Perfect At Plumpton!

The stable was among the winners again yesterday as Virtuel d'Oudon, making his debut for the stable and our only runner of the day at Plumpton was successful in the bumper.  The former Irish point-to-point winner made all and kept finding more in the straight under a good front running ride from Tom Scudamore...his father would have been proud!  Virtuel d'Oudon looks like a shrewd purchase from between the flags and should make a nice hurdler/chaser in time.  I was fascinated to see the Racing Post statistic about David's recent record in bumpers at the track - his form reads 113111...not bad at all!  Another to keep in mind over the coming weeks is Oliver Sherwood's Exitas who put in an eye catching performance on his racecourse debut to finish third.

There are three meetings taking place this afternoon, two over the sticks at Leicester and Catterick as well as an all-weather flat card at Lingfield.  The biggest race of the day (in terms of numbers at least) is in the Hunters' Chase at Leicester where fifteen runners go to post.  I wonder how all of those jockeys managed to get the day off work?  These races are always a good draw for racegoers as they like to see the old timers still showing all of their enthusiasm.

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Well, there are only two weeks left until the start of the biggest four days in the National Hunt calendar, the Cheltenham Festival!  I keep looking through the stables' entries for the meetings and I can't help but get excited about the prospects.  We looks to have some good chances with the likes of Kings Palace, Legacy Gold, Red Sherlock, Un Temps Pour Tout and Vieux Lion Rouge to name but a few.  It is always good to get your first winner on the board as it takes the pressure off - I'm sure David would be pleased with any Cheltenham winner, but let's hope he gets a few more than that, including a nice early one!

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I can't believe the Winter Olympics have been and gone.  Britain won a record four medals in the games and consequently are going to receive a funding boost.  The four medals match the total our team achieved in the 1924 games.  I was trying to think of where there is a proper ice skating rink in the west of England.  I will come back to you when I have thought of one!

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There is some good football action on ITV tonight at 7.45pm as Manchester United take on Olympiakos in the Champions League competition.  I am going to take some of the 5/4 on offer about United - that's my evenings entertainment sorted!

I see that Hull now have a local derby against Sunderland in the quarter finals of the FA Cup after they beat Brighton 2-1 last night.  Manager Steve Bruce says that staying in the Premier League is their number one priority, the FA Cup would be a bonus!  I would have thought that any team would have been grateful of a piece of silverware - afterall, they have no chance of winning the Premiership.