Runners At Ludlow, Kempton

There are five meetings taking place this afternoon with jumps cards from Ludlow, Kempton and Sedgefield as well as flat fixtures from Brighton and Wolverhampton.  David runs Eamon An Cnoic in the first race at Ludlow.  He was runner-up in an Irish point-to-point and third in a bumper and may well appreciate further in time - the biggest problem though is that he faces Ozzie The Oscar who is forecast a 1/8 chance!  With Eamon at 8/1 against he might just be worth a sneaky little each way chance.  Shotavodka (pictured above) is second favourite for the three mile hurdle and he looks to be on a reasonable mark having won a valuable veterans' chase earlier in the season.  Conor O'Farrell is aboard them both.  Meanwhile, Willem runs at Kempton and he is a 16/1 chance according to the Post.  He was a winner in France but this does look very competitive and he needs to improve to figure.

I went with Martin to the Times Sports Correspondent Alan Lee's memorial service in Cheltenham yesterday.  There were around 400 people present including several jockeys and former England cricketers David Gower, Michael Atherton and Bob Willis, while Alistair Down gave a typically entertaining speech.  Both David Gower and Michael Atherton said that Alan Lee was a reporter you could trust.  I had no idea that he had over twenty books published.  At one point Michael Atherton came over to me and told me that he was quite a good table tennis player (up to league standard)...I'm not so sure about that!  Anyway, Alan was clearly a very well liked and respected man and will be very much missed.

MCP with Michael Atherton and Bob Willis

What a great result from Spurs last night as they beat Stoke 4-0 to put a bit of pressure on Leicester at the top of the table.  Leicester are still seven points clear and they are short-priced favourites but things could get interesting, especially with star striker Jamie Vardy potentially looking at a two match ban.  I agree with Ian Wright about penalty box wrestlemania.  I think if I were a referee I would warn both sides before the match that I would give a penalty if defenders have a hold of the opposition.  I reckon a few penalties would soon sort out the whole shenanigans.

Following the uproar about England cricket skipper Alistair Cook's old helmet that was no longer compliant with regulations, he has had to switch to a new one.  The result?  He was out for one!

*****

Thought for the day...experience is something that you don't get until just after you need it!  Have a nice day...

Tweet