Horses for Sale

   Tuxedo Junction (GB) 


Exciting dual purpose prospect,
click here for details!

 

    Fighter Allen (FR)  


Exciting new horse with proven form, 
click here for details!

 

 

 

The stable enjoyed another winner yesterday afternoon when Al Roc (pictured above) was an exhilarating winner of the 2m5f handicap chase at Market Rasen.  Making all the running at a good pace, he soon had the rest of the field in trouble as he jumped beautifully from fence to fence, bounding clear under Philip Armson.  He stuck to his guns in the home straight when the pack started to close and more good leaps put the matter beyond doubt with our revitalised eleven year old scoring by 7 lengths.

Koi Dodville also ran well when runner-up in the 2m3f handicap chase on his first start over fences.  Only a four year old, he jumped very well over the bigger obstacles under a positive ride from Tom Scudamore and kept on once headed by the favourite.  He should be winning plenty of races over fences judged on this evidence.  Awesomedude, kept on in the closing stages of the lady riders' handicap hurdle to finish fifth.

There are just three meetings taking place this afternoon with a jumps card from Worcester and flat fixtures from Ayr and Ripon.  David has three runners at Worcester today; d'Jango, American Sniper and Oceanline. d'Jango runs in the 2m7f handicap chase at  1.35pm.  He was the winner of a hurdle over course and distance last time, so conditions clearly suit him well.  He reverts to the larger obstacles today from a 5lbs higher mark in a competitive contest, but with a clear round he should be thereabouts with Philip Armson in the saddle.

American Sniper contests the bumper at 2.45pm.  He was runner-up in a similar race over course and distance on his first start under rules.  He should certainly know more with that experience under his belt and a repeat of that effort would give him a good chance.  Tom Scudamore takes over on board.

Oceanline is our final runner when he makes his debut for the stable in the 2m4f novices' hurdle at 3.20pm.  He had some good form on the flat and showed more than enough in five starts over hurdles to suggest that a should be winning plenty more races.  The step-up in trip looks sure to suit and he receives weight from all of his opponents.  Tom Scudamore rides and he looks to have a good chance.

Vadeni was a good winner of the Coral Eclipse on Saturday, landing the 1m2f Group One contest from Mishriff and Native Trail (who cost me again!).  I bet that Frankie Dettori was watching on with a rye smile though...I know that David Egan has always had the ride on Mishriff, but can you imagine the scrutiny the Italian would have been under if he had ridden John Gosden's runner-up?  There were only six runners, yet he missed the break and then found every bit of trouble in running.  With a clear passage he would most definitely have won and rates an unlucky loser.

*****

What a fascinating weekend of sport.  Carlos Sainz Jr won his first Formula One race on his 150th start in the British Grand Prix at Silverstone at the weekend.  It was good to see a new face on the top step of the podium, however, you can only feel that Ferrari shot themselves in the foot once again.  The team chose to leave their lead driver, Charles Leclerc on track when a retirement led to a safety car which would have given him a 'free' pit stop to change tyres.  Instead, he was left vulnerable on old tyres and despite steely defence, he was passed by three of his rivals.  Given that Leclerc is chasing Max Verstappen (who finished seventh in his damaged Red Bull), this was an opportunity missed to close down on their title rivals...very strange.

What about the tennis?!  I was watching Stefanos Tsitsipas versus Nick Kyrgios on Saturday evening and couldn't believe what I was seeing.  I know that Kyrgios has a reputation, but I have never seen such blatant gamesmanship in professional sport ever.  The loud-mouthed Australian was arguing and intimidating the referee throughout, shouting between games (and points!) and being generally belligerent.  It looked tantamount to cheating and I was surprised his opponent kept his cool for almost two sets before frustration began to get the better of him.  To me, Kyrgios is a disgrace to the sport and should not even be playing, but for some reason, he drew the support of the crowd.  I suppose he has me talking about it this morning and that is probably why he is still playing...bums on seats.

Britain's Cameron Norrie made it through to the quarter-finals for the first time with a good straight sets win over Tommy Paul.  The draw has been quite kind to him, although with Djokovic and Nadal still going strong, things will only get harder.

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