Great Card At Ascot

Today there will hopefully be four meetings taking place with jumps action from Ascot, Haydock and Newcastle (who have to pass an 8am inspection) supported by an all-weather flat card from Lingfield.  David has four runners at Ascot this afternoon in the three feature races; La Vaticane goes in the 2m3f handicap chase at 1.50pm while Dynaste contests the Long Walk Hurdle at 2.25pm and Unanimite and Bidourey contest the fiercely competitive Ladbroke Hurdle at 3.35pm.  As far as I am concerned the big race is the Long Walk - my mind goes back to Deano's Beeno and Lough Derg, a couple of great stayers to have won the race for the stable in the past.  Tom Scu has been released to ride Thistlecrack for Colin Tizzard and Tom won aboard the seven year old three weeks ago - he clearly thinks that he will finish in front of Dynaste but we all know what lousy judges some of these jockeys can be!

The most difficult race to predict on the card is the Ladbroke, a 21 runner handicap hurdle with £150,000 in prize money up for grabs.  David has two chances but with just 19lbs between top and bottom weight it might be easier to buy a lottery ticket!

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All eyes will be on Chelsea this afternoon as they take on Sunderland.  The bookies make Chelsea 1/3 chances and it will be interesting to see how the players react to competing without a manager.  I wonder if Mourinho will be taking an interest in the match somewhere?

Meanwhile, Manchester United are at home to Norwich and they are 4/9.  In the old days that would be a great bet but not any more, although I will probably try to nick a bit of money at those odds.  I still think United have a good side...when will I ever learn?!

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I saw a book the other day that really caught my eye owing to it's interesting title "40 Odd Years As A Human Mushroom".  It is all about the highs and lows of owning a racehorse.  It costs £7 including postage and all of the proceeds go to the Injured Jockeys Fund.  You can get your copy by making out a cheque payable to the Injured Jockeys Fund at Stoke Bridge House, Shucknall, Hereford, HR1 3SR, it is a great cause.

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A seasonal joke for you: What do you get when you cross a snowman with a vampire?  Frostbite!  Have a nice weekend...

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