Still Cold!

Well, we were due to have runners at all three of today’s jumps meeting but unfortunately they have all be abandoned!  The thaw did not come in time for Exeter, Leicester or Market Rasen and they were all called off due to frozen ground yesterday.  We have had a frost the last two nights and despite having a nice sunny day here at Pond House yesterday, temperatures were still not that high and so while things have improved a little we are still not totally defrosted!  We do not have any intended runners on Wednesday but I think Warwick will need a bit of luck for their meeting to go ahead tomorrow.

It was good that we had some jumps racing back yesterday at Ffos Las and Little Red Lion ran better for a long way but ultimately finished quite tamely once again.  Shot Boii never really looked happy from the start for some reason in his race yesterday and didn’t travel with his usual enthusiasm.  The ground looked pretty horrible but we thought that was he wanted but sometimes Ffos Las does not suit every horse. He kept galloping all the way to the line to finish fourth so it wasn’t too bad a run but I don’t think that was his true running and I am sure he can bounce back next time.  The main thing is he seems fine this morning, we can freshen him up and look for another staying hurdle in a few week’s time.

The flat meeting at Kempton was however abandoned yesterday due to freezing fog!  I guess we do have to remember we are in the middle of January!  In Britain today we just have the one all-weather fixture left standing while hopefully they are racing over jumps in Ireland at Down Royal.  They have plenty of runners with competitive races throughout. 

In last night’s football…. While tonight there is no Premiership action but there is a semi-final replay for the EFL Cup between Southampton and Newcastle kicking off at 8pm.  I think this will be another tight game.  Southampton are definitely showing a bit more resolve under their new manager while Newcastle have looked very self-assured in recent weeks and are a tough defence to crack.  I see that Everton have sacked manager Frank Lampard, not a great surprise but they are a team in trouble with relegation from the Premiership a real possibility.

How do 37 mathematicians board a bus with only 36 seats?  They carry the one!  Have a good day.