Scu Right On Time!

There was a good result for the stable yesterday when Spending Time won the staying handicap hurdle at Stratford under a fine ride from Tom Scudamore.  There had obviously been plenty of rain during the day as the ground altered from good (good/firm in places) before the first race to good/soft after the second.  All of the jockeys were returning covered in mud and the times were predictably slow.  Spending Time saw out this marathon trip very well to record his first success and he looks every inch a chaser in the making.  In the meantime he could win again when stamina is at a premium, while Lady Of Longstone (who finished sixth) looks as though a step back in trip would suit her as would a sounder surface.

Sadly today is another day of all-flat action with meetings from Yarmouth, Chepstow, Catterick and Carlisle and unsurprisingly the stable has no runners this afternoon.

There is a feature film due to be released about the career of legendary champion jockey A P McCoy.  I will be fascinated to see it when it eventually comes out...I bet the make-up artist will be kept very busy!

I see plenty of trainers have expressed their surprise at the stewards decision to alter the placings in Saturday's St Leger at Doncaster.  It would seem that everybody was surprised apart from the stewards...it doesn't matter how many times I watch the replay, it was definitely the wrong decision.

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My beloved Hammers did me a great favour yesterday as they beat a very poor Newcastle side 2-0.  Not only did the complete the fourth leg of my acca, I also alleviated my friendly bookie of some of the 5/4 they were offering about West Ham.  I feel sorry for all the Geordie fans who have travelled hundreds of miles to watch their side play so poorly.

Why didn't one of the big teams sign Dmitri Payet?  He must be the buy of the transfer window.  Also, how can Chelsea let Victor Moses go on loan?  Just another sign that Mourinho has lost the plot at the moment.  Moses is more than good enough to walk straight into that Chelsea side.

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I was saddened to see that former England cricket captain Brian Close passed away yesterday at the age of 84.  They don't make cricketers like Close anymore - he was hard as nails and never needed a helmet to go into bat.  He faced some of the fastest bowlers the West Indies could throw at him.  I met Brian once as he used to live just outside of Exeter and he was an accomplished golfer (left or right handed) as well as a thoroughly nice man.

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What do you get if you cross roast pork with a telephone?  A lot of crackling on the line!  Have a nice day...

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