Bans Overturned

There are four meetings taking place this afternoon with jumps cards from Newbury and Ludlow and a couple of all-weather flat fixtures from Newcastle and Lingfield.  The good news is that Ludlow passed an early morning inspection and their meeting goes ahead.  The not so good news is that there are no runners from the Pond House team today.  Even so, there is some good racing to look forward to, not least at Newbury where they have some big fields to pick your way through.

I see that the seven jockeys who were banned for failing to stop for a yellow flag in Sandown's London National have had their appeals upheld and their bans overturned following an independent disciplinary hearing.  That will be an early Christmas present for these lads as they were set to face ten days on the sidelines.  In this day and age it is difficult to believe that there is not a more reliable way of stopping a race than a man with a yellow flag.  The panel accepted the jockeys' account that they could not see the flag in the dying light and had no reason to race on had they seen it as they understood that a yellow flag meant a void race.

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Aston Villa demolished Jurgen Klopp's team of lads 5-0 in the EFL Cup action last night.  With much of the first team squad in Qatar, the Liverpool side had an average age of just 19 and they were certainly taught a lesson.  You can't beat a bit of experience...that's what I keep telling my wife anyway!

I do not expect a similar result tonight as Manchester City's reserves should have far too much in the locker when they play Oxford in their EFL quarter-final.

There was a turn-up in the PDC World Darts last night as Fallon Sharrock became the first lady player to beat a man in a world championship match, beating world number 95 Ted Evetts 3-2 at the Ally Pally.  Sharrock, who is 25 had been runner-up in the ladies' world championships in 2015.

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Why don't you ever see Santa in hospital?  Because he has private elf care!

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