Monday Morning!

It is a quiet start to the week with just two meetings taking place today following the abandonment of Fontwell due to waterlogging.  That leaves a jumps fixture from Carlisle and an all-weather flat fixture.  There are a few promising horses on view at Carlisle but it is hardly stuff to set the pulses racing and there are no runners from the Pond House team today.  Neither Tom Scudamore nor David Noonan have any outside rides today.  It really seems like a Monday morning in every sense!

The sport of racing is an amazing leveller and you have to feel sorry for young Irish jockey Jack Kennedy.  One minute he is celebrating victory in the Irish Gold Cup aboard Delta Work and the very next race he is unseated from Dallas des Pictons, breaking his right femur in the process.  Kennedy has already spent a month on the sidelines this season after suffering a collarbone injury and now faces a race against time to be ready for the Cheltenham Festival.  We wish him a speedy recovery.

Faugheen continued to roll back the years with success in the Grade 1 Flogas novices' chase at Leopardstown.  It was a gutsy performance from the former champion hurdler who has been a late recruit to chasing.  He is a marvellous horse, but there still remains a nagging doubt for me that he will be able to replicate this at the Cheltenham Festival.  Logic and history would suggest that he will struggle to win there at the age of twelve, although the horse doesn't seem to know how old he is!

*****

There was an exciting finish to the Superbowl last night with the Kansas City Chiefs rallying to defeat the San Francisco 49'ers by 31-20.  I was feeling quite pleased with my wager with only 9 minutes to play with the 49'ers up 20-10 but three late touchdowns from the Chiefs sealed their first championship in 50 years.  Foolishly, I stayed up to watch it in it's entirety so am a little jaded this morning...at least the half-time show (featuring Shakira and Jennifer Lopez) was enjoyable.  Certainly one for the gents this year!

Novak Djokovic produced a fantastic fightback to win his eighth Australian Open tennis championship in a five set thriller over Dominic Thiem yesterday.  Djokovic has now 17 Grand Slam tournaments which is only three behind Federer and two behind Nadal.  This really is a golden age for tennis.

Tottenham Hotspur put another nail in the coffin of any title pretensions that Manchester City may have had left with a 2-0 victory yesterday.  Liverpool, who are now 22 points clear at the top of the table could win the title as early as next month.

*****

Police are investigating a tip off about a robbery taking place this afternoon at the Heinz factory...sauce unknown!

Tweet