Donny, Newbury Runners

There is a busy day of action ahead with five meetings taking place with Kelso, Doncaster, Newbury and Stratford hosting jumps fixtures while there is a supporting card on the all-weather at Lingfield.  The stable has runners at Doncaster and Newbury and it looks like a typical Saturday with plenty of very competitive racing.  Fingertips (pictured above) runs in the 2.35pm race at Doncaster and he ran a very good race for one so young when runner-up to Different Gravey at Ascot and a reproduction of that effort would see him go close under Daryl Jacob.  Meanwhile there are five runners at Newbury with Ikrapol, Shotavodka, Houston Dynimo, Rathealy and Gabrial The Great representing the yard - as I say, it is a tough day and any winners would be welcomed.

I must be missing something...I thought that if you were an amateur jockey you did not get paid.  There were some interesting headlines in the papers yesterday, including "Vicky's £250,000 Cheltenham Pay Day!"  They went on to claim that she has already been paid £100,000 plus expenses although her sponsors claim that the money is for her time and also the use of her image rights and promotional activities.  If the balance is paid after she rides at the Festival it will be short odds that she participates in the Foxhunters' in a fortnight.

Talking of Cheltenham, I have had a little wager on Minella Rocco for the National Hunt Chase (the four miler for amateur riders) at the Cheltenham Festival, while I have also had a little more on Don Cossack for the Gold Cup...you heard it here first!

*****

There is some good footballing action to look forward to this afternoon as Tottenham Hotspur take on Arsenal at 12.45pm in a fascinating London derby.  There is also some interesting fixtures at the other end of the division with Newcastle 8/13 shots to beat Bournemouth and even money chances Swansea hosting Norwich.

*****

W C Fields once said "A man without a woman is like a neck without a pain".  I will leave it at that...

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