Cheltenham Friday

           American Sniper runs today!
       (Photo courtesy of Steven Cargill)
It's the first day of the November meeting at Cheltenham and there is also jumps action coming from Newcastle and Southwell, while on the flat all-weather action comes from Wolverhampton. In Ireland, they race over both codes with jumping coming from Punchestown and all-weather action from Dundalk.

We were due to have four runners at Taunton yesterday but due to Tuxedo Junction being a non-runner we were left with the three. Stray Bullet ran well for a long way and just weakened when getting tired, he would probably prefer a softer surface. Lock out travelled nicely, but his jumping let him down slightly and a few mistakes in the closing stages he just lost his rhythm, but it was a respectable run. African Lady was our last runner of the day, it was a slowly run race and she didn't quicken as well as the others, but she wasn't beaten by far in the end. 

Today we head to Cheltenham for the first day of their November meeting and American Sniper runs in the 1:10pm Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle over 2miles 5f. Gearoid Harney rides American Sniper, the re-applied cheek pieces brought out improvement from his recent form and he won this race last year. We've switched the headgear to blinkers and he's in great form at home. Phantomofthepoints is unfortunately now a non-runner, so we will wait for another day with him. 

Today also marks the start of a new jockeys' competition which is aimed to boost audience engagement, it's a bit like the racing league which is a popular feature on the flat. The David Power Jockeys' Cup will receive funding of £1.5 million and that money will be used to spread across marketing. Jockeys will be awarded points for finishing in the first 4 places in all jumps races shown on ITV Racing. The competition will run until the eve of next April's Grand National and the winning jockey will receive a £500,000 prize, while the yards that supplies the top ten riders with the most points will be rewarded, while the leading and runner up conditional will also get rewarded with pay-outs.

My husband told me to stop acting like a flamingo, so I had to put my foot down!

Have a great Friday!