Peterborough Chase Day

There are four meetings to look forward to this afternoon - three over the sticks at Huntingdon, Taunton and Newcastle as well as an all-weather flat card at Kempton.  Following yesterday's debacle at Lingfield where they managed to hold two races before fog led to the abandonment of the meeting, let's hope that it stays away today.  The big race of the day is the £34,000 Peterborough Chase at Huntingdon.  The race has been won by some great names down the years including Sabin du Loir and Edredon Bleu and it looks to be another competitive race this afternoon.

There are four meetings to look forward to this afternoon - three over the sticks at Huntingdon, Taunton and Newcastle as well as an all-weather flat card at Kempton.  Following yesterday's debacle at Lingfield where they managed to hold two races before fog led to the abandonment of the meeting, let's hope that it stays away today.  The big race of the day is the £34,000 Peterborough Chase at Huntingdon.  The race has been won by some great names down the years including Sabin du Loir and Edredon Bleu and it looks to be another competitive race this afternoon.  Unusually with a local meeting taking place, the stable has no runners today.

Our only runner of the day yesterday, Garde Ville was a disappointment on his debut for the stable at Leicester yesterday, finishing only eighth - I wonder if the handicapper will drop him a few pounds now?  I said before the race that this type of horse must be a nightmare to assess, but a mark of 123 looks excessive on the balance of his form and hopefully the handicapper will react accordingly.

Above: Volt Face on the Pond House gallops

We have another nice photograph from the gallops to bring you - this time of our bumper winning ex-French recruit Volt Face.  I notice that he has a number of entries over the coming days and could well be making his hurdling debut very soon.

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I thought that Mr J Dixon gave Circus Star a good ride at Hexham, stealing the race and landing a bit of a touch in the process (he was backed from 20/1 into 14/1).  Well done to him - it was the amateur jockeys' first winner on his 18th ride under rules, while his father was sending out his first winner in 1288 days - now that's what I call landing a gamble!

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I was amused to read that England cricket Matt Prior still believes that England can still win the Ashes series.  At 2-0 down I have to beg to differ - not only can our player not seem to bat or bowl down under, it would seem that they have lost touch with reality as well.  I know that you have to keep a positive mindset as a professional sportsman, but it looks like a futile cause.  I would imagine you could get some fairly fancy prices about England winning the series now - Prior must have had a bang on the head!

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Having (begrudgingly!) been singing the praises of Arsenal recently, they managed to lose 2-0 away to Napoli last night, meaning that they only finish runner-up in their Champion's League division.  Just take a look at the teams they could face now...Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Athletico Madrid or PSG - great matches to look forward to - unless you are an Arsenal fan!

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I do not wish to sound like the prophet of doom BUT...our country is in a complete mess.  Everyone is short of cash so what do our beloved politicians do?  The MP's get a nice pay rise - this lot of idiots don't live in the real world!  Are they not the one's responsible for the 'austerity' measures?  Obviously they are immune to them themselves!