Two Runners At Haydock

There are five meetings taking place this afternoon with jumps cards from Ascot, Haydock and  Huntingdon as well as all-weather flat fixtures from Lingfield and Wolverhampton.  As you would expect for a Saturday, there is some excellent racing to look forward to and David has a couple of runners at Haydock; Umbrigado and Know The Score.  Umbrigado contests the Stayers' handicap hurdle at 2.25pm (a race David has won in the past with the likes of Grands Crus, Dynaste and Gevrey Chambertin when it was run over the brush hurdles).  He was a high quality novice hurdler last term but he will need to be to land this ultra competitive handicap.  This is his first try at 3m under rules, but he shapes as though it will suit - he will like the ground and has a good chance under Tom Scudamore.

Our other runner is Know The Score who runs in the stayers' handicap chase over 3m4½f at 3.40pm.  It is the last race of the day so the ground could be pretty churned up by then and will be a thorough test of stamina.  Fortunately that seems to be Know The Score's long suit and he posted a good performance when making a winning seasonal reappearance at Worcester last month.  He is 5lbs higher today and this is more competitive but he is a progressive type who must go well.  Tom Scudamore rides.

Of course, there are some other interesting clashes to watch too.  Namely Altior versus Cyrname at Ascot and Bristol de Mai against Lostintranslation at Haydock.  They should be exciting races to watch but I will be sticking with the proven duo Altior and Bristol de Mai - their opponents may well be superstars, but they are going to have to be to attain the level of form required to win.

We were all greatly saddened to hear of the passing of Make A Stand yesterday at the ripe old age of 28.  Most racing enthusiasts will remember the trailblazing chestnut, “Stanley” as he was affectionately known.  He won numerous good races during the 1996/97 season including the Tote Gold Trophy, Lanzarote and William Hill Hurdle, culminating with success on the biggest stage of all – the Champion Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival where he blitzed his rivals from the front under A P McCoy.

Of course, you will have heard countless times about his story - a real rags to riches tale.  He joined the Pond House team after we bought him from a Leicester claiming race on the flat for just £8,000 and under MCP's tutelage, went on to land over £260,000 in prize money and the most prestigious hurdle races in Britain.  He enjoyed a well-deserved, long and happy retirement with Lee Harfield who looked after him at Henrietta Knight’s establishment in Lambourn.

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What a performance from Great Britain to beat Germany in their Davis Cup quarter final clash yesterday.  Dan Evans and Kyle Edmund were the stars of the show so let's hope they can do it again as they take on the Spanish this afternoon in a bid to reach the final.

There are some good football matches taking place this afternoon.  Arsenal look solid against Southampton at 1/2, Liverpool should be too good for Crystal Palace at 19/40 and Everton can beat Norwich at 2/5.  They are short prices, but a little treble returns just over 9/4.  David will be hoping that Chelsea can get a result against Manchester City in the 5.30pm game on SkySports.  They have a tall order though against the defending Premier League champions.

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I went for a full English breakfast this morning before work but managed to get covered in ketchup...from my head tomatoes!

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