Plumpton or Dubai at Easter? No contest really

Boy was my report on Plumpton's Easter meeting going to be incisive, funny, informative and generally just brilliant. The jottings I had made in my reporter's notebook were spot on. Sadly between the 6th race and the last I lost my homework, which I am sure had nothing to do at all with the consumption of 2 pints of Hepworth Blonde in short succession a few minutes earlier.
This post is therefore from memories, albeit happy ones despite the traditional Plumpton weather. 

The Brighton Station coach service to the course was busier than usual, 10 customers, including a family of four complete with toddlers getting their first introduction to racing. The Tote lady with the shopping bag on wheels greeted me as a long lost friend, but the man who told me last time how much he had lumped on The New One for the Champion Hurdle was sadly absent. I am sure he would have welcomed me doing a 'I told you so' by reminding him that I had considered Nigel Twiston-Davies' horse was 'in decline.' 
Obviously I had considered going to Dubai for the world's richest race, but Plumpton in late March can be nice. The weather God had smiled on Lingfield for its Good Friday All-Weather Championships, which annoyed me a little bit as I am still a tad uncomfortable about gambling on the holiest day. For reasons I cannot entirely explain I am however ok with racing on Easter Sunday, although judging by the hail, rain and wind which greeted the first race this was a verdict the Almighty did not agree with.
Highlights of the meeting were the Sussex Champion Hurdle and the (rescheduled) At The Races Sussex National. The return to winter going meant there were (sadly) over 30 non-runners, but (gladly) it put a kibosh on the family fun fair/face painting in the centre of the course. By the second race parts of the infield looked more like a grass verge in Hangleton than the centre of a racetrack.
My betting morale had been boosted as I arrived by the news that Afghanistan had beaten the West Indies in the Cricket World Cup. This had given me the ammunition to follow up by judging that this was the day for trainer Richard Rowe's annual winner. My confidence was enhanced when I saw an old character Dennis (aka Yogi) the Demolition Man on a trip over from Naas in Ireland. Dennis has had connections with the Rowe yard for years, and if he was here, then the chances were that the horse, Like Sully, was on a going day.
And remarkably, considering my luck since Christmas, so it proved to be the case. Dennis looked pleased in the winner's enclosure

afterwards so I suspect the trip had proved worthwhile. It all brought back memories of a wonderful evening with him and other Irish friends in County Kildare some years ago. Dennis told some brilliant stories, including one about buying a second hand JCB in Kilburn and having to drive it backwards to Crawley (including on the M25) as it only worked in reverse gear, and another one involving a deaf builder, a spade and a portaloo which I'm afraid cannot be reported in a family blogpost.
With that and the lucky last coming up trumps the return coach journey was a happy affair, although the mum from the family of four did not seem entirely convinced. Her verdict - "Racing's boring if you ask me but at least I'll be home in time for The Night Manager."
And by way of a future tip I suggest following Butney Island, who finished third in the first race. He was given a very 'considerate' ride and will be of interest first time out in a handicap hurdle. I even missed Tom Hiddleston in order to add him (Butney Island not the nation's favourite shirt-shedder) to my great new 'horse-tracker' app which emails me when the horse is going to run next. The bookies are quaking I am sure.

Before the National I will watch Trumbo to even things up

There is a racing hiatus between Cheltenham and Aintree. The Lincoln excepted, nothing else appeals. The Dubai World Cup at Meydan is not really my thing. With Easter early this year there is the chance to take in the well-endowed (oh please - I'm talking prize money wise) all-weather finals at Lingfield. But the old Calvinist in me is still not entirely comfortable with racing and betting on Good Friday.
This pause does though offer the opportunity to catch up on some films. The choice this week though is not that great. High Rise does not appeal as, even though the original was composed by JG Ballard, it appears to have been hijacked into another lesson from highly paid luvvies to us plebs on the evils of capitalism, and besides I do not think I could cope with another viewing of Tom Hiddleston without his shirt on.
Being a coward, horror (or even remotely creepy) has no appeal, so that was The Witch, 10 Cloverfield Lane and The Boy all out (thank goodness). The Revenant is obviously worthy but just seemed too much like hard work. For Brexit reasons I could not watch the French movie about a middle aged woman who cannot sing (even if in that French way we all know is acceptable it might have included gratuitous female nudity) at the local Art House. I was tempted by London is Fallen but going to see a film just because it has annoyed Guardian readers is not enough.

In the end I settled on Hail Caesar, something that I had avoided up till now because I thought I probably would not get it.
Resisting the pop corn in the foyer (see the surreptitious fuzzy pic above) was not difficult, but despite my reservations, I found my resistance to Hail Caesar was overcome. I concede that as predicted I did not entirely get it. To me it was a series of sketches paying homage to the golden days of Hollywood, but no less enjoyable for all that.
I probably should have gone to see it with a film buff who could have explained all the in jokes. For once the commies, rather than the McCarthyites, seemed to be the baddies (although perhaps the Coen brothers were having a joke there as well - ok I'm confused).
To me Hail Caeser was fun. It was more affectionate than a send-up, in places it made me chuckle and in the end what is wrong with that?  I do though accept that I probably need to watch Trumbo, between today and the Grand National, just in case I have completely missed the point.

I blame the footballers

When footballers disgraced themselves at Cheltenham by peeing from the corporate boxes, I had assumed they were at least from the Premiership.

According to the Sun on line it turns out that they were originally from the franchise known as Milton Keynes Dons, but were actually on loan to Northampton Town. Instead of paying £2k plus  (what wages are these guys on?) to get into a box at the Festival they could have gone to their local track - Towcester - for free. Still at least it was possible to smile at the comment from one of the footballers involved. He said "I don't want to remembered as the player who urinated in a glass at the races", spoken just after he had urinated in a glass at the races.

This was going through my head as I made my way from Barnham station to Fontwell racecourse for the (2 days after) St. Patrick's Raceday. It takes about 7 minutes on the coach but one man declared, and proved, it's 'a 3-can journey'. He even added that he had 'wanker's arm' - as by drinking an odd number the remaining cans hidden down his sleeves produced a lopsided appearance.
There was a certain 'after the Lord's Mayor show' feel to things for us racing afficaincados at Fontwell. The 'Beer and Rugby' Tent did set the tone, and the proliferation of out of date St Patrick's Day Guinness hats was a worry.
Fields of Athenry played over the loudspeakers but the big crowd suggested there was maybe a chance to make some money on the Tote. 'Well refreshed' large crowds tend to back 'I like the name' horses in the betting. Sadly Three Barmy Men was a non-runner in the 6th race, but I was already guessing Paddy the Deejay was wilting under the pressure of the money from the drink fuelled punters.
Queues at the bar were lengthy, queues at the paddock were small, but great fun was had by the many pissed racegoers and the odd serious punter alike - and the dear old Irish record player came an honourable second.
Oh and on a serious note it was great to see Leighton Aspell

ride a winner. Fontwell was the birthplace of the Leighton Aspell Fan Club. He has never ridden a winner at the Cheltenham Festival, but there is a very real chance that Pulborough's own will be the first jockey to come first in the Grand National 3 years running, less than 20 days from now. 

ITV racing must ensure someone speaks up for punters

Rich Ricci has done a lot for the finances of jump racing in Ireland, enabling it to recover from the collapse of the Celtic tiger. He - or technically his wife - owned 5 of the winners at Cheltenham this week. Fair play to him, for spending lots of money does not guarantee even one win in what is effectively the world championships. He has obviously spent his share of the profits and bonuses from Barclay's Capital wisely, even if some of the shareholders who lost out may have misgivings.
The Ricci openess with the racing public has been welcome as well, but obviously we discovered at the beginning of this week that perhaps he is not so open about his horses and the plans as we thought. Indeed many punters felt that the #fatcatinahat had 'put them away' and treated them as mugs.
At the Cheltenham preview evenings in the run up to the event, including one organised by Ricci's own betting company BetBright, the American in the trilby and sunglasses told us all about how his horses were going and where and when they would run. In the case of one of his best, Vautour, Ricci was on the record repeatedly that the horse would run in the Gold Cup; "it's the Gold Cup or nothing."
As a result the price for Vautour was short for the Gold Cup and his price for the Ryanair (a less prestigious race over a shorter distance than the Gold Cup and his only other possible option) drifted out to 4-1 plus.
On the night before the festival the odds on the betting exchange dramatically changed, with Vautour's odds for the Gold Cup drifting, and him coming into odds-on for the Ryanair. Clearly some people in the know (i.e. connected to Ricci or the Mullins stable, where the horse is trained) had information not available to the ordinary punter and were taking advantage.
The inevitable then happened on Channel 4's Morning Line the following morning when their guest, the great man himself, announced to the awe-struck panel of Channel 4 presenters, that Vautour would be declared for and running in the Ryanair, thereby missing the Gold Cup which we had been told would be the target all along.
What then followed was the most lamentable and feeble sports journalism, which those involved with Channel 4 Racing must surely be embarrassed by. The chairman of the panel, Alice Plunkett, seemed completely out of her depth and none of the highly paid pundits made the slightest effort to challenge Ricci on the way punters had been misled repeatedly.
There was a bit of storm on racing related social media - I even had a little Mr Angry go myself - which presumably prompted Channel 4 to invite Ricci back on to the main programme in the afternoon to explain his action. On this occasion he was interviewed by national treasure, and the normally excellent, Clare Balding. She though proved to not be up to the job either, allowing Ricci to turn the whole debacle into a brilliant publicity stunt for his betting company. He promised to pay-out on Vautour, as if the horse had won the Gold Cup, to all punters who had backed him with BetBright for that race. Clare's reaction to this was an almost awe-struck, "Oh wow, how generous of you Rich, you are going to payout even though he is not running?".
She completely missed the point that it was not those who had backed Vautour who had really lost out, as most of those punters would have received their money back as a result of the 'non-runner no-bet' conditions now widely available.
No the punters who had really done their money were those who had backed the other horses due to run in the Ryanair, whose odds were much lower as a result of the firm commitment that Ricci's horse would not run.
The inevitable happened and Vautour won the Ryanair easily. This was despite him only "being 90%" (yeh, right), one of the weakest excuses offered by Ricci and Mullins for the change in plans.
On reflection my criticism of Rich Ricci - and also Willie Mullins - are muted. They are perfectly entitled to run - or not run - their horses as they choose. They have hopefully learnt their communication lessons, and either will stick with their announced plans or be more equivocal in future.
No it is the Channel 4 racing team that come out of this worst. Their journalism was feeble at best. You have pundits on - including sadly AP McCoy - who promote bookmakers during the ad breaks, which in any other sphere of life would be considered a conflict of interest. The professional journalists appeared to not know part of their subject, and are more keen to suck up to their racing pals than to speak up for those people who ultimately fund racing, the betting public.
John McCririck, for all his many faults, would never have allowed this to pass by, and would have been all over Ricci. Sadly his descent into pantomime sexism meant he had to go, and his replacements come from a training/bookmaking background instead and just carry out cosy interviews, often simply giving bookmakers' PRs the chance to plug their products.
There is though a chance for this to change, with ITV winning the contract to broadcast UK horse racing from 2017. With the exception of the peerless Nick Luck, none of the current Channel 4 presenters deserve to transfer over after their performance this week. To retain credibility with the betting public, ITV must make sure that at least one of the new presenters come from a background of placing bets rather than bookmaking, and speaks up for the hard pressed punter. My choice would be Dave Nevison or Eddie Fremantle, although of course if they are unavailable I would be willing to do my bit!  

Placepot landed but it's not Barbados

Me smirking, "That was a good day. I even backed the winner of the Gold Cup."
Reply, in that disinterested going though the motions voice, "Oh well done. Who was it?"
Me, proud voice, "Don Cossack. I even gave him as my nap earlier in the week."
"Oh right. Is he a Russian jockey?"

It probably is a good thing to be reminded every now and again that horse racing is a minority sport, and not everyone is transfixed by the drama played out at Cheltenham this week.
Sadly I could not get to Prestbury Park to watch the Festival in person. I prefer viewing with a crowd. One option is to go to a pub which puts the racing on, but from experience I have learnt that betting and beer is not the wisest mix.
Instead I took the opportunity to watch Cheltenham from other racecourses hosting the lessor meetings, wonderfully charming Towcester on Thursday and the 'home of Asian weddings' (as their advertising banner proudly announces), Lingfield, today. Both tracks made the effort to show Cheltenham on their big screens, and the bookies sensibly priced up each of the 'away' races. Not the same as being there, but the next best thing.
Knowing that the placepot* has a history of paying big dividends at this time of year, I duly made my selections for both Lingfield and Cheltenham. I was even praised by the Tote lady for writing 'Chelt' and 'Ling' on my tickets - the little things help!
My Cheltenham placepot crashed at the first hurdle, literally, but as the day wore on the Lingfield punt looked increasingly promising - for more of which read on.
The only other problem was the big clash - Victoria Pendleton v Hattie (aka Expect Nothing).

Our dog was due to run her second race in exalted A3 grade just as VP tackled the Cheltenham fences. I had not heard from Claude, Hattie's trainer, in the morning, which could mean she's got no chance, or (cynical hat on) she's a good chance and no mug is going to lump on and affect the price. The third, and ultimately, accurate explanation, that a message had been left on my home phone which I had not been able to pick up, was far less glamorous.
I will not bore the readers with all the details as the VP effect means that the national media are putting racing on the front pages and you can read all the copy from observers far more skilled than me. Suffice to report my nap of the week, Don Cossack (yes the horse), won the Gold Cup with some ease. 
Victoria Pendleton went round the back during the 'Amateurs' Gold Cup' and finished a fast finishing 5th on Pacha Du Polder. She will receive much, to some extent, deserved praise for this. But I cannot help but be reminded of another lady jockey, one Rosemary Henderson, who rode her horse, Fiddlers Pike, also into 5th place in the 1994 Grand National. In both cases a top jockey on board would certainly have got the horse placed.
After that my day headed towards maximum excitement. My two favourite tipsters, Rob Wright and Paul Kealy, had both put up Ibis Du Rheu, in the 6th race at Cheltenham. This 14/1 shot, under an inspired ride from conditional jockey Jack Sherwood, duly obliged from an unpromising position. 
An already profitable day could only get better if I landed the placepot at Lingfield. Somehow my choice in the final leg, World's Greatest, did not exactly live up to his name in but remarkably he sneaked into third place. Yes...... all that was needed was for me to collect and then it's down the travel agents to join JP in Barbados.
I handed in my winning ticket. 
"Oh dear love only £9.50 I'm afraid." 
Still Bexhill can be nice this time of year.

NB - As for Hattie (Expect Nothing) she got mullered at the first bend and finished last. Expect a good price next time though.

*A bet on the nanny where you have to select a horse to get placed in the first 6 races

Sunny, freezing, PU and form - Plumpton and Cheltenham contrasts

Incredibly sunny at Plumpton today, so much so that I was forced to don my sunglasses underneath my trilby for the full on Rich Ricci look. Incidentally it was only yesterday that I finally confirmed for sure that Mr Ricci is actually balder than me - and he's 2 years younger! He might be £2billion richer, own the favourites for the Champion Hurdle, Supreme Novice, the Arkle and the Gold Cup, but I have (admittedly only just) more follicles. Take that #fatcatinahat.

The sun was deceptive though. I finally understand what the BBC's Tomasz Schafernaker is on about when he tells us about the 'chill factor'. The wind was blowing direct from Iceland, and rather like the small town in Trapped that has a murder rate higher than Midsomer, it was bloody freezing.

None of this put off the crowds. The gate for Plumpton's 'Irish Raceday' (it's quite near St.Patrick's Day) was swelled by many of us who had taken the week off for Cheltenham - albeit the coach from Brighton Station was still only full of the 5 regulars (the Tote lady, 'Any Luck' man, an old chap who wears blue desert boots, a very frail grey lady for whom racing is her reason to live and me).

The contrast between the horses on show at Plumpton and those engaged for the Festival could not have been greater, but it was still fun for all that. All you needed to do was ignore the incessant wittering of Colin Brown over the PA, close out the sound of the 'diddlee dee' band especially engaged for 3 day's from St Patrick's Eve Day, and concentrate on the form.

Fine in theory, but problematic when most of the runners had more letters against their name than numbers. Mind you it did not stop one man who managed to back Rocknrobin, the 25/1 winner of the second race.

"Easy that mate. I just looked at the form 00PU. Had to win again if he's Pissed Up last time."

Fortunately my favourite blacksmith, Paul Henderson, gave me my ammunition for the festival with his Talk of the South winning the 4th very easily. Not only can he shoe the horses, he can train them as well.

So for my faithful follower this is where my hard earned will be going as part of the greatest 4 days sport anywhere in the world-

• Altior  for the Supreme Novice
• Lil Rockefeller in the Champion Hurdle (already mentioned) with a saver on Peace and Co. Oh and lay Annie Power - 2/1 about Willie Mullins third choice is absurd
• John's Spirit in whatever handicap he runs
• Cole Harden in the World Hurdle
• Don Cossack for the Gold Cup
• And I think Victoria Pendleton will fall off - but don't bet on any of the markets the bookies offer on it.

As for 'Any Luck Man' he tells me he backed My Tent or Yours for the Champion Hurdle at 20/1. He's now best priced 13/2 and has been unlucky for the last 2 years. Sadly for ALM the bookies love 'unlucky' horses.

And this is dear old Goring Two who after 2 PU's came an honourable 3rd today.

The most famous Derby of all

For racing fans, the Derby we are most likely to recall feature the great horses or superb jockeyship. Shergar remains my favourite. Never has horse in my lifetime won so convincingly. And of course Lester Piggott dominated the race for years, ruthlessly 'jocking-off' other riders in order to ensure he rode the likeliest winner, but conclusively proving over and again that he was the best.
But for those odd people to whom racing has no interest, the Derby they are most likely to have heard of happened over 100 years ago, when the suffragette Emily Davidson threw herself in front of the King's horse.
There is a fascinating account of the 1913 Derby in The Druid's Lodge Confederacy by Paul Mathieu. It is the true story of a syndicate of gamblers - including a stud owner, a theatre impresario and a Royal vet - who with cunning, ruthless secrecy and a magnificent boldness made racing pay through their audacious gambles. The blurb mentions that Dick Francis would have been hard-pressed to invent a more fascinating tale; actually that is not true. Mathieu's story is much better than the formula fiction dreamt up by Dick Francis (or was it Mrs Francis all along?)
The final coup executed by the partners was to win the 1913 Derby, with a horse that they did not really think would win. It was nowhere near financially their biggest success. Indeed Wilfred Purefoy, the said theatre impresario, was not even at Epsom to witness the triumph.
The author covers the Davidson element, and makes it clear that in his view she did not intend to kill herself and it was only chance that meant she was hit by Aboyeur. He suggests her intention was to reveal a Suffragette banner as the field passed Tattenham Corner-

"From where Emily Davidson stood, the greatest race-reader born would have been lucky to pick one horse's colours to lunge at. It was bad luck - not planning - that the King's horse was the one she fell under. It was far worst luck - not suicide - that she paid with her life for her publicity seeking."

The bulk of the field had passed by before Davidson stepped out. Almost certainly the jockeys up front had no idea the incident had even happened. They fought out the finish unaware of the drama 5 furlongs back, and were involved in the most controversial result ever declared.
Craganour, the heavily backed favourite, was judged to have passed the post first. The Druid's Lodge horse, Aboyeur, came second. He was a rank outsider, returned at a starting price of 100/1. Purefoy had staked £250 at odds of 200/1, believing the horse was better than his form suggested (a trait of all their successful gambles) but not thinking he was good enough to beat Craganour.
Six horses in all were involved in what was a rough, and exceptionally close, finish. There was bumping and interference, which most observers thought the jockey on Aboyeur, was responsible for. One horse came up the stand rail and was missed altogether by the judge, a Mr Robinson, who was notorious for missing horses 'under his nose' in close race - it was, of course, before the use of photo-finishes.
After an agonised pause Judge Robinson's verdict was announced - Craganour by a head and neck, from Aboyeur and Louvois, with Great Sport fourth and Nimbus fifth. The cheer from the crowd could be heard in central London, as they greeted the success of the public gamble.
Everyone expected an objection by at least one of the losing jockeys, but none was forthcoming. The Clerk of the Scales announced 'All Right' and the result was official. Bookies began paying out on Craganour.
There followed the most controversial steward's enquiry in history. The 3 stewards had - amazingly - been watching the race from 3 different locations and because of the huge crowd took time to get together. When they eventually met, one steward, Eustace Loder, lodged an objection himself. It was said that there was bad feeling from him towards the owner of Craganour.
The stewards over-ruled the 'All Right' and mayhem broke out on course.
Lord Rosebery, one of the stewards stood himself down from the enquiry because he owned a horse in the race, leaving the investigation in the hands of just Loder and Lord Wolverton.
After one hour the 2 stewards announced their verdict. They disqualified Craganour for causing interference and declared Aboyeur the winner. Purefoy got off his train in Ireland to discover he had won £62,500 (equivalent to over £1.5million today) from his gamble.
Most bookies - excluding those who had paid out before the Stewards' Enquiry and Ladbrokes, with whom Purefoy had placed his wager - saved a fortune with news of the amended result.
Aboyeur run unsuccessfully once more, the owning syndicate dissolved and their Derby 'winner' was sold to the St Peter's Jockey Club. Rumour has it that come the Revolution he then became a - very fast - member of the White Russian cavalry.
As a result of the controversy the term 'All Right' was abolished, and 'Weighed In' has been used ever since.
There is some fascinating Pathe news film of the race, but even if available at the time, it may not have been much help to the stewards.

NB - Those concerned about a syndicate named the Confederacy, will also be alarmed to hear that the feature race today at Sandown is The Imperial Cup. If (and it's a big if admittedly) Dr Newland has got Ebony Express back happy again, then last year's winner is weighted to repeat his victory at 14/1.

Sexist betting strategy backfires at Lingfield

Poor old Fontwell was off again yesterday, taking the abandonment rate to 75% since I bought my season ticket. Still the Fontwell folk sent me a nice letter apologising, enclosing a couple of £5 drink/food vouchers and a complimentary ticket for a friend to the - sadly abandoned - next meeting.
The rainfall overnight and continuing into the morning meant the clerk of the course had little choice, and fair play to him for making the decision early. This gave the chance to divert to Lingfield, where it was even wetter but the all-weather once again saved the day for those of us in need of our racing fix.
The quality of the horses was fairly humdrum, but some of the top jockeys were due to ride, including the underrated champion jockey for 2015, Sylvestre de Sousa. Pele and Ayrton Senna might have been more well-known, but de Sousa is now my favourite Brazilian sportsman.
Unfortunately whilst he made it back from Rio to the UK, he and quite a few of the other jockeys had not bargained for the M25 traffic. Roadworks and an accident in the contra flow meant they were late for the first race, causing confusing last minute jockey changes and some horses to be withdrawn altogether.
Ed Quigley, 'Longshot' in the Racing Post, had tipped up Palace Moon in the first. He (the horse, not the tipster) is 11 years old (veteran plus stage) and had not won for 3 years. Delving a long way back into his form it was just about possible to see where Ed was coming from so I invested a small amount to place on the Tote. Palace Moon duly won at 20/1, paying a win dividend of £28.60. The place dividend felt like a loss in the circumstances, especially as the smiling Tote lady said "Well done but bet you wish you'd had it to win" as she handed over my £62 (as opposed to £286). I grinned grimaced and agreed nicely.
The next race was a claimer, where the weight the horse carries is determined by how much the owner/trainer is prepared to allow the horse to be bought for. Obviously the theory is that no owner will put his horse in at a price which undervalues him. There is though an unwritten rule which considers it slightly not the done thing to claim another trainer's horse (especially an older one to whom connections might have grown attached). Personally I think this is a load of nonsense, and was therefore pleased to see old Majestic Myles claimed for £7k by a Mr L.A. Carter.
Silvestre de Sousa made it in time for the 4th race, but the rushing cannot have helped as he rode the 13/8 favourite trained by Mark 'Always Trying' Johnston into only 3rd place.
Still he must have been ready for the fascinating 5 furlong sprint which followed. There were just 4 horses but on form they seemed very closely matched. The betting bore this out with all of them at one time priced between 5/2 and 7/2. My logic suggested that jockeyship could be the crucial factor. There was the champion jockey up against Adam Kirby (a specialist round the Lingfield bends) and two young women jockeys, Josephine Gordon and Hollie Doyle. That whittled it down by two, with me just favouring Furiant ridden by de Sousa over Illegally Blonde and the course expert Kirby.
I got that bit right, only to see Hollie Doyle on Aguerooo,

come with a perfectly timed run to win going away. The starting prices, 6/4 favourite for Furiant against 15/8 for Aguerooo, suggested I was not the only one who had been undone by a borderline sexist approach to punting.
In the winner's enclosure Hollie Doyle was tiny compared to the horse, but the owners and the trainer, Richard Hannon, obviously had faith in her. She rode an excellent race and I will not be underestimating her again.
My nap of the day, Hot Stuff, came second again, in the (un)lucky last. I will be going in again next time he runs as he keeps finding one too good, but I fear he might be my latest cliff* horse.
Obviously all racing at the moment is dominated by endless debate about next week's Cheltenham festival. The declarations for the Champion Hurdle came out during the meeting and I just had to note that Lil Rockerfeller - winning of the National Spirit at Fontwell last month- had been supplemented. The owners, including bookie Andy Smith, had paid £20k to supplement him, and will only cover their costs if their horse comes in the first 4. I have availed myself at 40/1 in the hope that Lil will emulate Beech Road.
Oh and Expect Nothing is running in A3 grade tonight at Hove. Hattie**, as she is known in the kennel, is running well at the moment but another win will be a surprise ...... but you never know. Owning a greyhound, there really is nothing better.

*As in 'follow off a'
**Named after the former Deputy Leader of Labour Party obviously 

Grassroots reality check at end of great week for racing

There has been good news for racing this week. The Government has listened and it looks like the new levy will include the money bookmakers make from British racing in their off-shore operations. That is a bit nerdy obviously and largely for turf insiders but in a more 'man/woman in the street' context we also saw the most successful British female Olympian, Victoria Pendleton (VP), win her first race as a jockey under 'rules' as part of her 'switching saddles' stunt initiative at Wincanton.
I am slightly embarrassed to admit this, having been rather curmudgeonly about the whole thing, but I actually backed her (well Pacha du Polder) on Wednesday. This was not a sentimental punt. It was simply that she was clearly on the best horse, and any price above evens represented value.
Cynical misery perspectives aside, it was heartening to see the enthusiasm with which VP's triumph was met - front and back page coverage in most major newspapers, and lead sport item on the BBC News.
I do though have to prick the hype balloon a tad. No doubt the great and the good (and Luke Harvey) of the racing world will announce on Monday that VP is ready to ride at Cheltenham. The wider non-racing world world are interested but I will just - by way of caution - repeat the conversation I overheard amongst 3 dedicated racegoers, from South London and of a certain age, on the way to Lingfield today-
"She's (VP) on £1/2 million for it you know",
"How do you think the other jockeys feel? Riding round here when she's on that?"
"I can't back her at Cheltenham."
" Yeh right. I'm leaving the race alone completely. She'll bring down the one I intended to back"
"What's she gonna do next? Boxing I heard. Still I'd probably watch it"
You can please some of the people .... etc

Leap Year and Plumpton are hard to beat

Plumpton and it is almost Spring. Not only did Leap Year give me an extra day to go racing (the chances of someone proposing to me were limited) but the sun was out, there was a hint of warmth in the air and the going included the description 'good'. The hammering the course has taken over this wet winter did mean there was an awful lot of sand on the track, but it would be harsh to be too critical when all climate change factors are considered.
My chance to study the form had been somewhat hampered by a surprise personal appearance on LatestTV, giving my views on the EU referendum. There were perhaps too many 'you knows' (channelling my inner Frank Bruno) and the fence is still aggravating my Nobbies*, but I am told that the last 2 Conservative leaning voters in the Left Wing capital of England (Brighton and Hove) quite enjoyed my chat with the legendary broadcaster Mike Mendoza.
As usual I took the coach from Brighton Station to the course. Me and 4 other paying customers got aboard (including an elderly gentleman wearing some rather fetching desert boots of the type now worn by the younger generation) and set out via Pyecombe. We reached Clayton when a diversion led to the driver doing a rather alarming 'u-ey', and we retraced our journey back to the newly savaged Patcham roundabout, before eventually arriving 30 minutes late via Prison Crossroads and the Offham Filling Station.
It meant the old friend I was meeting (you know who you are) had already consumed a burger (large) and spilt the sauce down his fetching Timberland (or was it White Stuff?) coat.
As for the racing it was in all honesty so, so.
The Tizzards are my favourite racing family. Colin Tizzard trains Cue Card (most likely English winner of the Gold Cup) from his farm in Dorset. He - rumour has it - was born in a caravan and once bowled out Ian Botham. Fact is he speaks in a lovely west country burr and - despite his lack of a silver spoon background - does really know what he is doing when it comes to both dairy farming and training traditional old-fashioned staying chasers. Personally I could not support his horse The Cider Maker (appropriate name of course) in the 4th race at odds/on but it duly obliged. Colin was not there but his son smokin'* Joe Tizzard took charge and the horse ran out an easy winner.
Rather than the normal 'getting in deeper stakes', for once the 'lucky last' did prove to be my 'getting out stakes'. I backed the David Bridgewater trained Jot'em Down, who stayed on well under my new favourite jockey Tom Scudamore, to deny the locally trained (Suzy Smith at Lewes) favourite Clondaw Bisto. Yet again we all saw how difficult it is for a bumper winner to come first again under a penalty.
On the way back there were 6 people on the coach (somebody sneaked on?). The Ditchling diversion was still in place but no alarming u-turns from the driver this time. It simply took two hours to complete the journey as we waited at the Hassocks traffic lights. It might be easier to go the whole way by train in future.

NB By the way, stay tuned for my next post. I am off to London on Thursday for a Cheltenham Preview Evening in which arch villain, Rich Ricci #Fatcatinahat, is the star turn. My trilby and tweeds will be making an appearance at The Temple Walkabout to hear whether he thinks Annie Power will win the Champion Hurdle. 

* Nobby Styles, piles etc

**Joe puffs a packet of Rothmans whenever one of the stable's fancied runners are competing. Come the Gold Cup in a fortnight he might spontaneously combust if Cue Card gets anywhere delivering.