Weekend Jottings!

It is quite busy for a Sunday with three meetings taking place and unusually for the summer, the jump fixtures outnumber the flat with two National Hunt cards from Newton Abbot and Stratford and a flat meeting from Redcar.  We have one runner at Newton Abbot today as Street Entertainer (pictured above) bids to follow-up his Fontwell success in the 2m3f handicap hurdle which takes place at 3.20pm.  With £12,300 in prize money it is a competitive looking race and it certainly won't be an easy task to defy top weight, although there is no reason why he should not run well again.

I see that champion jockey A P McCoy has six rides at Stratford this afternoon - he has certainly been a busy boy of late!  Meanwhile, across in Ireland there is a great card from the Curragh.  There is a Group 2 race, a Group 3 race and a handicap with £100,000 up for grabs...why is the prize money so much better in Ireland?  It is a wonder that some of their leading trainers bother coming over here at all!

*****

In the cricket, England captain Alastair Cook's woes continue and I can only suggest that it is time they rested the skipper.  I am not suggesting that he should be dropped, but I reckon he could well do with a break - he is going through a terrible spell with the bat which has seen him fail to reach a century now in 26 innings.  I reckon he should go and have a word with from Essex and England captain Graham Gooch.  The pair are good mates and I reckon Goochy would be able to help him out.

*****

Derek Chisora and Tyson Fury meet up next weekend for their big fight in Manchester.  The pair are having a little side bet of £100,000 on the result.  Personally, I wouldn't be paying anything like that sort of money to get these two in the ring.  Back in the good old days, I was a huge fan of Henry Cooper...not only was he a bloody good fighter but he was a gentleman as well.  These days boxers just seem like thugs to me...I must be turning into a grumpy old man!

*****

I have really enjoyed watching the golf over the past three days, although I have been saddened somewhat by the performance of Tiger Woods - he just does not look like the same player to me.  I know injuries can take a long time to get over, but he just doesn't seem to hit the ball as far.  Rory McIlroy on the other hand seems to be hitting his iron shots further than Woods is hitting his driver.

At the other end of the spectrum. I was delighted to see 64 year old Tom Watson survive the cut - just think, seven Open champions missed the cut and they were all younger!

?