Weekend Jottings!

There are three meetings taking place this afternoon with jumps action from Kelso, Uttoxeter and Fontwell.  The stable has four runners this afternoon - three at Uttoxeter and one at Fontwell.  Moncarno runs in the 5.35pm race at Fontwell and our five year old sports a pair of blinkers for the first time - hopefully they will have the desired effect and he can be competitive this afternoon.  Meanwhile Dell' Arca (pictured above), Susie Sheep and Good Value are on duty for the stable at Uttoxeter.  Dell' Arca reverts to the larger obstacles having finished a creditable third behind Faugheen at Punchestown last time, while his one length second to Coneygree over fences last season looks fair form too! He will be ridden by Tom Scudamore and he has the form to win a race of this nature.

Meanwhile Susie Sheep has finished runner-up on her last couple of starts and that looks to be the best form on offer in the 3.00pm race, hopefully she will be able to go one better today.  Our other runner, Good Value was a narrow runner-up last time at Warwick and he should go well again - we look to have three solid chances at Uttoxeter this afternoon.

I am over in France for the next few days and other than the obvious benefits, I will also be missing the Eurovision Song Contest (plus Australia)!  How on earth have Australia become part of Europe?  They would be a shoo-in if they were represented by Kylie and her hotpants - I might even have tuned in!

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It is a big day for the sides battling it out to stay in the Premier League - Hull take on Manchester United while Newcastle face the mighty West Ham!  These matches will decide who loses out on millions of pounds and drops out of the top tier.

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There is also the small matter of the Monaco Grand Prix taking place this afternoon around the streets of Monte Carlo.  It is a fantastic spectacle, although the race itself is likely to be nothing more than 78 parade laps as the track is so narrow that overtaking is almost impossible.  The winner is far and away most likely to be driving a silver car! Speaking of which, poor Lewis Hamilton has just signed for another three years with Mercedes although I get the impression that he is entirely satisfied with his alleged £100 million deal.  I wonder how on earth he will make ends meet?

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With it being a Bank Holiday weekend there will doubtless be plenty of people off to the local point-to-points today at Cothelstone and tomorrow at Upcott Cross.  If you are thinking of going along, make sure you leave plenty of time for your journey - the traffic heading southbound on the M5 at 7.00am yesterday was already pretty heavy.

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