Reset Runs At Huntingdon

There are five meetings taking place this afternoon with jumps cards from Huntingdon and Hexham, flat fixtures from Brighton and Nottingham and an all-weather flat meeting from Wolverhampton.  David has one runner today; Lady Reset (pictured above) who contests the 2m mares' handicap hurdle at Huntingdon at 5.25pm.  She was unlucky not to win from this mark at Stratford last season and while she would need to improve on recent efforts to figure here, the better ground and sharp track should suit her well and it is not difficult to imagine her outrunning her odds under Tom Scudamore.

Elan de Balme took a big step back in the right direction when runner-up in the 3m handicap chase at Ffos Las yesterday afternoon.  He looked to be struggling towards the rear of the field during the race, but given a patient ride by Fergus Gillard, he crept into contention from the end of the back straight and staying on well, he took second on the run-in but could not match the winner.  Even so, this was a much better effort trying to concede 16lbs (before Fergus' claim) to the improving winner.  Apart from a poor effort on his reappearance he has looked progressive and should be winning races over fences before too long.

We were all greatly saddened to hear of the passing of Joe Mercer yesterday at the age of 86.  He was champion jockey in 1979 and rode over 2,800 winners during his career with his most famous partner, the great Brigadier Gerard.  It wasn't so long ago that MCP and Carol Pipe were up at Oaksey House and Joe was there and was full of wonderful tales from his career.  A great of the turf, he will be missed by everyone in the industry.

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There are four Premiership football matches to look forward to tonight, but there is one that is far more important than the others.  With Manchester City already crowned champions and Manchester United a clear second best, it is down to three clubs to compete for the final two places in Europe.  Two of those; Chelsea and Leicester play tonight, a replay of Sunday's FA Cup Final...who scripted that?!  Anything less than a win for either side puts them in danger from a ressurgent Liverpool side with only two games left, whilst a draw does little to help either club.  With home field advantage I am just going to side with Chelsea on this occasion, especially as Leicester may suffer from something of a Cup Final 'hangover'.  The action kicks off at 8.15pm.

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Thought for the day...If you witness a crime in an Apple Store, does that make you an i-Witness?!