Wednesday's Meetings Salisbury Flat 7 Races 1:50-5:00p.m. Nottingham Flat 7 Races 2:00-5:10p.m. Sligo N/H 7 Races 2:05-5:15p.m. Bangor-on-Dee N/H 6 Races 2:10-4:50p.m. Kempton(E) A/W 8 Races 5:40-9:10p.m. Racecards At The Races Racing Post Sporting Life Good Luck
On scanning the cards I must say John's Spirit (3:10) jumps out at the predicted 9/4 on the Sporting Life tissue. Neil Mulholland's Whatsthatallabout should be up to defying the penalty in the 3:45. I would be wary of taking odds-on about Aqalim in the 2:40.
Each Way Crowley Double at Salisbury. 1.50 Anythingtoday 2.20 Koeman @Oddy, enjoy Bangor, I'll not spoil your day by adding my suggestions, but will echo Johns Spirit as a standout (though I do like Tempuran in that opener).
Not me mate, I'll be at work all day in Berlin Attivo and Rudebwoy will be singing "Didn't we have a luvverly day, the day we went to Bangor"
I’m sure they will have lunch on the way and it will be a lovely day. Will we be told though if on the way back they cuddle with Jack?!?
Breaking news on Twitter, according to the Racing Post Gigginstown Stud are removing 60 horses from Willie Mullins yard.
Morning, you types. Am chortling once again at the headline on today’s ‘Sun’ – ‘Fired man Sam’. Simply brilliant. The world of football is looking quite murky at the moment with apparently more ‘dirt’ set to be drip fed to us over the coming weeks – just like the ‘MP Expenses scandal’ was over many weeks a few years ago. How wonderful that our sport has exemplary characters such as Mr Henderson, Mr Ponsonby and Sam Waley-Cohen to represent us. Such inspirations. Talking of Mr Henderson I see he plans to run Hargam in a Grade 2 at Tipperary on Sunday. As the forum’s gone all musical, this morn, there’s another invitation to break into song, people!
Good job I'm not in charge of anything serious! Plenty of indications today that I'm now beyond the age where mental decline starts. There's a charity cake sale starting here in 20 minutes, I think that's a good place for me to be . Can't do any damage with cake, can I?
Apparently the reason for the removal of the Gigginstown horses is that Willie Mullins has put his fees up.
Yet they'll still ask you to pay to piss on their planes Fair play to Willie to sticking to his guns and not letting Eddie O'Leary push him around, and kudos for spilling the beans to everyone that he's a tight git I'd say the fact they like to dictate running plans for all their charges was possibly in the background of their parting too, Other trainers were too happy to let Eddie plan their races for them, but you just can't keep dictating to the master trainer! And lets face it, I can't see Willie having too much bother filling 60 empty horse boxes, should he really want to Gigginstowns stubbornness here will cost them in the long run, look at the success Willie has brought them. I think it's a really good thing for spreading the success round Ireland though, I'm sure the other trainers will be licking their lips at this. Old boy Elliott should be a very happy man this morning should he see an incoming call from Eddie on the iPhone! Two of the owners with the biggest egos in Irish racing both throwing their toys out of the pram in the space of days
Oh yes indeed, will be canonized eventually, all three, but you just said that you'd 'never heard of them'?
I hadn’t until you mentioned the trio yesterday, old boy. I then asked ‘Mr Google’ about them and he informed me that they were all thoroughly good eggs and a credit to their chosen profession.
But rightly or wrongly isn’t that an owners prerogative??? It always amazes me when someone spends 6 figures on an animal and then just lets the trainer do whatever they want especially when it comes to running plans and jockey bookings. Certainly if a trainer ordained to me, after I’d spent a small fortune, who was riding my beast I’d slap them around the head with my shooting stick for a good 10 minutes before yelling, ‘I decide that, you follow!’. Unless said handler was Mr Henderson, of course, then I just state, ‘Sure thing, Mr Henderson, because as always you know best’. In the case of Gigginstown they are also employing racing managers, advisers and bloodstock agents so it seems dappy to do this and then just leave every single decision from buying to running down to the trainer. Even Mr Henderson, the greatest brain ever to be associated with horse racing, is overruled by owners on many, many occasions re running plans whilst every handler who trains for J.P. McManus will tell you they have very, very, very little input when it comes to running plans.
Breaking news: Gigginstown remove 60 horses from Willie Mullins because the last decent chaser seen in Closutton was a whiskey one, in a bar a few miles south of the yard.
I am of course jesting. O'Leary is a bit of a strange one when it comes to his runners I find. Clearly he might be mad- leaving the Champ and hence is he giving himself a tough task to have big festival winners? Or is this a bit of a statement about Irish racing? There's been a couple of retirements lately and is the Mullins domination beginning to squeeze the smaller yards? If he gave all the trainers a piece of his action if really respect O'Leary. However, I suspect he may throw his weight behind Gordon Elliot after he delivered a Gold Cup last year? Time will tell but it is big, and interesting, news before the season kicks off. That's ignited some national hunt debate I see! Barney- surely he should migrate some to the forums favourite trainer, Mr Henderson. They would be impeccably schooled and big chasing types combining with those "magic hands"- cor blimey we'd have a stay in chase division on our hands!
