Great Grey Hope!

There is a great day's racing action ahead of us and the highlight is the Hennessy Gold Cup at Newbury, a race David won with Madison du Berlais in 2008.  We are represented this afternoon by Paddy Power Gold Cup winner Great Endeavour who bids to complete the famous double that was last done by stablemate Celestial Gold in 2004 - fingers crossed for a repeat today.  It is a fiercely competitive race, but our seven year old would have to carry another 6lbs if the handicapper had been able to alter the weights.  He has placed form over this sort of trip over hurdles at Cheltenham on soft ground a couple of years ago, so I don't envisage stamina being an issue today.

There is a great day's racing action ahead of us and the highlight is the Hennessy Gold Cup at Newbury, a race David won with Madison du Berlais in 2008.  We are represented this afternoon by Paddy Power Gold Cup winner Great Endeavour (pictured right) who bids to complete the famous double that was last done by stablemate Celestial Gold in 2004 - fingers crossed for a repeat today.  It is a fiercely competitive race, but our seven year old would have to carry another 6lbs if the handicapper had been able to alter the weights.  He has placed form over this sort of trip over hurdles at Cheltenham on soft ground a couple of years ago, so I don't envisage stamina being an issue today.

Viewers also have the reappearance of champion staying hurdler Big Buck's to look forward to in the Long Walk Hurdle this afternoon as he bid's for a 13th consecutive success to match the likes of the great Bula.  There is good prize money up for grabs at Newbury this afternoon, even the novices' hurdle is worth £9,000.  It looks a competitive days racing at the Berkshire track, although Big Buck's is likely to go off at very prohibitive odds.

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Despite there being only four runners, there was a fascinating novices' chase at Newbury yesterday afternoon and it provided a cracking finish between Bobs Worth and Cue Card.  Bobs Worth got up in the shadow of the post under Barry Geraghty to deny Colin Tizzard's former festival bumper winner, and son Joe came in for plenty of criticism for his ride aboard the runner-up - even so, Cue Card was conceding 7lbs to the winner and emerges as the best horse in the race at the weights.  Bobs Worth looks likely to start next in the Feltham at Kempton on Boxing Day - a race that has also been mentioned as a possible engagement for our unbeaten novice Grands Crus...with the pair of them filling the front two positions in the market for the RSA Chase at the Cheltenham Festival, it would look like a race worthy of Cheltenham in March itself!  The novice chasing division looks really strong this year and I can't wait to see which paths the trainers decide to take.

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I won't be getting up especially to watch it, but talking of good prize money I see that Arc de Triomphe winner Danedream bids to extend the run of success of European fillies on those shows in the early hours of Sunday morning when she takes in the Japan Cup.  Only a couple of weeks ago Ed Dunlop's amazing four year old Snow Fairy won the QE II Commemorative Turf, netting connections over £700,000 in the process - the race tomorrow is the third richest in the world with over £2 million to the winner, so good luck to connections!

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For those of you who like a little punt on the football, I have been in cracking form with my selections so far this season and this weekend I will be having a home win double on Southend and Stevenage (both available at 4/6).  Southend are top of League Two, while Stevenage are just out of the play-off positions in League One so they have plenty to play for.