One Runner At Fakenham

There are just two meetings taking place this afternoon with a jumps card at Fakenham and an all-weather flat meeting at Southwell.  The stable has one runner at Fakenham; Low Key who takes in the maiden hurdle.  Our gelding was rated 82 on the level and was last seen winning a lady amateur riders race on soft ground at Newbury by a wide margin.  It would appear that this is potentially one of the best maiden hurdles ever staged at the track - John Ferguson's Zip Top was second to Camelot in the Racing Post Trophy as a two year old and attained a rating of 110 on the level, while James Fanshawe's Shewaiman contested the Ascot Gold Cup last year and was rated 95 on the flat.  Even so, I still expect a bold show from Low Key and stable jockey Tom Scudamore is in the saddle.

The ground at Plumpton yesterday was absolutely bottomless and that was reflected in the winning times - two of the races were over a minute outside of the standard time.  I would imagine the horses that ran there yesterday will take some time to recover from their exertions.  One who I saw yesterday that I thought might win again was Dawson City, although he does look as though he wants testing ground and a trip.  Tom Scu's journey was made worthwhile when Bravo Riquet defied his welter burden of 12-5 in the handicap chase.

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The big football match this evening is between West Ham and Everton in the FA Cup replay and it is on BT Sport at 7.45pm.  As far as I am concerned (and I may be a little biased) but my beloved Hammers should have beaten Everton at the first time of asking - let's hope that 'Big Sam' has recovered and can shout his team on from the dug-out.  The Hammers are 7/5 to win in 90 minutes and I may just have to have a little bit of that.

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Rory McIlroy makes his first start of the year in the Abu Dhabi golf championships.  It looks like a strong field of European golfers and he could be a little rusty after his break, especially as plenty of his opponents are already match tight.

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There is a great picture in the papers today of dairy farmer Scott Mitchell with his brand new tractor that he bought from his winnings after becoming Lakeside World Darts champion over the weekend.  You can see why he has bought it!

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Golfer: 'That can't be my ball, it's too old'
Caddy: 'It been a long time since we teed off!'