Wincanton Runners

There are just two meetings taking place this afternoon with jumps cards from Aintree and Wincanton.  David has three runners at Wincanton today; Airton, Paricolor and Huccaby.  Airton (pictured above) runs in the 2m5½f handicap hurdle at 1.00pm.  He has some decent winning form but has been a bit disappointing of late.  He will like the forecast good ground (Wincanton must have missed all of the rain we have been experiencing!) and could surprise a few people if recapturing his best.

Paricolor runs in the juvenile hurdle at 3.20pm.  Our three year old took a big step forward when runner-up at Wetherby last time out and with that experience under his belt he should go well once again.  He jumps nicely but with so many unraced horses in opposition it is hard to know what he is up against.

Huccaby is our final runner on the card when he contests the novices' hurdle at 3.55pm.  There look to be some useful types in the line-up and our four year old is still learning his trade.  He will be seen in the best light when contesting handicaps.  Tom Scudamore is aboard all of our runners at Wincanton.

The big race at Wincanton is the Desert Orchid Silver Cup at 2.45pm and with £26,000 up for grabs it is a competitive race as you would expect.  There is also some excellent action at Aintree with the Old Roan Chase the highlight there.  They have £80,000 in prize money so both tracks deserve a big pat on the back for a job well done.

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There are some good football matches to look forward to this afternoon with a local derby between Arsenal and Crystal Palace.  I will be backing the Gunners at 10/21 along with Liverpool to beat Spurs at 8/15 and Manchester United to beat Norwich at 4/5.  That will give me an interest and Mrs Barnes will be delighted to see me flicking between channels today!

The Mexican Grand Prix takes place at 7.10pm and like the rugby, it is a sport that I find hard to get excited about.  The drivers seem to be of a very similar standard to me so it is those with the fastest car that come to the fore and for the last six years that has been Mercedes.  I wonder what it would be like if they all drove the same car?  There have been rumours of a reverse grid that would certainly make things more interesting, although the drivers hate the idea so I don't suppose that will ever happen.  Maybe they should water the track like they do in horse racing?  That would liven things up a bit!

As I have said, I am not a rugby man but it was still great to see England beat New Zealand in the semi-finals of the world cup yesterday.  Furthermore, it looked to be thoroughly well deserved.  Let's hope they can play to such a level in the final.

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What is grey, has a tail and a very large trunk?  A mouse going on holiday!  Keep smiling...

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