Exeter Abandon

This afternoon there are two meetings taking place with jump racing from Ayr and an all-weather flat card from Southwell.  Sadly Exeter abandoned their meeting yesterday - hardly surprising when you consider how cold and wet it has been down this way lately.  I had a quick look through the Ayr card and cannot see many southern based trainers making the long journey north today.

I see that trainer Tony Carroll is responsible for eight of the ten entries in a race at Lingfield on Friday.  I wonder if he is looking to get rid of a few as the race is a claimer?  It is a 1m5f race so perhaps there is a potential jumper or two among them somewhere?!

Brian Toomey has left Pond House to join the stable of Dr Richard Newland as assistant trainer.  It is easier being a jockey than assistant trainer and I am speaking from experience, even though my riding career only lasted two days!

There is an interesting headline in today's Post which claims "Killultagh Vic could be the best from pipeline" - they are talking about the Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys' Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival which he won in 2015.  The Pipeline agrees that they could be right, although there have been some serious winners of the Martin Pipe in the shape of Sire des Champs and Don Poli.

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Any sport where odds and betting is allowed is bound to result in problems...football, snooker and cricket have all had their share of betting scandals over the years.  It therefore seems a little arrogant of the tennis snobs to suggest that similar occurrences do not happen in their sport - they would appear to be living in a dream world.  I remember the world table tennis championships years ago at the NEC.  One of the leading bookmakers decided to open a betting shop at the venue for the duration of the tournament - the shop lasted for just a day before it was closed down.  It wasn't crooked but the odds compilers did not know enough about the overseas competitors to bet on those matches.  I am still counting my winnings!

There are some interesting FA Cup replays tonight and I will be having a little treble on Portsmouth at 6/4, MK Dons at 11/10 and Reading at 11/10.  You heard it here first.

Golfer Jordan Spieth has gone to the top of golf's rich list with earnings of £36.8 million last year.  He knocks poor old Tiger Woods off the top.

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Which of King Arthur's knights invented the round table?  Sir Cumference!  Have a nice day...

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