Gevrey's Auteuil Mission

There are five meetings taking place this afternoon, all on the flat with the action coming from Ascot, Haydock, Newcastle, Kempton and Musselburgh.  Newcastle get the wooden spoon today with just £33,000 on offer across their eight race card.  If you are after a bit of jumping action you will need to look across the Channel where there is an excellent card at France's premier track Auteuil.  David sends Gevrey Chambertin across to run in the 2m2f hurdle at 3.25pm (British time) - you may recall that a little earlier in the year David won both the Grade 2 French Champion Hurdle Trial with Ballynagour and the Grade 1 French Champion Hurdle with Un Temps Pour Tout at the track -  let's hope that he can repeat the dose!

Gevrey Chambertin was a former winner of the ultra-competitive Fixed Brush Handicap Hurdle at Haydock who also won a couple of races over fences last season.  He should appreciate the French hurdles which are very much like our brush hurdles or miniature fences and the ground should suit.  He has settled in well in France as you can see from the photograph above of him being washed off after his morning exercise yesterday.  If he puts his best foot forward I could see him running a big race under Tom Scudamore.

Talking of Tom Scu, he was a little unlucky at Sedgefield yesterday when falling at the last aboard The Yank with the race seemingly at his mercy.  I know the field were closing but he was still about five lengths to the good when coming to grief and I think he would still have won.

Newmarket trainer Clive Brittain has decided to call it a day at the end of the season, mind you he is 81 years young!  The horse I remember most from his time as a trainer is 1992 dual Oaks and St Leger winner User Friendly who was owned by Bill Gredley, while he also had a few other cracking fillies including Sayyedati and Pebbles.  Clive is an excellent trainer who has had a licence since 1972 - his horses were all particularly good in the dark as he was famed for always being the first on the Newmarket gallops at 5am!

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How on earth can Holland lose an International football match against Iceland?  I though they were a supermarket chain who sold frozen food!  My other two teams, Belgium and Wales both won but the Welsh are very fortunate to have the services of Gareth Bale who headed home the winner.  So much for my little treble...sorry Mart!

Anyway, England take on San Marino tonight and the papers are hyping it up to be some major International match.  San Marino have played six matches, have not scored a goal while conceding 19!  I will be using a calculator to keep track of the score for this one!

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Finally, a little riddle for you this morning...What starts with a 'P', ends with an 'E' and has a million letters in it?  A Post Office...think about it!

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