Final Day of the Season

E Street Boy at Plumpton -
Winner 104 of the Season

Today is the last day of the jumps season at Sandown which is a mixed flat and jumps card and there also is a jumps card at Market Rasen.  There are four flat meetings at Ripon, Haydock, Doncaster and Leicester.  The stable has three runners at Sandown, Home Run, Garynella and Dan Breen.  They look really competitive races and we could be up against it.  E Street Boy won under Kieron Edgar yesterday at Plumpton.  He looked in trouble turning into the straight but ran on really well and look to win with a bit in hand.  He likes this quicker ground and he could return to fences at some point where is rating is a bit lower.  

Smooth Classic ran well to finish second, his best run since joining Pond House.  He made quite a serious error at the third last and if not for that mistake he may well have won.  He looks sure to be found a a winning opportunity before too long.  Weekend Millionair finished fourth at Chepstow trying to give weight to the first three.  Faster ground could help and it was not a bad run having gone up nine pounds for winning at Taunton last time.  At Punchestown Hurricane Fly was in sintiliating form winning the Irish Champion hurdle.  That was his fourth win in the race in a row and he seems to be getting better with age!  Rocky on Ruby tried to give him a race but he seemed to win even more effortlessly than he did a Cheltenham.  He is surely going to take all the beating again in next years Champion hurdle.  Willie Mullins seems to have an endless amount of top class horses at his disposal at the moment and he has had a very good week at Punchestown.  It is hard to believe however that Davy Russell is going to beat Ruby Walsh to the Irish jump jockeys title, although I guess Ruby's chance have been hampered by his trips to ride in England somewhat.

It is the end of the season at Sandown today and the new one starts tomorrow at Huntingdon, Ludlow and Wetherby!  Everyone I speak to prefers what it was like in the good old days with a couple months break.  It gives everyone a chance to recover and look forward to the new serason ahead, including the horses.  For probably the first time ever poor AP will not be leading the jockeys at the start of the new season.  Will he be champion again?!

Nicky Henderson is going to be crowned Champion trainer for the first time in 25 years.  I did not realise it was that long ago but very well done to him and the Seven Barrows team.  I still think the championship should be decided on number of winners trained not on prize money however.  Whoever has the top three of four horses wins most prize money and that does not make him best trainer in my opinion.

Yesterday I mentioned that it was former jockey, Ron Atkins' 70th birthday.  I did not realise they named a race after him at Plumpton last night - The RA is 70 Today!  Handicap hurdle.  Ron was at the races last night and Craig Wylie snapped a photo of Ron with our winning jockey Kieron Edgar and I am told a good night was had by all!

             Ron Atkins & Kieron Edgar

Football treble today, Stoke 6/5, Partick 7/10 and Alloa 2/5.  Have a nice day.