It was a big day for Betfair yesterday, with an important high court ruling coming through from Australia. The Western Australian government had introduced legislation that banned betting exchanges in WA and gave the racing authorities the right to decide who could and could not offer betting on WA racing. Betfair had little choice but to challenge the ruling and take the …
Double handed
A busy week, and a difficult one with Jane being ill with flu and me not being able to drive. I still managed to fit in three visits to the racecourse, and with Cheltenham coming up I’m going to be raced out be the end of next week. On Wednesday I went down to Fontwell, where Betfair were hosting a …
Decisions decisions
Cheltenham approaches and I have a few potential runners, but it brings a few dilemmas. Currently I have both Mon Michel and Prince Ary declared for the Imperial Cup on Saturday and the County Hurdle on the Friday of Cheltenham, and they could both run in both races. I also have King’s Head and Hope Road declared in the same …
King’s Head is a non-runner
Bert is en route to Lambourn and has asked me to report that King’s Head won’t be running as Gary Moore is concerned that the ground will be softer than he wants. The times and jockey comments from yesterday suggested that it’s unlikely to dry out enough despite a bright and breezy day today. At least it means that Bert …
The name game
The time has come to name the 2yos, and the Comic Strip Heroes horses are always good fun to do. Jeremy and I compiled a list of around 40 names and we sat down with Ed to hammer it out. We have three colts with Pete by Rock of Gibraltar, Bahamian Bounty and Fasliyev – they will respectively be named Maxwell Hawke, Skid …
Ascot looms…
…and I’m beginning to get excited. Winker is extremely well and we’ve been arguing the toss with Pete all week as to which race he’ll go for. It’s looking like we’re going for the Norfolk on Thursday. Major Eazy will run in the Windsor Castle on Tuesday, and Frankie is taking the ride. He’s run in the best 2yo company …
Disappointing hurdle
A very poor show from King’s Head. Having spoken to Gary I was feeling pretty confident before the race, but he ran badly again and there could be no excuses this time. I’ve had a long chat with Gary – he says the KH is throwing away his chances by racing to keenly, and even on the right ground he …
King’s Head gets his ground
King’s Head goes today at Huntingdon, and he could be a real value bet. The ground is key for him. Last time he ran the rains came and ruined his chances – he gets another chance today on ground that he will appreciate. The firmer the ground the better his chances – the first races should give an indication.
A long week
The end of a long week. King’s Head didn’t win, but after the rain I didn’t expect him to and I didn’t have a penny on him – for some reason he was heavily punted. Crimson Monarch didn’t stay. Ger Butler proved that he is very much in form, winning Highland Legacy’s race with a 20-1 shot and landing a …
King’s Head
King’s Head goes to Wincanton tonight to try to open his account over hurdles. We took him back to the flat last time, but there were technical reasons for doing that – if he had won a hurdle before May 1 (the beginning of the new jumps year) he would have lost his novice status, and that lasts for the …