July Cup Day

There is plenty of action on the flat this afternoon with no less than six meetings at Newmarket, Ascot, York, Chester, Salisbury and Hamilton.  It is the final day of Newmarket's July Cup meeting with the July Cup itself being the feature...with a class field assembled for the six furlong sprint, don't blink or you will miss it!   If you have never been to the July course it is well worth a visit - top class racing, paired with quaint English charm.  If you are a jumps fan you are in a spot of bother - you will have to travel to Downpatrick in Ireland if you want to get your fix.  The stable has no runners this afternoon.

Investissement tried to make all under Willie Twiston-Davies at Ascot yesterday but was collared a couple of furlongs out and then badly hampered.  I am sure there will be other days for him.

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I see that Hamilton racecourse are celebrating Andy Murray's Wimbledon triumph with some novel ideas.  If your name is Andy or Murray (and you can prove it), the first 77 of you will be given free admission to the course.  There are also seven golden tennis balls which will be hidden around the course and whoever finds them will be given free admission for their meeting on 19th July.  A good idea from the Scottish track.

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Reading through Richard Hughes' column in today's Racing Post, I see that the champion jockey is not only a racing tipster, but a golf tipster as well.  Hughesie does play a lot of golf and he has gone for Shane Lowry at 100/1 for The Open while his other selection is Jason Day at odds of around 33/1.  For what it is worth my selections are Justin Rose at 22/1 and Graham McDowell at 25/1.  It is a tricky course and I don't think the Americans will like it - there is plenty of rough and not enough open spaces for their liking.

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How can the Australians complain about Stuart Broad refusing to walk after some of the outrageous decisions that have already blighted the First Ashes Test Match?  Even if the stumps have been knocked out of the ground, it is still the decision of the umpire.  The only time an Aussie walks is when his car has broken down!  Anyway, another 50 or 60 runs from the England boys will certainly set it up for an exciting finish on a pitch that is getting slower and harder to score on.