Fantastic For!

The stable was on the mark again yesterday with David's only runner, For 'N' Against obliging in the 2m7 1/2f handicap chase at Bangor.  He was officially 5lbs ahead of the handicapper following his good second the previous week so he was entitled to go close.  He has been in good form of late and this trip looks to be ideal for him, although a stiffer track might suit even better as Tom had to drive him right out.  His jumping will certainly stand him in good stead once his new rating kicks in and hopefully he can continue his rate of improvement.

There are seven meetings taking place this afternoon with flat action coming from York, Sandown, Bath, Chelmsford City and Chester, while Newton Abbot and Perth host jumps cards.  David has three runners at our local track Newton Abbot; Unanimité and Ennistown in the 2m5 1/2f handicap hurdle at 3.45pm and Thunder Pass in the novices' hurdle at 4.55pm.  Tom Scu takes the mount aboard Ennistown who takes a step-up in trip, while Daryl Jacob partners Unanimité who had some good placed form last season.  Meanwhile Thunder Pass looks to have his work cut-out against the likes of Bleu et Noir and The Outlaw who have plenty of experience.

The meeting at York looks a cracker once again with the Ebor handicap the highlight.  It is a 22 runner race over 1m6f and always throws up a quality winner - I see that Tony Martin has sent a couple over so it will be interesting to see if there are any market moves for those.

Many happy returns to Timmy Murphy who is 42 today.  It seems like an eternity ago that he was riding Comply Or Die to victory in the Grand National for David.

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I hope a few of you followed me in and backed Manchester United to beat Southampton without conceding a goal at 6/5.  I will be reinvesting some of my winnings on Swansea to beat Hull at 5/6, and Liverpool to beat Burnley away at 4/7.

What about Great Britain's show jumping team at the Olympics?  Nick Skelton became our oldest Olympian at the age of 58 and he was in tears yesterday as he put in a faultless second round aboard Big Star.  He has represented Britain for over 40 years now and said, "Getting my leg up is painful", I can certainly sympathise with that!  Anyway, congratulations on a fantastic achievement.

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I see the owner of our local cinema has passed away.  For anyone interested in attending the funeral, it will be at 2.00pm, 4.30pm, 7.00pm and 10.00pm!

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