A HAPPY new year to you all. It’s a big day for ITV On Sunday as it begins its terrestrial coverage of our sport. Ed Chamberlin, Richard Hoiles, Matt Chapman et al will probably be tucked up in bed early tonight in readiness for what is an excellent card at Cheltenham tomorrow. It will be …[Read More]
IT’S akin to Ovett v Coe. Or Denman v Kauto Star. Or Ali v Frazier. Thistlecrack v Cue Card is a Boxing Day treat in the King George VI Chase that not many could have anticipated. The tale of the tape may favour last year’s winner Cue Card. He looked as good as ever in …[Read More]
Competition now closed. THOSE generous souls at Stan James have come up trumps again. We’ve teamed up to offer readers of this blog FIVE pairs of Club tickets to StanJames.com International Hurdle day at Cheltenham on December 10. And there is also a £50 free bet for one lucky winner. This is one of the …[Read More]
RACING needs a lift. It’s been a fairly dark fortnight for the sport, what with Freddy Tylicki, Vautour and Simonsig creating the sort of headlines we dread. Not to mention a tabloid splash about an alleged gang assault involving jockeys. We need a boost, a clash to set the pulse racing and lift the spirits. …[Read More]
THE sport of kings can sometimes test the patience and loyalty of its most ardent fans. Today was such a day. The end of the Cheltenham Open Meeting ended in genuine heartbreak and tears with the death of the beautiful grey Simonsig. Excruciatingly, it came just two hours after his trainer Nicky Henderson had openly …[Read More]
TRAINERS finally got their wish last night when 16mm of rain fell at Cheltenham. With the Open Meeting days away, the ground is good, good to soft in places and forecasters are predicting another band of rain from late on Friday into Saturday. Great news for those of us wanting to see some serious equine …[Read More]
CHELTENHAM throws opens its doors for the first time this weekend when it stages its Showcase meeting. This two-day affair has gained traction in recent years and is attracting a much higher quality of horse. Many trainers and owners will be slightly anxious about the ground but reports suggest Simon Claisse and his team have …[Read More]
CHELTENHAM. Even now, five months away from THE Festival and those madcap four days in Gloucestershire, the very word gives me goosebumps. But the rollercoaster of a racecourse has plenty of serious business to attend to before then, starting with its two-day Showcase meeting next weekend. This meeting has grown in stature in recent years …[Read More]
I LOVE autumn. Change is in the air. From green to brown, from sun to rain and from flat to jumps. October is the month where dreams begin to form for starry-eyed National Hunt owners, trainers and jockeys. Chepstow’s two-day meeting kick-started the jumps season last weekend with potential stars Ballyoptic, Rock The Kasbah and …[Read More]
IT’S that tantalising time of year. Autumn is looming and for most racing fans thoughts start turning from the flat to the jumps. While it might be six months to the Cheltenham Festival, the National Hunt big guns are already being loaded. So what do we have to look forward to this season? One word. …[Read More]
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