Sussex Thriller

What a race for the Sussex Stakes yesterday with Mohaather delivering a decisive late challenge under Jim Crowley to beat Circus Maximus.  I thought for a moment that the Ballydoyle team had played a blinder with Circus Maximus leading and the other two O'Brien runners to his outside a length off each other as it looked as if they had managed to box in the entire field.  You would feel aggrieved if you owned 2,000 Guineas hero Kameko who never saw daylight, whilst the winner also met trouble in running but produced an excellent turn of foot to get himself out of trouble.  It is a shame that one of the Classic generation couldn't exert themselves over the field, but take nothing away from a very good winner.  Over in Ireland, Early Doors was successful in the Galway Plate for J P McManus, staving off the Mullins and Elliott brigades in a tight finish.

There are two flat meetings taking place this afternoon with the action coming from Goodwood and Musselburgh as well as a jumps card from Southwell.  It is day three of the Glorious Goodwood meeting today which is traditionally Ladies' Day, not that you will be seeing too many of them on the track (stable staff and a few owners excepting) and the highlight is the Group 1 Nassau Stakes at 3.15pm.  It looks like a cracking race on paper with very little between the first four, including last year's winner, Deirdre.  French Oaks winner Fancy Blue and the rapidly improving Nazeef make this a fascinating contest.  There are no runners from the Pond House team today, although we will be back with a runner on the flat at Lingfield tomorrow evening.

We were out of luck at Bangor yesterday with Lady Reset finishing fifth in the novices hurdle.  With the odds-on favourite disappointing, she looked as though she would finish in the frame but she weakened quickly after a mistake at the penultimate hurdle.  There will be other days for her.

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Ronnie O'Sullivan has never been a stranger to courting controversy and the former world number one snooker player has weighed in with his thoughts on spectators being allowed into the Crucible Theatre to watch the world championships which get underway on Friday.  O'Sullivan claimed the players were being treated like 'lab rats' by allowing 300 members of the audience into each session.

Snooker follows the lead of cricket who allowed spectators to watch a friendly between Surrey and Middlesex, although the snooker championships will be the first event to be held indoors.  Racing will have it's own spectators on Saturday when annual members of Goodwood will be allowed to watch the final day of their current meeting.  Let's hope all goes well with each event.

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My wife was doing her make-up the other day when I told her that she was drawing her eyebrows in too high.  She looked surprised!

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