Sunday's Meetings Wolverhampton A/W "Jumpers Bumper" 7 Races 2:00-5:00p.m. Naas A/W 7 Races 2:10-5:10p.m. Fontwell N/H 7 Races 2:20-5:20p.m. Hereford Abandoned Racecards At The Races Racing Post Sporting Life Good Luck
Leighton Aspell to retire for a second time on Sunday with his final ride in the bumper at Fontwell. 2 Grand Nationals and a Henessy on his CV but never won at the Cheltenham festival. I wish the bloke a happy retirement. Always seemed a model pro to me.
It'll be interesting, and possibly instructive, to watch the betting for this race, and maybe the energy-levels of the other jockeys. Whenever an A-list jockey (which LA probably is) has his "last-ever ride" the conspiracy theories take wing. Those with longish memories will recall Tony Dobbin's last ride at Carlisle (2008, I think) when poor old Michael McAllister had to resort to extreme measures to prevent his own horse beating the 4-11 Dobs jolly. A lot earlier, Geoff Lewis made a much-publicised "postponement" of his own retirement to ride Double Form in the (then) Haydock Sprint Cup: DF duly hosed up by a long-looking three lengths against a very strong field at a well-backed 11-4. Obviously, it would be quite wrong for me to imply skulduggery or collusion of any sort, but it should be worth watching anyway: Itsnotwhatyouthink 5.20.
Rainer who is older in relative terms to their breeds life expectancy, yourself or Victors Serenade who runs in the first at Fontwell? Who keeps a horse in training at 15 years of age, and not run for 600 days? Well we now know the answer to that, its Mr and Ms Bone that is who!
Well, if you accept the standard (but regularly disputed) formula of 6x for the first four years and 2.5x thereafter, then I'm getting on for twice as old as the boy Victor. But I bet I can do the Times crossword quicker than he can. Talking of life expectancy and Double Form, I think he died from a severed artery while covering a mare. Not a bad way to go, I always thought.
