Harry Findlay's successful appeal on Wednesday has received plenty of press coverage this week - Greg Wood argued for a change in the BHA rule book in Friday's Guardian. Meanwhile the exchange operator Findlay used to lay his own horses, Betfair, appears to be considering a stock market flotation in the autumn which could value the group in the region of £1.5 billion. Saturday's Times reported that the two founders, Ed Wray and Andrew 'Bert' Black, will share a paper fortune of £375 million if the float goes ahead. Betfair is the world's biggest betting exchange with over three million customers in 140 different countries.
In future 'Bert' Black is likely to pump some of that money into Manor House Stables where Tom Dascombe trains a number of horses for Michael Owen. However it was trainer Tim Vaughan who provided Owen with his first double as an owner when Paddy Partridge and Holoko Heights took the opening two races on the card at Uttoxeter on Wednesday.
It looks as though trainer Nigel Twiston-Davies intends to try and keep the Plates spinning. Grand Slam Hero won the Summer Plate at Market Rasen yesterday and connections have indicated they now have the Galway Plate on July 28th in their sights. Bet365 still offer 16/1 this evening but William Hill go 10/1.
In the world of golf, congratulations go to the new Open Champion, Louis Oosthuizen. Mrs Tips reports Clare Balding saying on radio a racing acquaintance of hers had backed the winner at odds of 480/1. I wonder who that might be...
Finally, a quip from Johnny Vegas in a 60 seconds interview that appeared in a recent edition of Star magazine. Asked if he'd ever cheated on anyone, Vegas replied: "I have never cheated on anyone, certainly not in a relationship. I cheated on my dad when I said I put bet on for him, but I kept the money. That was 20 years ago." Of course, had the horse come in, he could simply have gone back to his father and handed over the stake, saying he forgot to put the bet on. Such an honest gesture from one so young may well have prevented the probable parental thrashing that loomed ahead. However, if the young Vegas had already spent his dad's stake money on several bags of sweets, then the only sensible course of action would have been to stuff an old exercise book down the back of his pants. Ah, the good old days - where did it all go wrong?
Showing posts with label findlay. Show all posts
Showing posts with label findlay. Show all posts
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Friday, June 11, 2010
Quick comments
With Royal Ascot just around the corner, a few quick comments on a weekend when I intend to keep my powder dry for next week's big meeting.
Workforce was impressive taking the Derby seven lengths in a course record time. To my eyes the winner looked to have a hard enough race and afterwards Ryan Moore said he could have given his mount an easier time and still won. Connections reported the colt had only lost nine pounds in weight since Saturday which would appear to show he's taken this tough race remarkably well. I'd guess the Irish Derby may come a bit too soon and the King George would be the next target.
The crowds flocked to Epsom on a fabulous summer's day but both the bookmakers and the broadcasters told a different tale with the former reporting turnover down by up to 20% and the latter's viewing audience down by 33%. Coral has called for a debate to be started on moving the race to a Friday.
On the first day of the 2010 World Cup, the big racing story is that Denman owner Harry Findlay has been warned off for a period of six months after he was found guilty of laying Gullible Gordon, a horse he owns. Findlay has vowed to fight the ban but has said 'Win or lose the appeal, I will never own horses in Britain again.' Betfair, the exchange service Findlay used, said 'We do not believe the punishment to be proportionate or, for that matter, consistent with similar offences in the past.' Andy Roberts of Sky Sports asks the question 'Racing shoots itself in the foot again or a triumph for rule sticklers?' Looks like both to me.
To conclude, a couple of notes on Saturday's Hexham card. Donald McCain's Dorabelle missed a reasonable looking opportunity in the bumper at Market Rasen earlier today and goes instead for the opening mares' novices hurdle. Both her runs to date have been on decent ground so it remains to be seen how she'll handle the easier conditions here. McCain's runners are always worth a second look at Hexham - in addition the stable has a 20% win strike rate in the past fortnight. Connections must think she has a chance as it's a fair way up from Cheshire to Northumberland. One who has spent even more time in the horsebox is Red Jester. Trainer G A Ham has sent the nine year old gelding all the way from Axminster in Devon; he runs in the Lords Taverners Handicap Chase at 3.05 and is Liam Heard's sole ride at the meeting. The last time the bay ran here (May 2009) he finished a well-beaten seventh of twelve - this appears slightly less competitive. The likely favourite Stagecoach Pearl is from Sue Smith's yard which is out of sorts at the moment.
Workforce was impressive taking the Derby seven lengths in a course record time. To my eyes the winner looked to have a hard enough race and afterwards Ryan Moore said he could have given his mount an easier time and still won. Connections reported the colt had only lost nine pounds in weight since Saturday which would appear to show he's taken this tough race remarkably well. I'd guess the Irish Derby may come a bit too soon and the King George would be the next target.
The crowds flocked to Epsom on a fabulous summer's day but both the bookmakers and the broadcasters told a different tale with the former reporting turnover down by up to 20% and the latter's viewing audience down by 33%. Coral has called for a debate to be started on moving the race to a Friday.
On the first day of the 2010 World Cup, the big racing story is that Denman owner Harry Findlay has been warned off for a period of six months after he was found guilty of laying Gullible Gordon, a horse he owns. Findlay has vowed to fight the ban but has said 'Win or lose the appeal, I will never own horses in Britain again.' Betfair, the exchange service Findlay used, said 'We do not believe the punishment to be proportionate or, for that matter, consistent with similar offences in the past.' Andy Roberts of Sky Sports asks the question 'Racing shoots itself in the foot again or a triumph for rule sticklers?' Looks like both to me.
To conclude, a couple of notes on Saturday's Hexham card. Donald McCain's Dorabelle missed a reasonable looking opportunity in the bumper at Market Rasen earlier today and goes instead for the opening mares' novices hurdle. Both her runs to date have been on decent ground so it remains to be seen how she'll handle the easier conditions here. McCain's runners are always worth a second look at Hexham - in addition the stable has a 20% win strike rate in the past fortnight. Connections must think she has a chance as it's a fair way up from Cheshire to Northumberland. One who has spent even more time in the horsebox is Red Jester. Trainer G A Ham has sent the nine year old gelding all the way from Axminster in Devon; he runs in the Lords Taverners Handicap Chase at 3.05 and is Liam Heard's sole ride at the meeting. The last time the bay ran here (May 2009) he finished a well-beaten seventh of twelve - this appears slightly less competitive. The likely favourite Stagecoach Pearl is from Sue Smith's yard which is out of sorts at the moment.
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Royal Ascot assessed
This proved a vintage Royal Ascot for Aidan O'Brien and his team, the highlight being Yeats' third consecutive victory in the Gold Cup on Thursday. By way of contrast, my own figures make for dismal reading with three wins (Henrythenavigator 4/7, Duke Of Marmalade evens, and Honolulu 7/4) and two places from thirteen selections, returning a level stakes loss of 6.68 points over the course of the week.
I will remember this year for Duke Of Marmalade's win in the Prince Of Wales's Stakes on Wednesday, Patkai's scintillating turn of foot in the Queen's Vase and John Best shouting home Kingsgate Native, his 33/1 winner of the Golden Jubilee. By the way, did anyone else notice Her Majesty have a momentary attack of the 'jelly legs' after her two year old Free Agent came from last to first to win the Chesham?
Mrs Tips has insisted I take a break from racing so we're off to Wimbledon on Wednesday. Today a couple of the Sunday papers have led with stories about corruption in professional tennis but it's interesting to note that Harry Findlay, who has wagered an awful lot of money on the sport, believes the game to be absolutely straight. That should give Sue Barker something to discuss during the inevitable rain breaks...
I will remember this year for Duke Of Marmalade's win in the Prince Of Wales's Stakes on Wednesday, Patkai's scintillating turn of foot in the Queen's Vase and John Best shouting home Kingsgate Native, his 33/1 winner of the Golden Jubilee. By the way, did anyone else notice Her Majesty have a momentary attack of the 'jelly legs' after her two year old Free Agent came from last to first to win the Chesham?
Mrs Tips has insisted I take a break from racing so we're off to Wimbledon on Wednesday. Today a couple of the Sunday papers have led with stories about corruption in professional tennis but it's interesting to note that Harry Findlay, who has wagered an awful lot of money on the sport, believes the game to be absolutely straight. That should give Sue Barker something to discuss during the inevitable rain breaks...
Saturday, May 17, 2008
After all that, this...
York's midweek trials may have shaken up the Derby and Oaks markets but Geordieland's thrilling victory in the Yorkshire Cup on Friday was most emotional and will live long in the memory of many. Jockey Shane Kelly's return to race-riding following a twelve month ban for 'passing information' is a success story in its own right; this win will count as his biggest to date - full credit to trainer Jamie Osborne who stood by the rider through thick and thin. On the subject of corruption, I'm sure Kieren Fallon will have a view about the verdict on the police inquiry into race-fixing, reported on the same day.
Following Comply Or Die's win in this year's Grand National, regular readers may recall I wondered when was the last time a blinkered horse had won the Aintree marathon. Sad, I know, but I mailed Channel 4's Teletext service with my query - I still await a reply. However today, browsing in Waterstone's (Leamington branch), I stumbled across the answer in a book entitled A-Z of the Grand National. In the last seventy years or so only five National winners have worn blinkers: Battleship (1938); Foinavon (1967); L'Escargot (1975); Earth Summit (1998) and, of course, Comply Or Die (2008).
Just down the road from Waterstone's in Leamington Spa is the Leamington Spa Art Gallery and Museum. One of the texts available for perusal at that establishment is 1001 Paintings You Must See Before You Die, (editor Stephen Farthing). Being the wrong side of fifty, I tend to browse through this work whenever the chance presents itself. One of the 1001 paintings is Mark Wallinger's 'Half Brothers (Exit To Nowhere - Machiavellian)'. Paul Bonaventura, Senior Research Fellow, Fine Art Studies, University of Oxford, comments on the painting: 'Like art, horseracing subscribes to its own set of invented rules...' As if we didn't know.
I couldn't help but be struck by the contrasting performances of two TV pundits today. Harry Findlay's enthusiasm on The Morning Line was infectious; Mark Lawrenson's comments during the FA Cup Final were tedious.
An unusual thing happened earlier in the week - I received some unsolicited mail that was of marginal interest. The literature for Scottish Racing's Tartan Turf Tours opens with the line 'What could be better than a few days racing, a round of golf, a tour of the local distillery and a walk in the hills?' The answer is quite plain - a few days racing and a tour of the local distillery.
Following Comply Or Die's win in this year's Grand National, regular readers may recall I wondered when was the last time a blinkered horse had won the Aintree marathon. Sad, I know, but I mailed Channel 4's Teletext service with my query - I still await a reply. However today, browsing in Waterstone's (Leamington branch), I stumbled across the answer in a book entitled A-Z of the Grand National. In the last seventy years or so only five National winners have worn blinkers: Battleship (1938); Foinavon (1967); L'Escargot (1975); Earth Summit (1998) and, of course, Comply Or Die (2008).
Just down the road from Waterstone's in Leamington Spa is the Leamington Spa Art Gallery and Museum. One of the texts available for perusal at that establishment is 1001 Paintings You Must See Before You Die, (editor Stephen Farthing). Being the wrong side of fifty, I tend to browse through this work whenever the chance presents itself. One of the 1001 paintings is Mark Wallinger's 'Half Brothers (Exit To Nowhere - Machiavellian)'. Paul Bonaventura, Senior Research Fellow, Fine Art Studies, University of Oxford, comments on the painting: 'Like art, horseracing subscribes to its own set of invented rules...' As if we didn't know.
I couldn't help but be struck by the contrasting performances of two TV pundits today. Harry Findlay's enthusiasm on The Morning Line was infectious; Mark Lawrenson's comments during the FA Cup Final were tedious.
An unusual thing happened earlier in the week - I received some unsolicited mail that was of marginal interest. The literature for Scottish Racing's Tartan Turf Tours opens with the line 'What could be better than a few days racing, a round of golf, a tour of the local distillery and a walk in the hills?' The answer is quite plain - a few days racing and a tour of the local distillery.
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