Not Long Now!

It has been a long week without any jump racing but there is light at the end of the tunnel as National Hunt returns next week!  There are six meetings on the level to keep us occupied this afternoon with action from Ascot, Haydock, Newmarket, Redcar, Ayr and Lingfield.  If you are that desperate for a bit of jumping, there is a fixture from Kilbeggan in Ireland.  Back over here it is Shergar Cup day at Ascot and while the prize money is nothing extraordinary, it does receive plenty of publicity and there is sure to be a full house to see the big fields (they even have two reserves in every race!).  It is extremely competitive and there isn't a short-priced favourite to be seen with Sea Of Heaven the shortest jolly at 11/4 in the 1.45pm race.

What a shame for Paul Gaffney who won the big race at Musselburgh yesterday with Intense Tango only to miss the whole thing as he was stuck in a traffic jam.  The race was the fifth on the card so I reckon he should leave earlier in future!  I am sure his share of the prize money will help to ease the pain though.

It will be interesting to see who rides in this year's Leger Legends race at Doncaster on 7th September.  Richard Hughes is a new candidate for the race along with Joseph O'Brien, Chris Dwyer and Paul Eddery.  Hughes and O'Brien have the distinct advantage of only just having retired from the saddle.

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I see the odds for a draw in the England versus Pakistan cricket match has shortened to even money so my 9/2 is looking quite good.  I will be doing a little rain dance today.

What about Leicester City football club's owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha (now there's a mouthful!) who has just spent £2 million on new cars for his team?  They each received a £105,000 BMW so it is not just the players who do not know what to do with their money!  I would have thought that if you are playing for any Premiership team you would have a decent car already.

I am not a Spurs fan but what a good result for Tottenham Hotspur as they beat Inter Milan 6-1 last night, yes I did say 6-1!  Did you know that 15 out of 20 Premier League sides are foreign owned?  Not a lot of people know that...

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The last time someone wanted me for my body I was filling out an organ donation card!  Have a nice weekend...

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