Guineas weekend roundup

New Approach was beaten for the first time in his racing career when going down by a nose to Henrythenavigator in a thrilling finish to yesterday's 2000 Guineas. Natagora proved beyond doubt that she stays a mile by deservedly taking the 1000 Guineas but Nahoodh would have been a big threat if she'd had a clear run. It's back to the drawing board for Godolphin with Ibn Khaldun giving a most disappointing display on Saturday and Laureldean Gale getting worked up beforehand on Sunday. Sir Alex Ferguson isn't accustomed to finishing last but the horse in which he owns a share, Fireside, did exactly that in the colts' race. To be fair, the horse struck into himself early on; connections say the plan is to lower their sights a little and look for a handicap or listed race.

It's that time of year. I've just switched off the central heating and next week one of my favourite Flat meetings, the Chester May Festival, takes centre stage from Wednesday to Friday. The highlight on the first day is the Chester Cup run over two miles three furlongs. I draw your attention to Philip Hobbs' comments about Fair Along from the Weekender dated 20-24 February - "Whatever happens [at Cheltenham] or at Aintree, make a note of him for the Flat because his big target is the Chester Cup..." Hobbs goes on to say he'd like Jamie Spencer, who gets on very well with the horse, to ride; looking at the entries on Sunday evening Spencer is booked to ride Highland Legacy while Ryan Moore is booked for Fair Along. Read into that what you will.

Regular readers will be aware that my home town team, Wrexham, were relegated from the Football League a couple of weeks ago. In their last league match, at Lincoln City, Wrexham went out with a bang, winning by four goals to two. A rather unsympathetic work colleague (who happens to support Chester City) kindly sent me an email link to the Conference website. Manager Brian Little has recently signed a new two-year contract; can Wrexham bounce straight back next season? They may well do, but I, for one, won't have any money on it.

Wrexham wrelegated

After losing 2-0 at Hereford last night, Wrexham will be playing in the Blue Square Premiership next season. It has been a long tough season. Here are some of my memories of League football at Wrexham... 

Mid 1960s - my first game - Wrexham Reserves 2 Witton Albion 3 in the Cheshire League. I attend several reserve games with my father; I'm regularly 'lifted' over the turnstiles. 

First League game - Wrexham 1 Crewe Alexandra 0. Crewe score but Wrexham keeper Gordon Livesey is injured in the process and the referee disallows the goal. 

Watch several matches from the balcony of The Turf, the public house that overlooks the ground. 

Late 1960s - promotion from Division Four. Eddie May equalises late on against Oldham Athletic to maintain our unbeaten home record. Albert Kinsey is the league's top scorer. 

First game the following season in Division Three - Wrexham beat Bury 3-2 after going two down mid-way though the second half. 

1974 - Wrexham embark on a Cup run that sees them beat Middlesborough at The Racecourse, and Southampton at The Dell, Dave Smallman scoring the winner in both matches. Wrexham are drawn away to Burnley in the quarter finals; Bob Lord, Burnley chairman, refuses to allow Match of the Day cameras at the game; Wrexham lose 1-0. 

Late 70s - John Neal builds a team the like of which we have never seen before. In 1976/7 season Wrexham need a point from their final two games to reach Division Two for the first time in their history. They lose both home games, 4-2 to Crystal Palace and 1-0 against Mansfield. The following season Wrexham are promoted to Division Two as champions, beating Rotherham 7-1 in the final game of the season. 

Mid/late 80s - relegation from Division Two sees an exodus of decent players and soon we're playing in Division Four again. 

Early 90s - Brian Flynn takes over as manager. Club finish bottom of Division Four but are not relegated. 

Following season Wrexham beat Arsenal 2-1 in the Cup, scoring twice in the last ten minutes. Flynn builds a neat passing team that holds its own in the top half of Division Three. 

Late 90s onwards - club hits on hard times, enters administration and is relegated to Division Four. Future of the club is uncertain; property developer, having claimed to acquire the ground (for a song), wants to sell, realising a handsome profit in the process. In court, after protracted wranglings, judge rules in favour of the club. 

2007 - club maintains League status by beating Boston United in final game of the season. 

2008- Wrexham relegated after 87 years of League football. 

"Wrexham Lager, Wrexham Lager, 

Feed me till I want no more, want no more, 

Feed me till I want no more."

Bits and pieces

Tomorrow Great Leighs in Essex will go into the record books as the first new British course to stage racing since Taunton opened in 1927. I think it's fair to say that they've met with more than their fair share of delays on this project; let's hope everything operates smoothly from hereon in. To ensure the course's infrastructure is properly tested, the first few meetings at Great Leighs are 'invitation only' events and, yes, you've guessed it, they forgot to invite me. If you're keen to get to a meeting in the coming week, you could do a lot worse than Sandown's combined flat and jumps card on Saturday, with the Bet365 Gold Cup (formerly Whitbread Gold Cup) serving as the finale to the National Hunt season.

Watching a review of this week's Guineas trials on televison, Infallible looked impressive in winning the Nell Gwyn but John Gosden clearly rates Natagora. Twice Over held Raven's Pass, the pair clear, in the Craven; both John Francome and Jim McGrath envisage the same outcome should the pair reoppose in a fortnight's time. John Dunlop's Muthabara won the Dubai Duty Free at Newbury despite looking backward in her coat - you would expect her to improve significantly, although it was interesting to hear the trainer rate her as 'good but not fantastic' before the race. Mick Channon's yard is under a bit of a cloud at the moment; Nahoodh took a walk in the market and went on to disappoint but she is clearly held in very high regard. 6/1 shot Paco Boy took the Greenham and will probably be supplemented; Sir Michael Stoute's 11/8 favourite Confront didn't handle the soft ground. To my mind this Greenham form looks weaker than the Craven.

Missing a birthday - a mere peccadillo, isn't it? Three weeks ago this blog celebrated its second birthday with over three hundred and forty posts. I know what you're going to say - you wouldn't care if the tips were half decent. The truth is I only do blogging so I don't have to watch East Enders...

On the footballing front, Wrexham's 1-0 defeat of fellow strugglers Notts County appears to have postponed relegation from the Football League for another few days. The inevitable now looks likely to become reality at Edgar Street on Tuesday evening when promotion-chasing Hereford entertain The Dragons. I feel a little like someone who works on obituaries at a newspaper - I've done the preparation, I know what has to be said, it's just a question of when it comes about...

Relegation beckons...

When we were kids there was a rule in our house - no boasting when you win, no sulking when you lose. I still try to abide by that rule but, as the end of this football season approaches, I'm finding it increasingly difficult. It's not so much I have a case of the sulks as a case of downright depression. I have supported Wrexham Football Club for most of my life; there can be little doubt now that they will lose their Football League status in May. I accepted the unthinkable a couple of weeks back when we played out a hapless no-score draw at home to Dagenham and Redbridge. Interviewed after the game, manager Brian Little talked about preparing for next season in 'The Conference'. In my lifetime Wrexham have finished bottom of the Football League on two occasions - once in the mid-sixties when they were 're-elected' (as used to happen in those days) and once in the early nineties, when, for some reason I don't recall, relegation from the league was suspended. They are likely to finish bottom this season after 87 years of League football. The warning signs have been there for all to see - victory against Boston United in the final game ensured survival last year. Yet, twelve months on it's come to this. Without judging, I point out that Darren Ferguson, a former club captain who was keen to learn the ropes while still a player (and whose father knows a thing or two about football management), was denied his chance. Darren has gone on to prove his worth at Peterborough United who are currently challenging for the League Two championship; Wrexham will start next season in the Blue Square Premiership.

Wrexham's great escape

Wrexham managed to escape relegation yesterday, sending Boston down in the process by beating them 3-1, although it was far fom plain sailing. 1-0 down at half-time, Wrexham were staring disaster in the face but the three second half goals, two in the last four minutes, changed the picture completely.

The BBC's report and pictures capture the occasion well.

I managed to catch live radio coverage in Coventry on BBC Radio Wales. What a truamatic season! I wouldn't want to go through a final day like that again in a hurry; in the end it was just a huge sense of a relief. Let's hope the club can progress from here.