- Monday, 28 December 2015 08:25
- Written by Chelsea Morgan
Today we have three meetings taking place with jumps action from Leicester and Catterick as well as an all-weather flat card from Lingfield although the stable does not have any runners. What a great weekend of racing we were treated to with Cue Card winning the King George Chase at Kempton in a thriller from Vautour - the downside of the race was that both of the jockeys involved were awarded bans. Can you think of another sport where you break the rules, yet still keep the title or event? Paddy Brennan was awarded an eleven day ban and a fine of £4,200 while Ruby Walsh was suspended for two days...the sad thing is, I am sure if the race was re-run they would both do the same thing again. I am not sure what the answer is...would Cue Card have won without Brennan getting stuck into him? The answer is obviously no, so what do you do, kick the horse out? What do you think?
- Sunday, 27 December 2015 08:43
- Written by Chelsea Morgan
Top of the Gallops
Today we have just two meetings following the abandonment of Chepstow and Wetherby yesterday due to waterlogging. We have had so much rain it is not surprising but it is just disappointing for racing fans over this festive period. This leaves us with just jumping at Kempton and a flat card at Chelmsford. It looks a good card at Kempton with lots of prize money on offer.
- Saturday, 26 December 2015 08:08
- Written by Chelsea Morgan
Ballynagour runs in King George
Today we have 7 meetings, there were 8 but unfortunately Wetherby has been abandoned due to the elements. The six remaining jumps cards are at Kempton, Wincanton, Fontwell, Market Rasen, Huntingdon and Sedgefield plus a flat card at Wolverhampton. David has two runners at Kempton, Unique De Cotte and Ballynagour and also Herbert Park at Wincanton. It is a cracking card at Kempton with the King George and Christmas hurdle. Faugheen is big odds on for the Christmas hurdle, mind you he did get beaten last time out. They say he needed the run, we will see. The King George has Don Cossack as favourite, so both big prizes could go back to Ireland. The King George is a mouth watering prospect and so lets just hope the race lives up to the hype. Ballynagour is the outsider of the field and while he should probably not be as big a price as he is, he will have run a great race if he can get into the first six. We have also just heard the Chepstow has unfortunately been abandoned on Sunday. The good card with the Welsh National as it's feature will hopefully be re-scheduled so we will keep you posted with news of this.
- Thursday, 24 December 2015 12:09
- Written by Chelsea Morgan
Well, the big day is here and the first thing I should do is wish everybody a very happy Christmas! I hope you all have a wonderful day, get spoiled rotten and have a hearty Christmas dinner. Spare a thought for the jockeys that have to 'do light' on Boxing Day - they may have a bit of turkey today although I would imagine they will be missing all the trimmings. Unsurprisingly there is no racing action today on these shores although amazingly the French carry on throughout and there is a jumps meeting from Pau.
- Thursday, 24 December 2015 08:22
- Written by Chelsea Morgan
There is just one day to go until Christmas...I guess it is time I did a bit of shopping! For those who work in the racing yards life goes on exactly the same. The horses still need to be fed and watered and of course exercised - especially if they are going to be running on Boxing Day. You can tell it is Christmas by the sudden surge of silly hats on display - as you can see from the photograph, none more so than when Roger Stanley and Paul Reynolds visited us earlier in the week!
- Wednesday, 23 December 2015 08:24
- Written by Chelsea Morgan
There is no racing now until Boxing Day but what a day we are in for with eight meetings to look forward to, better still - seven of them will be over jumps and the feature is obviously the King George meeting at Kempton. The big race will be at 3.10pm and it promises to be a classic renewal even with the defection of Coneygree. David has Ballynagour entered and while the bookies make him a 66/1 chance he has form which ties him closely with some of the leading protagonists - without his latest start he would be nothing like those odds.
- Tuesday, 22 December 2015 08:15
- Written by Chelsea Morgan
With the abandonment of Bangor yesterday due to waterlogging we are left with just two meetings taking place this afternoon both on the all-weather with the action coming from Southwell and Wolverhampton. Stable jockey Tom Scudamore was on the board with a winner yesterday aboard Dormouse - the time of the race was 4m36secs which gives you some idea of how heavy the ground was. Having said that, the 2m7 1/2f beginners' chase took 7m4secs...one of my marriages didn't last that long!
