Salaam Second

There are four meetings taking place this afternoon with jumps cards from Warwick and Newcastle as well as all-weather flat cards from Wolverhampton and Chelmsford City.  Stable jockey Tom Scudamore has picked up a couple of rides for his brother Michael at Warwick so hopefully he will be among the winners, although they are quite big prices.

I thought that our Market Rasen runner Yaa Salaam ran a solid race in defeat in the novices' hurdle yesterday behind a highly-rated winner.  He was only headed after the last and beaten 1½ lengths.  This was only his second start over timber and with further improvement likely with experience he looks like another useful recruit for the stable and he should be winning sooner rather than later.

One of our former jockeys is celebrating his birthday today.  Rory MacNeice is 51 today and the Racing Post refers to him as 'jump jockey turned solicitor'.  I think he made the right decision, although I had better be careful what I say!  Rory joins us every year in our hospitality marquee at the Cheltenham Festival.  It is also Luke Harvey's birthday today and the Post refers to him as a 'jockey'...how can they get it so badly wrong?!

I see that Ed Dunlop's Sir Gnet broke his maiden tag at the 18th time of asking yesterday afternoon at Lingfield.  I wonder what the record is for the number of runs before your first win?  Of course, many horses never win a race at all so I would imagine it is considerably more than 18.  Talking of Lingfield, I see that Cieren Fallon rode his fourth winner of the year and wants to compete for the apprentice jockeys' championship, something his father never managed to win.  If he finishes up anywhere near as good as his father, he is going to be some jockey.

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World number three ladies snooker player Rebecca Kenna has quit her local league after she was banned from playing in two fixtures in the Keighley area.  It is hard to believe in this day and age that such nonsense still goes on.

Chelsea silenced the hostile crowd of Paris Saint-Germain with a last gasp goal to reach the Champions' League semi-finals.  They scored in the 91st minute to win 3-2 on aggregate.  By the way, I am talking about the women's Champions' League!

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Knock Knock!
Who's there?
Abbott...
Abbott who?
Abbott time you opened this door!

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