England Thrash The Aussies!

Well, England managed to win the second Test match against the Australians by an innings and 71 runs, and following his efforts with bat and ball I was amused to see Kevin Pietersen (tongue firmly in cheek) refer to himself as an all-rounder!  Remember, England only need to draw the series to retain the Ashes, but wouldn't it be great to win the series outright?  I have a few Aussie mates who have given me quite a lot of stick down the years, but funnily enough I haven't heard much from them recently.  Fortunately Ricky Ponting is going through a torrid time with the bat, but even so, Australia look to be a poor outfit...so now we have got them down, let's tread on them!

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When I look through the birthday's list in the Racing Post, it makes me realise just how old I am.  I see that former local trainer Gerald Cottrell is 86 today.  Dennis, who was MCP's head lad for many years used to work for Gerald a long time ago - I think that Fred Archer was riding at the time!

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Can you believe it?  David was present at the Derby Awards in London yesterday to see Matt Chapman voted broadcaster of the year.  I guess it's because with everyone cutting costs Attheraces can save on electricity by turning Matt's microphone off!  The orange one normally joins us in our Cheltenham Festival marquee to give his views (whether we want them or not) - he will probably be even noisier now.  Of course, I am only joking - Matt is a great supporter of Pond House and he deserves this accolade.  He maybe noisy and opinionated, but racing is all about opinions!

Above: Matt Chapman accepts his Broadcaster
of the year award in London yesterday!