Weekend Jottings

There are just two meetings taking place this afternoon with a flat card from Goodwood and a jumps fixture from Chepstow.  David has one runner at the Welsh track as Hot Ryan makes her debut for the stable in the concluding bumper at 5.40pm.  Our five year old has had three starts in bumpers (the first two were point-to-point bumpers), winning the second of those.  She is owned by stable sponsor Geoff Thompson and we will be hoping for a decent run from her, although with fourteen runners in the line-up it is difficult to know what to expect.  With the recent rain the ground has become good/soft so it is unsurprising that there are plenty of runners on the card.

I see that flat jockey Daniel Muscutt had a nasty fall on the all-weather at Chelmsford earlier in the week and has broken a bone in his neck, three in his back and a rib.  The falls on the flat always seem to be worse, possibly because the horses are travelling faster, possibly because the flat jockeys are smaller.  His horse looked to clip the heels of the one in front and he took a horrible fall.  Let's hope that he is soon on the mend.

The BHA have moved to put on eight new floodlit fixtures on the all-weather in the next two months.  They say that it will help with the high number of horses eliminated in recent weeks.  Did you know there were 1,500 such eliminations recently?  So much for too much racing!  I have to say, I am surprised.

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Another story that I find hard to believe...Red Star Belgrade face a match fixing ban after claims an official bet lots of money on them to lose by five goals.  They went on to lose 6-1 and UEFA were tipped off.  If it was to lose by a goal or two you could possibly believe it, but to lose by five goals sound suspicious to me.

Usain Bolt could yet get a professional football contract.  He scored twice in a trial for Australia's Central Coast Mariners.  Imagine playing against him...you wouldn't want to be the one the manager tells to man mark the 8 time Olympic sprint champion.

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Thought for the day...Never pick a fight with an ugly person.  They have nothing to lose!

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