Gypsy Rose Barnes!

***UPDATE***

Volt Face - Non-runner 2.55pm Ffos Las

There are three meetings taking place this afternoon with two jumps meetings at Ffos Las and Plumpton as well as an all-weather flat card at Wolverhampton.  The stable has one runner this afternoon, Volt Face who takes part in the handicap hurdle at Ffos Las.  He finished a good third at Towcester last time out on soft ground and would appear to hold solid claims.  We drew a blank over the weekend, although Stars Over The Sea, Easter Meteor, Border Breaker and Softsong all picked up prize money.

If you get it right, why not gloat?  So here goes...I could never see former champion jockey Jamie Spencer retiring and so it proved at the weekend when he decided to do a complete u-turn.  He says "Riding is what makes me happy."  With no retainer from the Qatar racing team and no major stable on the immediate horizon it will be interesting to see how popular he is as a freelance.

*****

It was like I had a crystal ball at the weekend or maybe my boppers (pictured above) were working!  Lewis Hamilton won Sports Personality of the Year while my Saturday treble on the football also came to fruition - it's Gypsy Rose Barnes!

I thought that Amir Khan put on a masterclass of boxing to beat Devon Alexander, in fact one of the judges gave all twelve rounds to Khan and he could now be set for a £30 million fight with Floyd Mayweather.  He will need to produce another masterclass to have any chance there.

Manchester United beat Liverpool 3-0 at the weekend and the star of the match was their goalkeeper David de Gea.  United looked good going forward but their defense is terrible.  Liverpool must have had eight clear chances to score but did not capitalise.  Meanwhile, how on earth did Spurs beat Swansea?  The Welsh side completely dominated the match yet Tottenham managed to win 2-1 thanks to a last minute goal - it's a funny old game!

I saw plenty of dives that Tom Daley would have been proud of during the course of the weekend and I still cannot for the life of me understand why the referee doesn't have an earpiece connected to a 'third umpire' type character who can see everything that is going on via television replay.  One word from him and a red card should be dished out - I am sure it would soon bring a stop to much of this pathetic flailing around on the floor.

*****

Finally, I should just like to wish the "Fat Antipodean" Jamie Evans a happy 46th birthday.  I am amazed that the Cheltenham Festival winning jockey managed to get to that age - he managed to drop me in it on more than one occasion!