3 Runners At Exeter

There are five meetings taking place this afternoon with two jumps cards from Exeter and Ludlow as well as flat fixtures from Kempton, Brighton and Wolverhampton.  It is the turn of Wolverhampton to be named and shamed (again!) as they get away with putting up just £28,000 for their seven race card - I can't believe the owners keep putting up with it by sending their horses their to compete for peanuts.  Having said that, Brighton (£31,000) and Kempton (£32,000) do not fare much better, while the jumps cards have £40,000 and £60,000 on offer - I know there is a horseman's agreement, but even so, the minimum prize money levels across a fixture would appear to need addressing.  Anyway, I digress...the stable has three runners at Exeter this afternoon; Skylander, Sir Frank Morgan and George Herbert.

Skylander (pictured above) has already won twice for the stable this season on soft ground, although he is going to find conditions underfoot very different today.  It will be interesting to see how he handles it, but if he does, he would not be without a chance under Tom Scudamore.  I dare say the good/firm ground is partly accountable for the poor field sizes at Exeter today where there are two two runner races and only 32 runners in total across their seven race card.  Even so, I don't think that is entirely the cause - readers may recall I highlighted the fact that Wincanton, Newton Abbot, Exeter and Taunton (tomorrow) all host meetings on successive days...with these tracks so geographically close to each other and many of the races very similar, it is hardly surprising that there is a lack of runners.  Race planning certainly need to look into this, as while it is good for holidaymakers in the area who like a bit of racing, it is next to useless for the local trainers who will not run their horses on successive days.

Tom Scu Watch...he is still on 146 and is only one ahead of third placed rival Richard Johnson.  With only five days of the season remaining, Tom is still looking for those four winners that will make him only the sixth National Hunt jockey to ride 150 winners in a season.

I was amused by the commentary of Darren Owen at Hexham yesterday afternoon when he said that "Allycat leads by a whisker"...these commentators must stay up for hours thinking of witty things to say like this and hoping for the opportunity to use them.

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The next Test match between the West Indies and England starts today and Captain Cook and Trott both need runs desperately to ease some of the pressure...if Cook fails again, he could end up with the Trotts!  If you can't score against the West Indies these days, you will certainly struggle when you are taking on some of the top teams

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I have finally realised why you never see any drunks at the Open Golf...it is due to the prohibitive prices!  A pint would have cost you £4.80 so by the time you have re-mortgaged your home to pay for the entry, you will not have any money left for booze!

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Finally, yet another useless piece of information to amaze your mates with...did you know that in the ancient Olympics, athletes used to compete in the nude.  I bet weren't many entries in the high jump or the the high hurdles!