Weekend Jottings!

Today there are just two meetings taking place with a fixture over the sticks at Ascot and a very competitive flat card from Doncaster.  The stable has one runner at each meeting with Unanimite (pictured above) taking part in the 3.05pm race at Ascot - a valuable handicap hurdle worth £25,000.  He wasn't beaten at all far in the Fred Winter at the Cheltenham Festival despite not having the best of passages and he looks to have claims again under Tom Scudamore.  Meanwhile, we have a rare flat runner as Houston Dynimo contests the amateur riders' race at Doncaster and he will be partnered by young Tom Greatrex who claims a handy 7lbs off our topweight's back.

Just looking through the Doncaster card, there are two 22 runner races, a 20 runner race and a 19 runner contest - it would seem that everybody wants to get their horses out nice and early this season!

Looking at the Grand National weights, three of David's four entries are well-treated by the handicapper having put up good performances since the weights were framed.  Broadway Buffalo is 4lbs well-in, Soll 7lbs and The Package 10lbs.  I hope I am wrong, but I am not sure that all of them will get a run.

While we are on the subject of the Grand National, I loved Harvey Smith's comments when he was asked if he had any intention of retiring.  He said,"There are two types of chair that will kill you - the electric chair and the armchair!"...I guess the answer is no then!  A great answer from a great character - I will be seeing Harvey at the National meeting in a couple of weeks.

I bet that young Joseph O'Brien wishes that he was a couple of inches shorter and a stone lighter.  The former Irish champion flat jockey looks as though he is about to embark on a career over obstacles as he is wrestling his weight at the beginning of this flat campaign.  The trouble is that he still looks to be growing and a switch of codes would seem inevitable at some point.  Unfortunately for him, the National Hunt game doesn't have the same sort of prize money at the top level and it is a lot more dangerous.  I don't think the flat jockeys realise just how lucky they are - just ask former National Hunt jockey Graham Lee.

It would seem what had looked a two horse race between Richard Hughes and Ryan Moore for this season's flat jockeys' championship has just become a walkover with news that Ryan Moore is to take an increased role at Ballydoyle.  With Moore seemingly searching for some of the bigger prizes on the world stage it would seem to leave the door wide open for Richard Hughes to claim his fourth successive championship before hanging up his boots at the end of the season.

There was an incredible amount of prize money at Meydaan yesterday for their World Cup meeting.  Three of the races were worth over £8 million, while if you finished sixth of the nine runners in the big race itself, you would have picked up a cool £128,205!  Meanwhile over at Stratford's meeting yesterday the fourth home in one of their races picked up a barely believable £190!  One of them isn't in the real world.

*****

Finally, a toilet block in Charlestown, Cornwall sold for £115,000.  Apparently there is a stunning vista across the bay...you could say it has a good wee view!