Lockdown (Part 3)

Despite the Prime Minister's announcement that the nation is to go into lockdown with immediate effect, things carry on very much as normal at Pond House...for now.  Let's hope that the sport as a whole is able to demonstrate that it is able to continue safely behind closed doors and does not become a scapegoat for the continuing escalation of Coronavirus cases.

There are no jump meetings today following the abandonment of Ludlow.  That leaves us with just a couple of all-weather flat fixtures from Lingfield and Wolverhampton.  It's pretty low-grade fare with neither card hosting anything better than a class 5 contest, but a little racing action is certainly better than none.  It's not often that you will hear me say it, but thank goodness for the all-weather!  Unsurprisingly, there are no runners from the Pond House team today.

We are all extremely saddened to hear of the passing of David Thompson (owner of Cheveley Park Stud) last week.  The Thompson's have been tremendous supporters of racing through the years, transforming Cheveley Park into one of the most recognisable names in breeding that you see today.  Their distinctive red white and blue colours have been more widely-seen in jump racing in recent years as well and they had long been patrons of Pond House.  Our thoughts and deepest sympathies go out to his wife Patricia and their family and friends at this very sad time.

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Liverpool fell to defeat at the hands of Southampton last night as they were beaten 1-0 by the Saints.  The only goal of the game came in the second minute and Southampton did very well to keep the reds out.  Their defeat means that Liverpool still head the table, although if Manchester United and Manchester City win their games in hand, they will both leapfrog the defending champions.

Tottenham Hotspur take on Brentford tonight in EFL Cup semi-final action.  Whilst the competition may not be at the top of any managers wish list, when a club has endured a silverware drought, they all become important and I am sure Mourinho will have his team up for this one.  In all competitions, Brentford have not beaten Spurs since 1948 so they have history on their side.

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Police are looking for the "Knitting Needle Nutter" who is believed to have stabbed six people with knitting needles.  Police think he may be following some sort of pattern!

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