Really sad news Great journalist and a good man RIP Racing journalist Alastair Down dies aged 68 By Sporting Life 12:56 · FRI November 01, 2024 Much-revered racing journalist Alastair Down has been described as “a genius with a pen and a peerless broadcaster” by the British Horseracing Authority following his death at the age of 68. Down was voted racing writer of the year five times for his work with The Sporting Life and the Racing Post and was a mainstay of the Channel 4 Racing team. He recently received the honour of having the Cheltenham press room named after him and was present at Prestbury Park for the unveiling. The BHA posted on X: “A genius with a pen and a peerless broadcaster, Alastair will be remembered as one of the greatest writers in racing history. “His contribution to the sport was immeasurable and he will be sorely missed on British racecourses. “The thoughts of everyone at the BHA are with Alastair’s family and friends.” The Racecourse Association added: “All at the RCA are saddened to hear the news of Alastair Down’s death. “His words across a long and successful career delivered the best of our sport to countless readers, inspiring many new fans and writers. “We were delighted to see his name honoured @CheltenhamRaces last week.”
Just a lovely obit by a colleague brought a tear to my eye Graham Cunningham reacts to the death of Alastair Down, a good friend and former colleague at The Sporting Life newspaper. The death of someone of genuine significance does strange things to you. It shocks you even when you shouldn’t really be shocked. Rocks you into selfishly wondering about your own mortality. And mocks you as you revisit sporadic messages stretching back 30 years. The first message I ever received from Al consisted of a priceless reassuring wink after he and editor Tom Clarke had interviewed me for a reporting role at the Sporting Life’s offices in Canary Wharf back in the mid ‘90s. And the second came a few weeks later after my first ever story for the Life – a sparkling treble for Tony Dobbin as I recall – was prefaced by the immortal words “Doncaster report by Gerald Cunningham." The pre-mobile answerphone messages rained in swiftly that morning but the one that simply boomed “OH GERALD” in that rich, fruity baritone voice stood out head and shoulders above the rest. And A. Down stood apart from the rest throughout an epic journalistic career that saw him scale unprecedented heights while juggling a chaotic personal life that ultimately wore him down. please log in to view this image Alastair Down: 'A genius with a pen and a peerless broadcaster' Yes, some of us had the temerity to chuckle at certain familiar elements of his pored-over prose, wondering when the next ‘red in tooth and claw’ or ‘X wasn’t born he was hewn from granite’ might make an appearance. But this was the bloke who penned the booming Life opinion piece that prompted the famous Top Cees libel trial, a case which ultimately cost the historic and ailing paper fortunes in damages. This was the bloke who broke free from jump racing’s cosy club – knowing exactly what it might cost him - to brand the decision to run Red Marauder’s 2001 Grand National in atrocious conditions as “gutless, witless and utterly reckless." More importantly, this was the bloke whose love of jump racing and ability to commit that adoration to print and spoken word enabled him to cut through to every level of racing’s disparate parish in a way that hasn’t been achieved before or since. You won’t be surprised to hear Al was strictly a text rather than a WhatsApp guy, nor was he given to wasting words in our occasional exchanges. But there is something special about receiving a short note from one of the best to ever do it, especially when you know they are fighting their own hard battles at the time. I don’t profess to know exactly what Alastair has gone through in recent years but the demons that haunted him never dimmed his appreciation for the fun side of racing or his ability to deliver a generous nod to fellow scribblers and gasbags who could only dream of emulating him. “Lovely to hear you on the box again”, appears several times. “Good to hear the slightly unfashionable word ‘vim’ from Musselburgh today”, another that makes me smile. And I suspect that the cryptic “any marauding Magyars about?” must have been a reference to the Hungarian sprinter Overdose during an RTV chat about the ‘Budapest Bullet’ and his ill-fated tilt at the Prix de l’Abbaye. The decision to name Cheltenham’s Press Room in honour of Alastair this time last week seems even more apt after today’s sad news. I wasn’t at Cheltenham that day but I did spend an hour or so in his company at the Hunt family funeral in August. That was a day I will never forget on numerous levels, not least because a man who knew more about the pain poor John was enduring than practically anyone present was in attendance and putting on a good show. With his tweed jacket hanging loose, the 68-year-old Al was a shadow of the charismatic, sharp-suited star I met in a swanky corner office on the 23rd floor of One Canada Square all those years ago. But, with ciggie in one hand and glass of white in the other, the old fire burned again as he waxed poetic about a First World War book whose name he couldn’t quite recall. Alastair Down got home at a little after half seven on Thursday August 15th and texted me to say: “Good to see you Graham. First Day On The Somme. Martin Middlebrook." It pains me to say that, wrapped up in my own little world, I never replied. Maybe there’s a message in that for all of us. Like Cheltenham, we need to tell the great ones what we think of them while they’re here. And, for all his flaws, Alastair Down was cut from rare cloth indeed.
If you’re a gambler you’ll understand these stories AD Unfortunately the disasters are always more interesting than the winners in a sense, because everyone's had winners. I had one that I backed from 25’s which went off at 8/1 which fell in the paddock! It was the Queen Mother’s fault; she came into the paddock and everyone started applauding so it went 3 feet up in the air and landed smack on its arse! I mean, it ran, but it ran about as quick as I could – I nearly became a Republican that day I was so cross! But we’ve had some great days when plans have come right and days when they’ve gone wrong. When the famous Norton's Coin won the Gold Cup at any price you like, I’d been telling people since November that there was a horse trained by someone nobody had ever heard of called Cyril Griffiths in Wales who was a dairy farmer. I told them that Norton's Coin would win at Cheltenham in March - and I knew the race, it was in was a handicap called Mildmay of Fleet Chase and I remember sitting in the offices of Sporting Life the day the declaration closed for the race and I rang Cyril Griffiths out of the blue, having never spoken to him in my life, and I asked if everything was alright with Norton's Coin and he said “Oh, it was market day this morning so I missed declaring him for the Mildmay & Fleet, so he’s running in the Gold Cup!”So I slammed the phone down and I can’t repeat the rude word are used! But of course after the Gold Cup, I was watching it with a friend of mine and he said “Alistair, you don’t want to watch this…” and of course Cyril and Norton’s Coin had won it! After the Gold Cup I had about three people ring me up and tell me they had had the best day’s betting of their lives so they didn’t know it was meant to run in the other race! One of them said I had fulfilled their lifetime ambition as he went into his local pub in Shipston on Stour that night which was full of people from Cheltenham and he bought everyone in the pub a drink because he had backed it at 250/1!
Be lucky! VIP SATURDAY Good morning all apologies for the lack of write ups today - a bit behind and bit hungover to be honest after staying up late to watch the Breeders last night. These are all my tips for Saturday - tried to cover something on all of the cards. Lots of racing today so please stick to the advised points, keep stakes sensible and let’s hope we can up with some nice profit. Good luck if following. 2.29 AYR - WHITE RHINO 7/2 - 1 point win 12.00 NEWMARKET - WILD ANGEL 7/4 - 1 point win 3.27 NEWMARKET - EYDON 11/4 - 1 point win 4.00 NEWMARKET - HODLER 12/1 - 0.5 EW 6.50 SOUTHWELL - KINGS LYNN 7/2 & HAVANA PUSEY 14/1 - 1 point win and 0.25 Saver 2.05 ASCOT - MASTER CHEWY 7/2 & FRERE D’ARMES 9/1 - 1 point win and 0.25 Saver. 3.45 ASCOT - CHIANTI CLASSICO 11/4 - 1 point win 3.15 ASCOT - BREAK MY SOUL 6/1 - 1 point EW 2.58 - WETHERBY - BRAVEMANSGAME 11/10 - 1 point win TOTAL POINTS SUGGESTED 9.
Right guys I need some help! I’m trying to get logged into my skybet acoount, but I’m Out of the country. There’s a work around that I’ve used before? Has anyone else found a solution to this?
in the past, if I turned the Wi-Fi off & used the safari page I could place a bet, but not this time. Very frustating
Really good day yesterday - 4 winners for me VIP SUNDAY 2.18 CARLISLE - DUNNET HEAD 5/1 - 0.5 point EW 3.23 CARLISLE - YOUR OWN STORY 6/1 - 1 point EW 3.58 CARLISLE - HERTIER 9/1 - 0.5 point EW Good morning guys I have quite a few trackers out today, mainly here at Carlisle. I’ve done EW singles or you can do a 2 point EW TRIXIE or EW PATENT it’s up to you! DUNNET HEAD returns after nearly a year off but his yard are in top form and this horse won on reappearance last year. He’s tried up in class but looks good value in what looks to be a competitive race at Carlisle this afternoon. Lucinda Russell YOUR OWN STORY is very consistent with 15 top 3 places from 20 runs and 4 wins amongst that streak. Proven to handle this trip and further. Ran well last season without winning, he hit the bar in every outing last season. Better things to come this year and a good opportunity to start his season with a win here. Slightly bigger bet as the most likely winner of the 3 IMO. HERTIER was 4th here last month and may well of challenged the winner if not for a mistake 3 out which seemed to stop all momentum when mounting a challenge. He was running in class 2 races earlier this year at this track and came close to winning a class 2 here back in April. Looks a good EW price here considering this is a class 4 race. TOTAL POINTS 2. Twitter comp - win £100 https://x.com/racingtipsn/status/1853029732868071717?s=46 Have a nice day all !
VIP TUESDAY Good morning guys today's tips for REDCAR. I will have a look for the other meets and have posted by 12.30 latest. 12.15 - REDCAR - LORD CAPULET 9/1 - 0.5 EW win BINHAREER is the one to best here, he’s odds and has race experience under his belt. Don’t let me put you off him if you fancy the fav but I’m going to take a chance on the newcomer LORD CAPULET who is the half brother to ROSALLION who is an Irish Classic winner. Taking a chance at 9/1, remains to be seen how he performs on the racecourse. 1.25 - REDCAR - KINGS SCHOLAR - 10/11 - 1 point win Drops in class but carries a penalty after last week's impressive Catterick win. Has proven he likes these conditions and rates the one to beat. Billy Loughrane takes over for the ride today. 3.44 - REDCAR - GLASTONBURY - 7/4 - 1 point win Kaiya Fraser is a name to remember and look out for next season, he’s one of the best emerging jockeys this season and still has his 3lb claim. He only has two rides today at Redcar and can only take advantage of the 3lbs off in the 2.34 with STORMY PEARL at 14/1 and probably worth a small EW today (didn’t like heavy ground last time so can probably be forgiven for a poor run) This race with GLASTONBURY he doesn’t have his 3lb claim but this horse looks progressive. Won quite easily last time out and conditions look suitable for another win today. I presume this is the principal reason for the trip to Redcar today and he can hopefully get the job done on this fav. Also 0.5 double ✅ TOTAL POINTS 3 Twitter comp - win up to £100 https://x.com/racingtipsn/status/1853746196247900662?s=46
VIP WARWICK TUESDAY 1.15 WARWICK - THE LONG POINT 2/1 - 1 point win 3.35 WARWICK - GUSTOSO 7/1 - 0.25 EW I’m going to take on the Skelton fav ASIAN STAR who is very short at 4/7. I think these two make up the 1-2 but THE LONG POINT is talented enough to win here. Not seen since May on the flat, he won a bumper by 5 lengths at Huntingdon. He also played a part in the Boulta Bumper coming in 3rd place in a hot race that has produced plenty of winners including Potters Charm who has won his last 3 races. Safe to say his form has been franked and he will be ready to pick up any pieces if ASIAN STAR isn’t fully up to it. Although he flopped his reappearance run, GUTOSO is entered into an easier race here and might well come on for that run with the cheek pieces re applied. There really wasn’t much excuses for him last time, he came last and flopped after showing real promise towards the end of his novice season. He’s a fair EW price here today so I’ll give him one more chance this afternoon. TOTAL POINTS 1.25
VIP CHEPSTOW - 1 point wins - or 4 point LUCKY 15. 12.50 - CHEPSTOW - KAP QUEST 10/3 1.20 - CHEPSTOW - JURACON 6/4 1.50 - CHEPSTOW - LET IT RAIN 4/5 2.20 - CHEPSTOW - VALADON 7/4 Quite a lot of trackers out today at Chepstow. Most require taking on short price favourites - KAP QUEST will need to best Skeltons Cheltenham charge in ROYAL INFANTRY who is as short was 4/9. KAP QUEST is lightly raced from a good lineage and this is the horse that followed the impressive VALGRAND home at Uttoxeter in May. That forms been franked massively by that Cheltenham run and theres good value here to take this fav on…. We are tracking two in this 1.20 race, i’ve gone with JURANCON over the odds on favourite TRIPOLI FLYER. Not much splits these two in terms of ability or achievements at this point and realistically they should make up the forecast here if DISGUISEDLIMIT doesn’t spoil the party. LET it rain will hopefully be too good for the likes of FRENCH SHIP and GOT A DREAM. Still unbeaten, this looks a fair price for his hurdle debut. Performed impressively, most notably in the listed bumper at Ascot where he beat the impressive BRECHIN CASTLE. A pretty decent scalp to take. VALADON is making his chase debut today so quite risky considering the second fav, JAVERT ALLEN has a bit more experience in this field. With that said this is obviously one of Fry’s best inmates, he’s shown plenty of potential so far over hurdles and the transition to the larger obstacles should literally be taken in stride. VIP NOTTINGHAM 1.43 - ALBEGONE 10/1 - 1 point EW 2.13 - GLORY AND HONOUR 12/1 & COQUELICOT 16/1 - 0.5 EW wins Few Nottingham long shots - ALBEGONE carries a penalty for recent win and he’s up in class. Still a big price considering how well he won his last race over course and distance. KINGS REIGN is the one to beat in the 2.13 but there's big value for the in form GLORY AND HONOUR at 12/1. He was pulled up over 3 miles 5 last time out but I n all honesty it seemed silly to run him over that trip. This drop back to two miles is a lot more realistic and he’s a good price. COQUELICOT usually runs and performs at higher grades than this so I’m surprised to see such a big EW price on offer. Yes her form is questionable of late but this race is significantly easier than anything she’s ran in of late. TOTAL POINTS SUGGESTED 6. Guys can you do me a favour and smash likes if you want MUSSELBURGH and KEMPTON covered. If there's no demand i’ll just leave it with this lot for today. Thanks guys. Twitter comp win £100 - https://x.com/racingtipsn/status/1854076649773433147?s=46
Sir Michael Stoutes last ever runner today WANDERLUST 3.50 Nottingham. Backed into 7/4... maybe an out in a blaze off glory pill..?
