Night at Warwick

    Best Night runs at Warwick Tonight

There are two jumps meetings today at Newton Abbot this afternoon and Warwick this evening and we have one runner at the latter, Best Night.  She runs in the 8.30pm mares handicap hurdle over two miles and I would like to think we have a good chance.  There is one fly in the ointment however, the favourite, Beorma could be very hard to beat!  The Dan Skelton trained mare won at Worcester over fences last week and over hurdles at Southwell only yesterday.  She will carry a penalty this evening and then is declared to run again at Uttoxeter tomorrow and has further entries over the weekend.  If she is that well ahead of her handicap mark, suggested by the fact they have these big plans to run her lots quickly means she could be tough to beat but as we know horses are not machines. 

She won at Worcester very easily last week and then comfortably again yesterday but that was only 24 hours ago and off a seven pound higher mark then I personally think anything is possible.  I know it has happened plenty of times before and horses can back up their runs quickly and still win, but she has to be sound and well this morning and like with humans you might not be feeling 100% the day after a previous race.  We will just have to see what happens but we are in good form at home and with Rian Corcoran taking his valuable five pounds off then I think we have to have a chance.  She does have to bounce back from a couple of lesser efforts but Harry Cobden looked after her last time when her chance had gone.  The handicapper has given her a little more help and she will like the track and the ground.  It may prove an impossible task in trying to beat the favourite when we look back in a few weeks and see that one is rated 120 or something but with our horses in form we will definitely give it a go!

Alongside the two jumps meetings today, there are also two flat fixtures at Nottingham and Ripon.  In the Ireland they have one flat fixture at the Curragh.

Declarations are made this morning for the Epsom Derby on Saturday as well as the Oaks on Friday.  The track had 33mm of rain yesterday and storms and lightening which made it hard work for the teams of people making the final preparations to the course for the coming days.  The ground is now described as good to soft, good in places with a bit more rain forecast over the next few days.  It should now be lovely safe natural ground but it may be a little softer that horses have been racing on in recent weeks so you will have to choose your best wisely! 

Last night I enjoyed watching the England ladies cricket team chase down 181 runs set by India in a Twenty20 match played in Taunton.  I believe it is the highest run chase the England team have ever chased down and it was a good chase after a tricky start with the loss of some early wickets and they did it well in the end.  The Vitality Blast matches continue this evening.  In Paris, we have reached the semi-final stage of the women's tennis and today Anna Kalinskaya plays Maja Chwalinska in the first match at 10am and then Aryna Sabalenka plays Diana Shnaider in the second semi at approx 11.20am.  We also have the men's quarter finals after this.

I only seem to get sick on weekdays.  I must have a weekend immune system.

Have a good day!