Monday News

The new week starts with one jumps meeting at Bangor but the stable does not have any runners.  There are three flat fixtures at Redcar, Lingfield and Wolverhampton and in Ireland they have a meeting under each code, they race on the flat at Galway and over jumps at Wexford.

There was some good racing on over the weekend and Vieux Lion Rouge enjoyed his trip to Aintree yesterday despite the weather which was a little wet and windy! The veterans chase named in his honour was won by Torn and Frayed for the Twiston-Davies team while there were emotional scenes after the Old Roan chase which was won by Hitman.  The nine year old is owned by Mason, Hogarth, Ferguson and Done and tributes were paid to the boxer Ricky Hatton who dies recently who was friends with the owners and the prize money from this win will be donated to the Ricky Hatton Foundation which has been set up following his death.  

Aidan O'Brien was crowned Champion Flat trainer over the weekend and won three more Group 1 races to take him to 25 for the season and he is in a good positions to try and beat his own record of 27 Group 1 races in a year which he set in 2017.  He won the Futurity Stakes at Doncaster on Saturday with Hawk Mountain and then won two more in France yesterday at Saint-Cloud with the particularly impressive Pierre Bonnard who is now the favourite for next year's Derby.

Group 1 winning flat jockey Clifford Lee has suffered a neck injury in a motorbike accident and is currently in hospital.  The rider, based in the North with Karl Burke is currently on a riding ban and was in Scotland enjoying some time out when the cross country motorbike flipped over and landed on top of him.  The 29 year old jockey, was just six winner short of his first ever century of winners and had won on his last four rides.  Fingers crossed he makes a full recovery.

The Newmarket Horses in Training sales gets underway today with over 1600 horses going through the sales ring this week.  David and Jack are on their way to Suffolk this morning to have a look at some of those they have picked out so we will see if they have any success later on!

Arsenal extended their lead at the top of the Premiership table with a 1-0 over Crystal Palace yesterday but there was more misery for Wolves who lost 3-2 at home to Burnley and are firmly cemented there position at the bottom of the league.  

The England women's cricketers won their final group game at the Cricket World Cup, easily beating New Zealand yesterday.  They will play South Africa in the semi-finals on Wednesday.

It is almost 31st October, which means all of the cobwebs and dust in my house will soon become Halloween decorations!

Have a great Monday!