Ocean Second At Kempton

Ocean Heights ran a race full of promise at Kempton last night, finishing a close second in the 1m3½f novices' stakes.  It is a shame he swung a bit wide in the straight, allowing the eventual winner up the inside but he kept on extremely well in the closing stages to harry the favourite all the way to the line.  With £399,000 the difference between the pair the last time they went through the sales ring, I think I know where the value lies!  Ocean Heights was bought with hurdling in mind, but there are certainly races to be won with him on the flat on this evidence.  Our other runner yesterday, Olympe de Gouges was unplaced in the maiden at Wolverhampton but having only her second ever start, the experience will not be lost on her.

There are four meetings taking place this afternoon with a flat card from Leicester, an all-weather flat fixture from Newcastle and jumps meetings from Hereford and Huntingdon.

There are no runners from Pond House today, although we will be back with runners tomorrow at Wetherby where former Cheltenham Festival winner Siruh du Lac is declared to run so come back then.

We were all very sorry to learn of the passing of Trevor Hemmings yesterday at the age of 86.  Mr Hemmings was best known in racing circles for his passion for the Grand National, a race he won three times with Hedgehunter, Ballabriggs and Many Clouds in his famous green, yellow and white silks.

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Wales managed to keep their World Cup dreams alive last night, despite a poor performance to beat Estonia by only 1-0.  The result means they keep tabs with the Czech Republic in their group with a game in hand over their rivals.

There is more World Cup qualifying action tonight with Northern Ireland travelling to Bulgaria, whilst Scotland visit the Faroe Islands.

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I’ve been diagnosed with a chronic fear of giants...it’s called Feefiphobia.