Guest blogger - Mrs Tips

On certain well read blogs it has become fashionable to 'invite in ' a guest blogger. I thought of approaching Tony McCoy, Richard Johnson and the likes but in the end I went for the easy option and plumped for Mrs Tips. Here's her account of our day at Stratford races on Saturday...

Picnic packed, we headed off to Stratford on what was, to begin with, a rather coolish afternoon. This did not detract from what was a jolly good outing for The Tips family and friends. This is the first time I've been racing since Mr Tips took me to Chester races when we were 'courting' all those years ago! Mr Tips is a dab hand when it comes to taking a lady out for a romantic sporting occasion, is he not? I still think Wimbledon wins by a furlong!

The atmosphere was busy, quite a few folk about, although I expect it can get busier. Thankfully it didn't or we wouldn't have been able to get to the toilet! Woefully inadequate facilities for ladies I felt.

It was difficult to actually see the races in action, if truth be told. We did have a good view of the big screen but most of the time you couldn't see any real action until the horses just went zipping past.

You'll be pleased to hear that I didn't let myself down and won on the first race with Colourful Life and tipped the winner of the second, Left Hand Drive ( I let Baby Tips have that one). I had a couple of seconds in the third and fifth races too. Not bad for someone who doesn't study form.

The highlight of the day was spotting Tony McCoy giving his autograph to someone before going on to win the fourth race on The King of Angels.

It was a good day out although a lot of standing and then walking back and forth to collect our winnings really tired us out!