Ben Runs At Cheltenham

There are four meetings taking place this afternoon with flat cards from Newmarket, Ripon and Chelmsford as well as a jumps card from Cheltenham.  Despite there being a Group race on the flat card, Cheltenham offer better prize money than the flat fixture from Newmarket.  David has one runner today as Timeforben contests the 2m4½f Listed handicap hurdle.  Our seven year old mare is a real cracker who hardly ever seems to run a bad race.  She has won three times (albeit over further) with her last victory coming from a mark of 119.  She will need to improve again to defy a rating of 127 but has deliberately been given a break over the winter as she has a distinct preference for good ground, something she will certainly get here.  This is a very competitive contest but she is going to be a big price and looks worth a little each-way bet under Tom Scudamore.

There was something of a surprise when Keystroke ran out a 66/1 winner of the Group 3 Abernant Stakes at Newmarket yesterday.  The horse must have been showing something at home on the gallops...or does nobody watch that?

I see that Gordon Elliott may saddle as many as 14 runners in the Irish National and some of my mates down the bookies seem to think that is unfair.  The question is, should a trainer or owner be restricted to the number of horses they can have in a race?  I will leave that one to you, but it would certainly set a dangerous precedent if you were to go down that route.

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There was a great result for Spurs last night, even though they lost 4-3 to Manchester City.  The away goals meant that they beat City to progress to the Champion's League semi-finals alongside Liverpool.  You would think that with the introduction of VAR technology, they would get everything right...well there were two strange decisions and I think they got them wrong.  Even so, it was a great match and one I enjoyed enormously.

The two matches tonight have something to live up to as Chelsea take on Slavia Prague and Napoli play Arsenal.  I think I will just be watching the action.

Talking of football, I think that Chris Hughton has done a fantastic job at Brighton, although it does look like he is on a sticky wicket.  Are Brighton a Premier League side?

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The man who invented Chinese Whispers has died...pass it on!

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