Pair Of Seconds

It was a case of so near but yet so far yesterday with both of the stable runners finishing second.  Delface put in an exhilarating round of jumping at Hereford (albeit a little to his left) on only his second start over fences.  He only gave best after the last and should be winning more races judged on this effort.  Meanwhile, Meep Meep Mag also ran well in the closing bumper at Wetherby.  She kept trying all the way to the line and was not beaten very far.  She will clearly appreciate a step-up in trip and has a smashing attitude and could pick up a similar race but looks to be a surefire winner over obstacles.

There are four meetings taking place this afternoon with jumps action from Ffos Las and our local track, Taunton, whilst there are all-weather flat cards at Lingfield and Chelmsford City.  The stable has just one runner today as Ekayburg (pictured above) contests the 3m novices' handicap hurdle at Taunton at 1.45pm.  A talented performer in bumpers in France, he is yet to translate that ability to hurdles in this country.  He would need to improve to figure on what he has shown thus far and hopes hang on the step-up in trip having a positive effect.  Tom Scudamore is in the saddle.

I see that the path has been cleared for Kemboy to return to action following the Supreme Racing debacle.  That has to be considered good news - the horse looked a star on several occasions last season and racing certainly needs it's stars.  Talking of stars, I see that Gordon Elliott has reported the target for Tiger Roll to be a third crack at the Grand National at Aintree despite owner Michael O'Leary's recent comments to the contrary.  As I said previously, it would be astonishing if he did not run at Aintree if fit and able.

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It is Thanksgiving in America and that means Dallas and Detroit will be in action in the NFL (American Football).  It may not be everyone's game, but I love it !  Divisional rivals Chicago and Detroit face off at 5.30pm tonight on Sky Sports, whilst Buffalo play Dallas and New Orleans take on Atlanta.  New Orleans were lucky to escape with a win against Carolina last week and face a resurgent Falcons side who had an awful start to the season but have looked better in recent weeks.  They may not beat the Saints, but could well make it interesting.

England's cricketers take on New Zealand in the second of the two match Test series starting today and the visitors look to have an uphill task on their hands after falling to an innings defeat in the first match.

The UK snooker championship continues today with Ronnie O'Sullivan and Judd Trump among the stars in action.  I notice there are some interesting prices on offer from the bookmakers.  One firm makes Trump 1/1750 to win his match against Amiri, with the underdog a 40/1 chance...I'm no bookmaker, but with only two possible results (no draw in snooker) those don't add up to appealing odds!

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My friend lost his job at the dairy farm because of his erratic behaviour.  He was a danger to himself and udders!

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