d'Jango Denied

We were narrowly denied in the staying handicap chase at Fontwell yesterday afternoon, with d'Jango being beaten only a neck.  He certainly has his own way of negotiating fences and yesterday was not one of his more fluent rounds, which is a shame as just one more accurate jump was probably the difference between victory and defeat.  He stuck to his task bravely nonetheless and is certainly capable of winning again from this sort of mark.

There are five meetings taking place this afternoon with a jumps card from Fontwell, flat fixtures from Newmarket, Redcar and Ascot and all-weather action from Wolverhampton.  David does not have any runners today, although we will be back with a couple of runners, Colony Queen and Katpoli at Uttoxeter tomorrow.  We have had quite a bit of rain at Pond House with 10mm over the last 24 hours, to go with some quite heavy showers earlier in the week and you can see a difference in the ground.

Ascot hosts a good flat card today with a couple of Group races on the agenda, but the pick of the action comes from Newmarket where the Group 1 Sun Chariot at 2.42pm is the big race of the day.  It features a rematch between last year's Guineas runner-up (Saffron Beach) and this year's Irish Guineas winner (Homeless Songs).  The former finished ahead last time and on slightly better terms, I expect the same result today with the rain-softened ground probably also favouring Saffron Beach.

There was scandal in France yesterday when Christophe Soumillon elbowed fellow jockey Rosa Ryan clean out of the saddle in the two-year-old Group 3 contest at Saint-Cloud.  He later apologised and described the event as 'unintentional' and a 'mistake'.  Well, he was certainly partially correct, although the video evidence would suggest that the first part of that sentiment is wide of the mark.  Ryan landed feet first and then proceeded to tumble head over tail in an incident which could have left him seriously injured, although fortunately he escaped unharmed.

Soumillon was banned for two months for the incident, although controversially, he is still able to ride French Derby and Coral Eclipse winner, Vadeni in this weekend's Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe at Longchamp.  Personally, I am very disappointed as I have always been a great fan of the Belgian's riding.  He will miss Champion's Day at Ascot, the Breeders Cup and Japan Cup, but it still looks on the lenient side to me.  Those are my thoughts anyway and I'm sure others will see it differently.

*****

There are seven Premiership football matches taking place this afternoon with the London derby between Arsenal and Spurs looking the pick, with both sides currently in the top three of the division.  Spurs are away as their ground is being used by the Minnesota Vikings for one of the NFL's London games which takes place tomorrow.

One day after producing an incredible display in the British Open snooker, he was beaten in his quarter-final match 5-3 by Mark Allen, who now looks a worthy favourite for the tournament, having ousted former world number one, Judd Trump in the previous round.

Qualifying for the Singapore Grand Prix takes place today and will include Alex Albon, who has recovered from a medical emergency just three weeks ago.  He suffered respiratory failure and was on a ventilator in intensive care following an appendectomy.  It is great to see him back.

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A friend of mine lost three fingers on his right hand.  "Will I still be able to write with it?" he asked the doctor.
"Maybe," the doctor replied, "But I wouldn't count on it."

Have a great weekend everybody.