Day Two At Punchestown

Today we have five meetings in this country, four on the flat at Ascot, Pontefract, Brighton and Southwell as well as a Hunter Chase card at Cheltenham.  There is also the small matter of day two of the Punchestown Festival.  The stable has one runner this afternoon; Listed bumper winner Seven Nation Army (pictured above).  He is a 20/1 chance according to the bookmakers, so that tells you about the quality of this Grade One field - Nina Carberry is in the saddle and she looks like a good jockey booking.  Hopefully he will be able to follow-up the success of The Liquidator in this race twelve months ago.

I thought that the stable runners both performed with great credit at the meeting yesterday afternoon.  The Liquidator was fourth, only narrowly beaten for second behind impressive winner Faugheen, while Ballynagour ran another cracking to finish runner-up in the Champion Chase behind Sizing Europe, picking up a handy £31,000 in the process.  He ran a cracker over this shorter trip and showed what a versatile performer he is.  David suggested that he might even try him over three miles next term and it is fantastic to see him delivering on his undoubted potential.

Going back to Faugheen, he already looks to have next season's Champion Hurdle in the bag if he maintains this sort of progress.  What is more, he looks like a smashing chaser in the making.

If it is funny outfits that bring a smile to your face, Cheltenham is definitely the place to be.  With it being a Hunter Chase card there are always some real sights at the meeting and is well worth a look!

It is the first day of the jumps season and bookmakers have already priced up the next jockeys' championship.  They make A P McCoy their 1/8 favourite, while Richard Johnson is 7/4 in the market without the champ - that looks like a fair bet to me, although it is a long time to wait to be paid out on a 7/4 chance.

*****

I hope that my reader(!) followed me last night and had a little wager on Real Madrid to beat Bayern Munich.  Mind you, I was shocked to see how easily they disposed of their opponents.  Ronaldo looked imperious as he scored two goals and the team are now just 8/13 to win the Champions League...I think I might buy some more money.

There is another big game tonight as Chelsea take on Athletico Madrid.  Chelsea should be on a high after beating Liverpool and I am sure they will be turning out their first team.

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