Talking horses

Carlton House was sent off 5/4 favourite for the Irish Derby earlier today but The Queen's colt could only finish fourth, Aidan O'Brien training the first three home - Treasure Beach (7/2) beat stablemates Seville (5/1) and Memphis Tennessee (10/1) to give the Irish handler his ninth victory in the race. This evening Paddy Power bet on the Ladbrokes St Leger as follows: 3/1 Nathaniel, 5/1 Treasure Beach, 6/1 Brown Panther, 8/1 Sea Moon, 10/1 Memphis Tennessee, 12/1 Seville.

I was out and about Saturday lunchtime when I received a phone call from a fellow racegoer I see at the races once or twice a year. He'd had a word from one of the owners of Misty Conquest who was due to run in the listed Empress Stakes at Newmarket. 14 had been declared but at the time of the call one had been withdrawn; Tom Dascombe's filly had been priced up 5/1 second favourite in a couple of the morning papers. Six furlong sprints aren't my cup of tea and a few in the field looked well fancied, including Queen's Revenge and My Propeller, owned by Newcastle footballer Joey Barton; last time out this one had won a six furlong Pontefract madien by an astonishing 17 lengths. After some consideration I decided not to play. When Channel 4 showed the race preliminaries, another two had fallen by the wayside (including My Propeller) and Misty Conquest was priced at 10/1. In the event, she knew her job, broke well, led to half way, eventually coming home third; she had no answer to the strong challenge of Lily's Angel (6/1) who won a shade more cosily than the distances might suggest and looks a smart prospect.

The Jamie Snowden trained 11-year-old Knighton Combe took this afternoon renewal of Uttoxeter's English Summer National at odds of 16/1.

Martin Waller (Tempus) penned an interesting piece in Saturday's Times under the headline 'No such thing as a dead cert for investors in online gaming'. Betfair is shortly set to release its first set of annual figures since the company's flotation; shares issued at £13 last autumn were worth just £7.43 at close of business on Friday evening.

Finally Will Hayler's blog in Saturday's Guardian highlighted Channel 4 presenter Lesley Graham's attempt to generate more interest in her nine bedroom Newmarket mansion which she is looking to sell following the collapse of her marriage to Neil;  a piece appeared in the property section of Wednesday's London Evening Standard. Back in March A.P. McCoy's house was on the market for £2.5 million but unfortunately the property was sold before I could arrange a meeting with my mortgage adviser. By comparison Ms Graham's pad looks a snip at just £1.4 million but I won't bother trying to contact my adviser as I happen to know he's on holdiay for a fortnight...   

Some Sunday snippets

Following a number of disappointments last season, Alan King would have been keen to hit the ground running this weekend. Some of the yard's big names returned to action but I'm guessing the handler won't be full of smiles this evening. At Aintree yesterday Mille Chief finished fifth, over fifteen lengths behind the Philip Hobbs trained winner Nearby while at Chepstow Lidar's first try at two and a half miles in the Persian War Novices' Hurdle saw the chestnut gelding pulled up three from home. Earlier today trainer's pick and Triumph Hurdle favourite Franklino could only finish third, seventeen adrift of 50/1 winner Mason Hindmarsh and Pena Dorada. At least Medermit (1/5f) won on his chasing debut but it was something of a bloodless victory against two rivals and his tendency to jump low would be a cause for concern in the future.

There were no problems for Cheltenham bumper winner Cue Card though - the King's Theatre gelding won at Aintree this afternoon on his first try over hurdles (at the rather prohibitive odds of 1/2).

On the first day of conditional trading, shares in the betting exchange operator Betfair showed a profit of 20%, finishing the day at £15.50, £2.50 ahead of the offer price of £13. According to The Times, founders Edward Wray and Andrew Black sold shares to the value of £14.4 million and £16.5 million respectively; Mr Wray's stake is now valued at £180 million while Mr Black's is worth £172 million. Unconditional trading in the shares starts on Wednesday.

Wanted: agreement on the horse racing levy before the end of this week - otherwise the Government will be called on to step in.

Julian David Bonhote Wilson, the former BBC racing correspondent, wouldn't necessarily be everybody's cup of tea but you can't help admire the bloke. In a Weekender interview he slates current BBC coverage, comparing the corporation's output in the 1980s (100 days) to the present day (12 days). Asked if he's ever thought of giving it all up, he replies at least once a month and when asked who he would invite to a dinner party at home, he comes up with '...and any good-looking intelligent, wealthy woman, who ended the evening with the magic words..."Will you buy me a horse?"'

Finally, just in case you missed them, lovetheraces.com recently compiled a selection of comedy racing clips. My favourite has to be Lee Mack as the Fast Talking Jockey on The Sketch Show. Enjoy.

This racing business

This morning two racing related stories catch the eye on the business pages. William Hill's audacious approach to Ladbrokes' finance director is akin, in footballing terms, to Manchester United trying to poach Liverpool's manager from under their very noses. As The Times report indicates, the attempt failed but it's generated a whole new set of questions. Meanwhile, over in Berkshire, Newbury Racecourse has just turned down a hostile bid from its principal shareholder.

Upset isn't just confined to the world of business. The favourite in the Paddy Power Gold Cup ante-post market, Don't Push It, has been withdrawn after he was found lame yesterday evening.