One Runner At Southwell

Well, sadly Taunton abandoned today's meeting on Saturday but at least there is some jumps action taking place at Southwell.  Things are obviously looking up as the course officials scrapped an early morning inspection and said the track was good to go.  Meanwhile there is also an all-weather flat card taking place at Wolverhampton.  The stable has one runner, Off The Wall (pictured above, nearside) in the three mile handicap chase at Southwell and he will be partnered by Tom Scudamore.  He has plenty of consistent form and should handle the ground.

I was saddened to hear that former champion jockey and assistant to Henrietta Knight, Terry Biddlecombe passed away yesterday.  I did not know Terry that well, but he was always friendly and spoke when I saw him at the races.  He was certainly a larger than life character who seemed to live a very full and enjoyable life.  There is a fascinating tribute to him in today's edition of the Racing Post.

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I was watching the racing from Naas yesterday afternoon and I was quite surprised to see Cheltenham Festival bumper winner Briar Hill had to work really hard to keep his unbeaten record intact in the Grade Two hurdle.  Runner-up Apache Jack had only previously won a maiden hurdle so either he was recording a massive personal best or the winner was not at his best.  Maybe the ground was a little too soft for his liking?

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What do the England cricket and West Ham management teams have in common?  Answer, they are both clueless!  How Sam Allardyce can keep his job with the Hammers I will never know.  He has probably signed the worst batch of players ever...Jarvis and Downing are certainly not players you would want to be stuck in the trenches with.  If they do not get rid of Allardyce they are destined to be playing in a lower division next season - he has signed players that Liverpool and Newcastle haven't wanted.  However, I feel more sorry for Manchester United manager David Moyes following his team's loss to Swansea.  Moyes took over a team that needed about five new players and to make matters worse, he has been told that he will not be getting any in the next transfer window.

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Following on from the World Darts Championships at the Ally Pally last week, there is another World Dart Championship taking place this week.  We are there two different championships?  The one taking place at present certainly looks the poorer of the two competitions.

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I have been watching the World Ping Pong Championships and it looks just like how they played one hundred years ago.  Sand paper bats don't look like the answer to me!  Perhaps I should dust off my old bat?!  Have a nice day...