Red Wincanton Winner!

In the final build-up to Cheltenham it is good to see that the yard is still among the winners.  Red Seventy put up a game performance to win the two mile handicap hurdle under a well judged front-running ride from Tom Scudamore.  Considering he only raced at distances of up to a mile on the level, he certainly stays well enough over hurdles and showed a likeable attitude to hold on here despite being taken on for the lead from an early stage.  He looks as though he will be better on a sounder surface too, so this was a good effort.  Meanwhile despite there being only seven runners, I thought that Our Chief ran okay to finish fourth in the concluding bumper.  It looked like a decent contest on paper and he is bound to learn from this racecourse debut and it appears as though a stiffer track will suit.

*****

With Ayr passing their second inspection of the morning there are four meetings taking place this afternoon.  Three of them are over the sticks at Leicester, Sandown and the aforementioned Scottish track, while the fourth is on the all-weather flat at Wolverhampton.  It is the military meeting at Sandown this afternoon so there are plenty of Majors and Captains riding - there is certainly plenty of tradition there this afternoon.

*****

Stand Guard managed to take the outright record for number of victories on the all-weather yesterday when he was successful in the 1m4f seller at Southwell.  What a farce though as four horses were withdrawn, leaving Stand Guard with only one rival to beat.  Two of them had self certificates and two had veterinary certificates - something smells fishy to me.  The BHA was yesterday urged to investigate the circumstances that led to the four withdrawals.

*****

I see that it is Captain Charles Radclyffe's 95th birthday today.  Martin used to send some of his horses to the Captain in the early days to be shooled.  Charles is a lovely chap, but I will always remember him giving me a drink many years ago.  It was gin (served in a half pint glass), full to the brim with no tonic or water...it took me ages to recover!  Anyway many happy returns Captain, we hope you have a lovely day.

*****

I understand that forward thinking sports betting community OLBG are running a Cheltenham Festival tipster competition with £1,000 of prizes up for grabs.  It sounds like a lot of fun and I might even have a go myself!  OLBG are great supporters of racing in this country and not only do they sponsor the mares' race at next week's Festival, they also support plenty of other mares' races in the fixture list.  To enter simply click on the following link: http://cheltenham.olbg.com/comp/

*****

Just think, if you are a top flat jockey you could be riding in Jebel Ali or Flemington today.  I bet it is a hard pill to swallow for those jump jockeys who spend the winter grafting in the driving rain and freezing temperatures.  I bet they wish they had cut out all the sweeties when they were youngsters!

*****

What good are these International football friendlies?  It looks as though Jack Wilshere could be out for the remainder of the season having picked up an injury in the Denmark game on Wednesday night.  I bet the Premier League managers hate these nothing sort of games - it will also cost the FA about £600,000 in players wages.  I would like to know what Roy Hodgson has learned that he did not already know?  Rooney is getting more stick in the press - they claim that he was sloppy, undisciplined and did not get any shots on target.  Does he really want to play in these matches?  I would think not!

*****

Looking through the papers yesterday, the front page was filled with pictures on former England cricketer with his alleged love interest Amy Childs.  I wonder what on earth Gough can see in the 23 year old reality star?!  I think that she could do the 43 year old quite a serious injury...Gough never was much good at playing the bouncers if you know what I mean!

*****

Today's exclusive interview is with jockey Conor O'Farrell who looks ahead to next week's Cheltenham Festival...

Conor O'Farrell talks to Mike Vince about his hopes and fancies for the 2014 Cheltenham Festival.

?