails were there to avoid some bad ground and that the correct route was denoted by a 'H' marker for them to go to the right of and that the course was clearly marked on a plan in the weighing room.  It just goes to show that senior jockeys can get it wrong too - these courses need to be completely foolproof to avoid such instances occurring again.  Fehily was banned for twelve days, including the final day of the season which features the Bet365 Chase at Sandown.

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Adam Scott became the first Australian to win a Masters Title at Augusta last night and he quickly dedicated his success to Aussie legend Greg Norman.  If Lee Westward could putt, he would have won plenty of major tournaments - there is no-one better from tee to green that Westward, but his putting leaves plenty to be desired I'm afraid.

Then there was also the controversy surrounding Tiger Woods and his penalty drop furore.  As far as I can tell Tiger should have been disqualified for breaking the rules.  I was once disqualified from a thre man team open after forgetting to sign my score card - my partner signed it, but you need two signatures.  I didn't cheat, I simply forgot to sign a piece of paper...maybe I could sign up to the 'Tiger rules' form of golf in future?!

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Sunderland produced a great effort to beat Newcastle 3-0 in their Premiership derby against Newcastle yesterday.  I love Sunderland's manager Paulo Di Canio - there cannot be a more passionate manager in football.  However, I wouldn't like his dry cleaning bill as he seems to like sliding across the mud in his suit!  What a character!