Voted the best ever World Cup Mascot:- 1. Naranjito (1982) please log in to view this image "As with all genius, it’s actually hard to say precisely what makes Naranjito the best mascot. Perhaps his co-creator Jose Maria Martin Pacheco put it best when he said: "I saw oranges and wondered why not?” Pacheco added that he “wanted to avoid the bull and the tambourine” as Spain’s mascot. Hell yes. Pack it in, Mr Tambourine Man. How can you compete with a big, beaming orange? It’s a look so cool that Alan Brazil has spent a lifetime physically trying to become Naranjito, with horrifying success. The original ’82 Naranjito was so terrific he even got his own cartoon series, which featured his girlfriend Clementine, best pal Citronio (a bumbling lemon) and a robot called Imarchi." For anyone unfamiliar with the footballer/pundit Alan Brazil, the link will give you some idea of the Celtic fan who was surely born to be an Orangeman:- https://www.leeds-live.co.uk/sport/leeds-united/leeds-united-celtic-alan-brazil-17092503
There was a public competition to determine the World Cup mascot. Hundreds of designs were submitted and in the end "Naranjito" won. What Pacheco says is true, but it's not that he didn't want the bull, but that everyone, including the government, didn't want it because it was too "typical Spanish". At the beginning, most people didn't like the mascot but later it was very successful and very popular, even though at that time there wasn't even the 10% of merchandising that there is now.
The 7.00 Windsor sees Punchbowl Flyer favourite after five runners were pulled out. 8th in the Wokingham last time but did lead home his group in a race where the action unfolded on the other side. Not much of a price though at 11/4. Capote's Dream has had a good spell since joining Tom Ward. He does have a tendency to hang though. Mind you he has three wins and a second place to his name but needs to be forgiven a well below effort last time, where he ran 20 lbs below form. You might have thought the handicapper would have eased him a pound or two after the 12th place beaten 9 and a half lengths last time but on the other hand he is only 2 lbs higher than a course and distance win here and a reproduction of that should see him go close. The soft ground is a bit of an unknown but he is generally held up and it may help if he is coming to chase tiring horses. I gave him a poke at 8/1 and a reverse forcecast with Punchbowl Flyer. 7.00 Windsor Capote's Dream 8/1 Capote's Dream /Punchbowl Flyer RF
Obviously would have yielded more the other way round but Punchbowl Flyer/Capote's Dream paid £17.11 for CSF and you can't complain with that. Punchbowl Flyer fought them off after finding more at the head of affairs and despite looking slightly ungainly he won with something in hand. The handicapper will be nudging him over the 100 mark after that.
In the finale, St Georges Bay is too short for me. First time in a Handicap but 969 for form figures don't appeal to me. Not for me at 11/4. Devil's Cub is weak in the betting but ticks plenty boxes for me. A course and distance winner and only 3YO, he won readily last time and although 5 lbs higher the third horse then has won since. The race has some real old timers and I expect Devil's Cub to at least put up a bold show tonight. Maybe harder to pull off the make all tactics of his last run but he seems to be going the right way. 8.30 Windsor Devil's Cub 9/2
Yes, Mabre won it cosily. Devil's Cub weakened quickly and probably paid for chasing the two who set off at a suicidal pace. Runners from midfield filled all the winning positions and trying to make all over a mile on soft is akin to throwing your mount's chance away. I suspect if Mabre had bowled along tonight he might have struggled to last but chasing a strong pace seemed to suit ideally and he finished strongly. Well called Grade One
Welcome to the forum Teletextpear. I missed all the action yesterday (and today as it turns out). Hopefully you will join in on the fun comps. And if you want a Virtual Betting Account, you can access it from any daily thread
