Special Visitor

There has been a dribble of rain this morning, the first for some time, although not enough to make a significant difference to the ground, especially with ambient temperatures already in excess of 20ºc soon likely to burn that away.  Ther are four meetings taking place this afternoon with flat fixtures from Ffos Las and Catterick and all-weather action from Ffos Las and Chelmsford City.  It's the second day of the summer break from the jumps and unsurprisingly, there are no runners from the Pond House team today.  We are busy though, with the arrival of a VIP.

Sir Geoff Hurst will be joining us this morning to meet the team and it will be an exciting opportunity for everyone, especially so hot on the heels of England's success in the Women's Euros over the weekend.

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I see that former double world champion, Fernando Alonso has signed a deal to replace the retiring four-time champion Sebastian Vettel at Aston Martin next season on a multi-year deal.  Alonso, who won his championships with Renault, which has been rebranded Alpine (the manufacturers sports division) is a surprise mover given his history with the team.  It would appear to be a backward step in performance with Aston Martin well down the grid this season, although a number of high-profile personnel hirings may see them more competitive next season.

The Championship football got underway at the weekend and the Premiership follows hot on its heels with the season opener this Friday with Crystal Palace versus Arsenal.  It seems to me that they don't get much more of a break than the racing community...mind you, they are considerably better recompensed!

The Commonwealth Games continues today with more action from the swimming pool, athletics, gymnastics, table tennis and even lawn bowls amongst the action.  There are 37 medals up for grabs today and England are already doing extremely well with a total of 54 medals meaning they are lying second only to Australia.

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Five guys walked into a bar. You think one of them would've seen it.