Following the well-publicised brawl at Royal Ascot Ladies' Day, Giles Smith penned a skit in The Times dated Saturday 25th June in which he compared racing hooliganism to football hooliganism, concluding, somewhat tongue-in-cheek, that the recent trouble at Ascot can lead to only one thing: 'all-seater racecourses'. That brought a smile - the number of times I've been on a racecourse, thinking what I'd give for a decent sit-down, never mind a winner; I guess I must be getting older.
Another Giles writing for The Times, this time Giles Coren (how many Gileses do The Times actually have on their books?), posted a piece in this Saturday's paper (July 2nd) after having the misfortune to be seated on the end of a row on a visit to Wimbledon.
Mr Coren observes, 'Tennis fans may all think they're pretty marvellous...but they haven't got the first idea how to behave compared with football fans.' I empathise with the author who clearly spent the whole afternoon shifitng around in his seat to allow assorted old buffers and 'rickety old dears' access to their seats without so much as one single word of thanks; on the other hand when football fans '...slide past you to go and get a pie or stab a copper they always, without fail, say "cheers mate"'.
Giles concludes he knows which he prefers and I think I'm with him on this one. After all that talk of sitting around, I'm going for a lie-down.
Showing posts with label tennis. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tennis. Show all posts
Sunday, July 03, 2011
Sunday, March 07, 2010
Weekend observations
Big Fella Thanks shot to the top of the Grand National ante-post market following his impressive win at Newbury yesterday; this evening most firms go 10/1 for next month's showpiece but both Stan James and Paddy Power quote 8/1.
Staying with yesterday's meet at Newbury, Tony McCoy and Paddy Brennan fought out the finish to the Veterans' Chase, McCoy taking the spoils on 9/1 shot Eric's Charm; last week the same two jocks were involved in a tight finish to the Racing Post Chase, Brennan coming out on top in that duel aboard Razor Royale. I really thought Brennan had this one in the bag as his mount Knowhere jumped the last marginally better than his rival and looked to take it up on the run to the line. However, after a couple of slaps with the stick, the horse veered out left and then had to be brought back right to avoid the running rail as the line approached; this manoeuvre resulted in the horse losing both momentum and vital ground while McCoy steered the straight course to victory. I was left with the feeling Brennan had been mugged on this occasion...
These days trying to purchase a copy of Raceform Update's Cheltenham Festival Guide from a local newsagent is as difficult as backing a 10/1 winner. I went to pay for mine yesterday and the guy behind the counter commented, 'They've all been after that this morning!' I'm not surprised - his was the only shop in Coventry city centre I could find selling the publication. As I started reading, the first stat to strike me may concern those who think Dunguib is banker material for the Supreme Novices' Hurdle - in the last decade 23 seven-year-olds have tried to win the race but only one has been successful - Captain Cee Bee in 2008. Following on from that, Captain Cee Bee, now a nine-year-old, is 7/2 favourite for the Arkle with most firms - only two horses from that age bracket have won that race since the war.
Two racing programmes to note in the coming week...
Thursday BBC4 21:00 Storyville - Race Horses.
This film follows three horses from Paul Nolan's Wexford stable over a racing year. David Charter (The Times) describes the programme as 'horse heaven'.
Friday Radio4 11:00 Racing Ahead.
Chris Ledgard looks at the problems facing the racing industry as the TV market shrinks and bookmakers look to exploit other avenues.
Betfred have been quick to pick up on last week's story of the unfortunate punter who ate his winning lottery ticket when he realised Ryanair staff couldn't pay him 10,000 euros mid-flight. Spotted in a Fred Done shop window - Goat eats winning football ticket but Fred pays up without a bleat!
The backdrop to this Saturday's Morning Line looked like something you'd come across in a residential care home for the elderly. In that vein, Lesley Graham had something of a 'senior moment' when she referred to that well known jockey Ruby McCoy. Apparently his friend and weighing room colleague Tony Walsh was none too pleased when he heard of Graham's gaffe.
Finally, this is what happens when sports stars stop playing sport and start singing instead... The Cheltenham Charity song is released tomorrow, money raised going to four racing charities. If Petula Clark isn't really your kind of thing and you prefer something a little more raunchy, then take a peek at Rafael Nadal's performance with Shakira in Gypsy. No sign of any trouble with the knees there, Mr Nadal...
Staying with yesterday's meet at Newbury, Tony McCoy and Paddy Brennan fought out the finish to the Veterans' Chase, McCoy taking the spoils on 9/1 shot Eric's Charm; last week the same two jocks were involved in a tight finish to the Racing Post Chase, Brennan coming out on top in that duel aboard Razor Royale. I really thought Brennan had this one in the bag as his mount Knowhere jumped the last marginally better than his rival and looked to take it up on the run to the line. However, after a couple of slaps with the stick, the horse veered out left and then had to be brought back right to avoid the running rail as the line approached; this manoeuvre resulted in the horse losing both momentum and vital ground while McCoy steered the straight course to victory. I was left with the feeling Brennan had been mugged on this occasion...
These days trying to purchase a copy of Raceform Update's Cheltenham Festival Guide from a local newsagent is as difficult as backing a 10/1 winner. I went to pay for mine yesterday and the guy behind the counter commented, 'They've all been after that this morning!' I'm not surprised - his was the only shop in Coventry city centre I could find selling the publication. As I started reading, the first stat to strike me may concern those who think Dunguib is banker material for the Supreme Novices' Hurdle - in the last decade 23 seven-year-olds have tried to win the race but only one has been successful - Captain Cee Bee in 2008. Following on from that, Captain Cee Bee, now a nine-year-old, is 7/2 favourite for the Arkle with most firms - only two horses from that age bracket have won that race since the war.
Two racing programmes to note in the coming week...
Thursday BBC4 21:00 Storyville - Race Horses.
This film follows three horses from Paul Nolan's Wexford stable over a racing year. David Charter (The Times) describes the programme as 'horse heaven'.
Friday Radio4 11:00 Racing Ahead.
Chris Ledgard looks at the problems facing the racing industry as the TV market shrinks and bookmakers look to exploit other avenues.
Betfred have been quick to pick up on last week's story of the unfortunate punter who ate his winning lottery ticket when he realised Ryanair staff couldn't pay him 10,000 euros mid-flight. Spotted in a Fred Done shop window - Goat eats winning football ticket but Fred pays up without a bleat!
The backdrop to this Saturday's Morning Line looked like something you'd come across in a residential care home for the elderly. In that vein, Lesley Graham had something of a 'senior moment' when she referred to that well known jockey Ruby McCoy. Apparently his friend and weighing room colleague Tony Walsh was none too pleased when he heard of Graham's gaffe.
Finally, this is what happens when sports stars stop playing sport and start singing instead... The Cheltenham Charity song is released tomorrow, money raised going to four racing charities. If Petula Clark isn't really your kind of thing and you prefer something a little more raunchy, then take a peek at Rafael Nadal's performance with Shakira in Gypsy. No sign of any trouble with the knees there, Mr Nadal...
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Doc Martin, Andy Murray, Choc Thornton, Avram Grant and the man who ate his winning lottery ticket...
There was plenty of action at Fontwell this afternoon... First time blinkers appeared to rekindle Trenchant's appetite as Alan King's charge won the Grade Two National Spirit Hurdle while Martin Clunes, star of Men Behaving Badly and Doc Martin, was hoping Buffalo Stampede, the horse owned by his TV company, would prove a star in the making - unfortunately the beast hadn't read the script and trailed in last of the seven finishers.
The Times reported recently that tennis ace Andy Murray had his first taste of the races and was suitably impressed. Mind you, it was at Dubai's Meydan racecourse and is a world away from a Monday afternoon card at Plumpton in the middle of winter...
A couple of Festival titbits - Robert 'Choc' Thornton appears to have picked up two decent spare rides in Somersby (Arkle) and Twist Magic (Champion Chase). The Weekender reports that Choc was approached about Twist Magic last week - a decision was made after Oh Crick finished a well-beaten fourth in Ascot's Betfair Chase. Oh Crick will now go either for the Champion or the Grand Annual; if connections take the former option, Wayne Hutchinson will ride. I'm sure Choc won't need me to remind him that last year Twist Magic dumped pilot Sam Thomas on the turf right in front of the stands as they went to post. Nigel Twiston-Davies' Imperial Commander worked with a stablemate after racing at Kempton on Saturday and is reportedly in good health and on track for the Gold Cup.
100 days to the World Cup in South Africa and people are starting to talk about football's financial crisis. Following their coverage of the Manchester United v. Aston Villa Carling Cup final this afternoon, the BBC ran a trailer for a Radio 5 Live progamme Business Of Sport which will discuss the issue on Tuesday evening at 20:00. I suspect much of this has been brought about by Portsmouth becoming the first Premier League side to go into administration - manager Avram Grant considers the League's nine point deduction unfair. Now I have every sympathy with this view but such events are a common occurence lower down the footballing hierarchy and have been for some time. Contrast Portsmouth's situation with that of Chester City who were expelled from the Blue Square Premiership on Friday morning following a meeting at Rushden. Chester started the season on -25 points and were still in negative territory when they played their last game; the club is now up for sale for just £1. The men with the money - what have they gone and done to the beautiful game?
Finally, you would be tempted to place a headline 'Man Eats Winning Lottery Ticket' in the same bracket as 'Routemaster Discovered On The Moon' or 'Politician Tells The Truth'. On Friday a passenger travelling from Krakov in Poland to East Midlands Airport with Ryanair won 10,000 euros (roughly £8,930) on a scratchcard. When he was informed there wasn't enough cash on board to pay him immediately, he became agitated and promptly ate the winning ticket, thereby forfeiting any chance of collecting his prize. Understandably, the man wishes to remain anonymous...
The Times reported recently that tennis ace Andy Murray had his first taste of the races and was suitably impressed. Mind you, it was at Dubai's Meydan racecourse and is a world away from a Monday afternoon card at Plumpton in the middle of winter...
A couple of Festival titbits - Robert 'Choc' Thornton appears to have picked up two decent spare rides in Somersby (Arkle) and Twist Magic (Champion Chase). The Weekender reports that Choc was approached about Twist Magic last week - a decision was made after Oh Crick finished a well-beaten fourth in Ascot's Betfair Chase. Oh Crick will now go either for the Champion or the Grand Annual; if connections take the former option, Wayne Hutchinson will ride. I'm sure Choc won't need me to remind him that last year Twist Magic dumped pilot Sam Thomas on the turf right in front of the stands as they went to post. Nigel Twiston-Davies' Imperial Commander worked with a stablemate after racing at Kempton on Saturday and is reportedly in good health and on track for the Gold Cup.
100 days to the World Cup in South Africa and people are starting to talk about football's financial crisis. Following their coverage of the Manchester United v. Aston Villa Carling Cup final this afternoon, the BBC ran a trailer for a Radio 5 Live progamme Business Of Sport which will discuss the issue on Tuesday evening at 20:00. I suspect much of this has been brought about by Portsmouth becoming the first Premier League side to go into administration - manager Avram Grant considers the League's nine point deduction unfair. Now I have every sympathy with this view but such events are a common occurence lower down the footballing hierarchy and have been for some time. Contrast Portsmouth's situation with that of Chester City who were expelled from the Blue Square Premiership on Friday morning following a meeting at Rushden. Chester started the season on -25 points and were still in negative territory when they played their last game; the club is now up for sale for just £1. The men with the money - what have they gone and done to the beautiful game?
Finally, you would be tempted to place a headline 'Man Eats Winning Lottery Ticket' in the same bracket as 'Routemaster Discovered On The Moon' or 'Politician Tells The Truth'. On Friday a passenger travelling from Krakov in Poland to East Midlands Airport with Ryanair won 10,000 euros (roughly £8,930) on a scratchcard. When he was informed there wasn't enough cash on board to pay him immediately, he became agitated and promptly ate the winning ticket, thereby forfeiting any chance of collecting his prize. Understandably, the man wishes to remain anonymous...
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Weekend notes
Big Zeb bounced back to form to take the Tied Cottage Chase at Punchestown earlier today; the trainer feels he has now sorted a problem the horse had with ringbone on his off-fore. This evening Ladbrokes bet 7/1 Colm Murphy's charge for the Champion Chase.
The abandonment of Doncaster yesterday meant that Nicky Henderson's Mad Max missed his intended engagement while Henrietta Knight's Somersby is likely to be re-routed to Doncaster next Saturday after Hereford was called off earlier today. One name missing from the list of runners in Saturday's Cleeve Hurdle was Karabak - Alan King's charge scoped dirty and as a result was kept at home in his box.
Paul Nicholls rightly took the plaudits for bringing Taranis back from a long layoff to win the Argento Chase at Cheltenham on Saturday. However, over the past couple of days a number of his more fancied chances have failed to deliver - both Tataniano (2/11f) and Aiteen Thirtythree (7/4f) were turned over at Newbury on Friday while Pistolet Noir (8/15f) and Royal Charm (5/4f) disappointed at the Festival Trials Day.
Well done to fellow blogger Ben Aitken whose book 'Narrowing The Field: Using The Dosage Method to Win at National Hunt Racing' received a favourable review in the Racing Post before Christmas but reached another level with a review in last Sunday's Observer. Perhaps now is the time to invest in a copy with just six short weeks before the Cheltenham Festival.
Tennis correspondent Mrs Tips' verdict on the Australian men's final: Federer awesome, Murray work in progress.
One footballing item - a Lee Dixon comment overheard in today's radio coverage of the Arsenal v. Manchester United game: 'It's hard enough staying on your feet when you're playing against Rooney, but if you're going to fall over, you're giving yourself a mountain to climb.' I'm not certain I know what he was trying to say there...
Finally a recent tweet from @Huntingdonraces suggested we ditch flowers and chocs for Valentine's Day and take a loved one racing instead. I tried that before but Mrs Tips was singularly unimpressed. Here's an alternative suggestion - ditch the loved one for the afternoon and go racing on your own - much more fun!
The abandonment of Doncaster yesterday meant that Nicky Henderson's Mad Max missed his intended engagement while Henrietta Knight's Somersby is likely to be re-routed to Doncaster next Saturday after Hereford was called off earlier today. One name missing from the list of runners in Saturday's Cleeve Hurdle was Karabak - Alan King's charge scoped dirty and as a result was kept at home in his box.
Paul Nicholls rightly took the plaudits for bringing Taranis back from a long layoff to win the Argento Chase at Cheltenham on Saturday. However, over the past couple of days a number of his more fancied chances have failed to deliver - both Tataniano (2/11f) and Aiteen Thirtythree (7/4f) were turned over at Newbury on Friday while Pistolet Noir (8/15f) and Royal Charm (5/4f) disappointed at the Festival Trials Day.
Well done to fellow blogger Ben Aitken whose book 'Narrowing The Field: Using The Dosage Method to Win at National Hunt Racing' received a favourable review in the Racing Post before Christmas but reached another level with a review in last Sunday's Observer. Perhaps now is the time to invest in a copy with just six short weeks before the Cheltenham Festival.
Tennis correspondent Mrs Tips' verdict on the Australian men's final: Federer awesome, Murray work in progress.
One footballing item - a Lee Dixon comment overheard in today's radio coverage of the Arsenal v. Manchester United game: 'It's hard enough staying on your feet when you're playing against Rooney, but if you're going to fall over, you're giving yourself a mountain to climb.' I'm not certain I know what he was trying to say there...
Finally a recent tweet from @Huntingdonraces suggested we ditch flowers and chocs for Valentine's Day and take a loved one racing instead. I tried that before but Mrs Tips was singularly unimpressed. Here's an alternative suggestion - ditch the loved one for the afternoon and go racing on your own - much more fun!
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Weighed in
The Glorious Goodwood meeting starts on Tuesday, with the Betfair Cup and the Gordon Stakes highlights on the opening day. Other races to look forward to include the Sussex Stakes on Wednesday, the two mile Goodwood Cup on Thursday, the Richmond Stakes on Friday while Saturday's features are the Nassau Stakes and the Stewards' Cup. A word to the wise - this isn't a meeting I've done particularly well at over the years.
Earlier in the week there was something of a shock when the Daily Mail reported that Michael Owen, currently on tour with Manchester United in the Far East, had sacked his trainer Nicky Vaughan. Now you can't help but feel some sympathy for Vaughan - the horses have the virus and you wake up one morning to be told by Owen's mother, Jeanette, that you've just joined the growing ranks of the unemployed. Reading between the lines, I don't think Mr Vaughan was particularly impressed with his treatment either... 'I haven't spoken to Michael, everything has been done by his mother. Working with high-profile people, these things are always likely to happen.' Mr Owen didn't appear to waste any time in arranging a replacement - the very next day both the Daily Mail and the Guardian reported that Tom Dascombe was set to take over the reins at the Cheshire stables, with financial backing coming from Betfair co-founder Andrew 'Bert' Black.
On the same day the Guardian also ran a story confirming that the BHA is investigating the running of Paul Nicholls' Predateur in a novice chase at Huntingdon on May 6th. Ridden by Christian Williams on this occasion, the horse, sent off second favourite in a field of four, went from 'every chance on bit 2 out' to 'ridden and found little' rather quickly. A trawl through his recent form would suggest this wasn't necessarily the first time this has happened.
Those of you who use the Racing Post website will know all about the recent introduction of charges for their Members' Club. I haven't subscribed and the other day, very helpfully, the Racing Post sent me an email pointing out the error of my ways. The mail lists the areas of the site I won't be able to access (thank you for that) unless I subscribe at a cost of £7.50 per month or 25p a day - 'that costs less than a third of a loaf of bread a day'. Now, I know what you're wondering - what's the price of a loaf of bread? Well, the loaf of bread the Racing Post has used for its comparison is the Hovis Wholemeal Thick (800g) from Sainsbury's which was on sale at £1.24 in June (but is actually reduced at the moment to £1). The mail finishes 'Use your loaf and make more dough. Keep in the know.' Lines like that - they're enough to make a grown man cry.
Finally, Mrs Tips spotted a potential bet in a snippet from Saturday's Times. Roger Federer and his wife Mirka have recently celebrated the birth of their twin daughters, Charlene Riva and Myla Rose. 'Bookmakers are offering 100-1 on either twin winning Wimbledon.' That has to be worth a tenner of anyone's money, doesn't it?
Earlier in the week there was something of a shock when the Daily Mail reported that Michael Owen, currently on tour with Manchester United in the Far East, had sacked his trainer Nicky Vaughan. Now you can't help but feel some sympathy for Vaughan - the horses have the virus and you wake up one morning to be told by Owen's mother, Jeanette, that you've just joined the growing ranks of the unemployed. Reading between the lines, I don't think Mr Vaughan was particularly impressed with his treatment either... 'I haven't spoken to Michael, everything has been done by his mother. Working with high-profile people, these things are always likely to happen.' Mr Owen didn't appear to waste any time in arranging a replacement - the very next day both the Daily Mail and the Guardian reported that Tom Dascombe was set to take over the reins at the Cheshire stables, with financial backing coming from Betfair co-founder Andrew 'Bert' Black.
On the same day the Guardian also ran a story confirming that the BHA is investigating the running of Paul Nicholls' Predateur in a novice chase at Huntingdon on May 6th. Ridden by Christian Williams on this occasion, the horse, sent off second favourite in a field of four, went from 'every chance on bit 2 out' to 'ridden and found little' rather quickly. A trawl through his recent form would suggest this wasn't necessarily the first time this has happened.
Those of you who use the Racing Post website will know all about the recent introduction of charges for their Members' Club. I haven't subscribed and the other day, very helpfully, the Racing Post sent me an email pointing out the error of my ways. The mail lists the areas of the site I won't be able to access (thank you for that) unless I subscribe at a cost of £7.50 per month or 25p a day - 'that costs less than a third of a loaf of bread a day'. Now, I know what you're wondering - what's the price of a loaf of bread? Well, the loaf of bread the Racing Post has used for its comparison is the Hovis Wholemeal Thick (800g) from Sainsbury's which was on sale at £1.24 in June (but is actually reduced at the moment to £1). The mail finishes 'Use your loaf and make more dough. Keep in the know.' Lines like that - they're enough to make a grown man cry.
Finally, Mrs Tips spotted a potential bet in a snippet from Saturday's Times. Roger Federer and his wife Mirka have recently celebrated the birth of their twin daughters, Charlene Riva and Myla Rose. 'Bookmakers are offering 100-1 on either twin winning Wimbledon.' That has to be worth a tenner of anyone's money, doesn't it?
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