Long shorts

Trinity Mirror has sold The Racing Post to a private equity operation based in Irealnd for £170 million, some way below the £200 million asking price. The Times reports that, as part of the deal, £10 million will be given to racing charities and several million spent on developing the online product.

Top two year old Winker Watson has suffered a setback on the gallops and will miss the rest of the season. An ambitious plan had outlined his taking in the Middle Park on Friday followed by the Dewhurst.

The Arc build-up has started in earnest, with Dettori telling all who will listen that Authorized is the best horse in the race and he simply needs luck in running. Peter Chapple-Hyam's bullish comments about the horse following a recent piece of work appear to add weight to the jockey's claims.

At the five day declaration stage fifteen horses are left in the Arc, the Aidan O'Brien stable accounting for seven of that number. Most commentators are envisaging soft ground at Longchamp which may account for Dylan Thomas, the mount of Kieren Fallon, drifting out to 8/1 in Blue Square's ante-post book.

Mrs Tips keeps telling me Christmas is just around the corner; with that in mind, a book which may be of interest to some racing fans is Aintree's Queen Bee, Mirabel Topham and the Grand National, written Joan Rimmer and published by SportsBooks Ltd. This review in The Liverpool Daily Post gives a good feel for the content.

A few Flat notes

At the time of writing Peter Chapple-Hyam's Derby winner Authorized is a best priced 13/8 to win the Arc at Longchamp a week on Sunday. Authorized's preparation appears to be going to plan although recently his trainer admitted that several in his string were under the weather and there are no isolation facilities at the yard. If you fancy Authorized, it will pay to monitor the stable's runners over the coming week.

Henry Cecil has given a big hint that his Oaks filly Passage Of Time will be supplemented for the same race; she has been introduced into the betting at 33/1.

Kieren Fallon and five co-defendants are set to appear at The Old Bailey a week tomorrow to face charges relating to conspiracy to defraud punters. This high profile trial is expected to last three to four months and will generate huge media interest.

I guess Alec Salmond, Scotland's First Minister, is a guy you either love or love to hate. Whatever, his banter with the regulars of Channel Four's Morning Line on Saturday was most entertaining. My father-in-law, who hails from South West Scotland, often describes him as 'silver-tongued' and you can see why. A game my (sad) drinking companions occasionally play is to name a celebrity you would choose to have evening dinner with, giving reasons for your choice and some questions you'd put to the lucky celebrity concerned. After watching his performance on Saturday, Alec Salmond is right up there on my list.

Authorized to miss King George

It was announced earlier today that Derby winner Authorized will miss the King George a week on Saturday following his second place to Notnowcato in the Eclipse. Obviously his withdrawal detracts from the quality of the field but it's not really that surprising a decision; the plan is to give the horse a rest with the Arc the main aim in the autumn. The Eclipse route just hasn't worked out for connections. A comment on the BBC site pointed out that, in effect, the King George was sacrificed for the gamble that was the Eclipse (and unfortunately the gamble didn't come off).

Two big races in the summer jumping programme, the Summer Plate and Summer Hurdle, take place at Market Rasen on Saturday. I'll take a look at these tomorrow; the rather foreboding weather forecast means they're likely to be run on soft ground.