3 At Worcester Today

There are five meetings taking place this afternoon with four on the level from Catterick, Carlisle, Lingfield and Kempton as well as a jumps card from Worcester.  It is Lingfield's turn to be shamed this morning - not only are they offering the lowest prize money this afternoon with £34,000 up for grabs - that is across a marathon eight race card!  The stable runs three at Worcester; Barton Stacey, Bathwick Street and Street Entertainer and they will all be partnered by champion jockey A P McCoy.  Street Entertainer (pictured above) is my idea of a good thing in the seller - with an official rating of 126, he is rated 16lbs higher than his nearest rival.  It is often risky betting short odds about horses in this sort of grade but he looks a solid odds-on chance to me.

I said in yesterday's column that any rain could lead to a change in the going and so it proved at Epsom yesterday with the ground altering to soft (heavy in places) resulting in 21 non-runners on their card.  There is a great picture in today's Racing Post showing just two horses in a match for the one mile maiden.  The weather wasn't just confined to over here - it is hard to believe, but the meeting at Clairefontaine in France was abandoned due to heavy rain.  I thought they raced in swamps in France...I have never known a meeting to be abandoned over there due to waterlogging until yesterday.

*****

Sorry Eddie and Tony, but I did say that Manchester United needed to sort out their defence and I was proven right as they were beaten 4-0 at M K Dons yesterday.  Ten years ago they could have sent their colts and they would still have won.  This must be the worst squad of players that United has had in a very long time.  They should have bought in Tony Pulis to sort them out!

I see that Frank Lampard has retired from international football.  Admirable player though he has been, how can anyone refer to him as a legend?!  The only legends in the all-time appearance list that I can see are Bobby Moore and Bobby Charlton...tell me what the rest of them have won!

I think that former Southampton striker Matt Le Tissier is settling a few old scores with his Icebucket Challenge nominations - he has picked Terry Venables, Glen Hoddle and Nicola Cortese - the two managers somehow managed to ommit him from the England side, while Nicola Cortese froze him out of the Saints.

Paul Gascoigne looks okay again for a little while.  Did you know that Spurs and PFA have spent £50,000 trying to help him - he doesn't know how lucky he is to have some real friends.

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