THE MORNING LINE SPECIAL GUEST ALEX SALMOND PICKS UP THE BATON FOR BRITISH HORSERACING AT AYR TODAY THROUGH HIS PASSION FOR HORSERACING. (Rt Hon Alex Salmond MSP ) ORGANIZE your afternoons’ racing action early, let the CHANNEL 4 MORNING LINE TEAM guide you along an exciting, intriguing and fascinating path into the world of horseracing.
THROUGH THE KEYHOLE THE CLUES ARE THERE. An interesting and entertaining program providing previews of runners and riders racing this afternoon, key current news, review and updates, relevant to this afternoon’s C4 live action coverage from AYR, NEWBURY, and NEWMARKET.
TODAYS MEETINGS COVERED BY THE MORNING LINE TEAM ARE:
AYR Flat (Turf good to firm) 8 races £390 k First race 1.40 - 5.35.
C4 show live 2.15. 2.45. 3.20 William Hill (Ayr) Gold Cup Winner £93, 465
NEWBURY Flat (Turf good to firm in places) 8 races £269k First race 1.30 – 5.25
C4 Show Live 2.00. 2.30 Dubai Duty Free Mill Reef Stakes 6f for 2 year-olds. 3.05 and 3.40.
NEWMARKET (Flat Turf good) 8 races £300k. First race 1.45 – 5.50.
C4 Show Live 3.30 Investic Cesarewitch Trial (Handicap) (Class 2) Winner £22,666
2m 5f Row.
TODAY’S C4 TOTE SCOOP6 SATURDAY’S BIG TV BET RACES:
Go for gold to win over 1 million . Could you be the next Scoop6 millionaire?
Win fund rollover £220,525 Bonus fund rollover £755, 460.
Leg 1 2.00 Newbury
Leg 2 2.15 Ayr
Leg 3 3.05 Newbury
Leg 4 3.20 Ayr
Leg 5 3.30 Newmarket
Leg 6 3.40 Newbury
C4 MORNING LINE HORSERACING TEAM TODAY ARE:
LESLEY (Posh Bird) GRAHAM
Hostess Presenter Broadcaster/Bloodhorse Illiterate.
SPECIAL GUEST Rt HON ALEX SALMOND MSP.
Please see history below.
DEREK (Tommo) THOMPSON
‘Bloodhorse Literate’ Presenter, Broadcaster, Form Specialist.
TANYA (Tanz/Tipbits) STEVENSON
Form Specialist/Broadcaster. Up to the minute on line betting stats.
Bloodhorse Illiterate. Email Tanya: racing@channel4.com
EMMA (M’s) SPENCER
Bloodhorse Literate, Specialist/Broadcaster/Presenter.
JOHN (Mac) McCRIRICK THE PUNTERS CHAMPION. HOORAY MAC IS BACK THIS MORNING. We’ve missed you Mac. Bloodhorse Illiterate
SIMON HOLT
Commentator/Specialist Presenter/Broadcaster/Bloodhorse Illiterate
BARRY (BISMARK) DENNIS
Form Specialist/Bookmaker/ Over the phone Barry names the horse that he believes will not succeed in winning this afternoon. Bloodhorse Illiterate
RACING REVIEW LAST SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 11th 2010 DONCASTER ST LEGER FESTIVAL MEETING.
ST LEGER WINNER: ARCTIC COSMOS partner WILLIAM BUICK trainer John Gosden for Rachel Hood and Robin Geffen. Breeder Sheridan & Iadora Farm. Gosden’s team member, presenting and minding ARCTIC COSMOS handler/rider Ismail Muhammad. Distance 1 and three quarters of a length, nose. At 12/1.
TRAINER JOHN GOSDEN REPORTS:
"We've had one dream come true today, not bad for a horse no one wanted, and who had to go into my wife's Christmas stocking. (Rachel Hood)
“ARCTIC COSMOS wore blinkers for the first time, we decided to put the headgear on him after his third in his trial at Goodwood. It's not that he is ungenuine, he's still just a big baby and we thought they'd help him concentrate."
BUICK said "ARCTIC COSMOS travelled with the blinkers today and the race panned out perfectly. It was very straight forward."
GOSDEN said: “This colt is likely to drop back in distance for his next assignment, which may be the Breeders' Cup Turf in Kentucky in November." (St Leger for 3 year
olds, distance1 mile 6 furlongs 132 yards)
On ARCTIC COSMOS partner WILLIAM BUICK Gosden said, “I spent a lot of time in the States around some great jockeys, SHOEMAKER, DALAHOUSSAYE, McCARRON, CORDERO, STEVENS, all those great, great riders and I'd like to think I know a good one when I see one.
"I've been watching WILLIAM BUICK'S qualities from when he was a little kid - he's got judgement as a jockey and great balance as a horseman, beautiful hands. He came up in the best academy possible in this modern era at Kingsclere. Good family - you could just see equilibrium. He’s a very talented young man.
"We live in a world of celebrity froth which can be destructive to a young athlete, but BUICK has had a proper grounding and upbringing. He's not going to lose his head."
BUICK went on to achieved two more winners for his stable that day, scoring on BUTHELEZI and SENATE.
ARCTIC COSMOS is Gosden’s third St Leger win. He won it in 1996 with SHANTOU partner F. DETTORI for Sheikh Mohammed at 8/1, and in 2007 with LUCARNO partner J. FORTUNE for G. Strawbridge at 7/2.
DATE FOR YOUR DIARY
WAR HORSE
http://www.londonwestendtheatrebreaks.com/
Venue: New London
Address: Drury Lane, London, WC2B 5PW. Show Details
Running Time: 2 hrs. 40 mins.
Opening: 4/3/2009
Closing: Open Run
THE POIGNANT STORY OF WAR HORSE IS SET DURING THE FIRST WORLD WAR.
The poignant story of War Horse is set during the First World War and revolves around a young boy, Albert and his beloved horse, Joey. Joey is being sold to cavalry and has been shipped far away, to France. But, the young boy gets trapped in some mess, which results in trip to an extraordinary voyage. Nick Stafford's creative adaptation of Michael Morpurgo's War Horse has captured the imagination of theatre viewers fully at the National Theatre.
Albert feels lonely in the absence of Joey and decides to embark on a journey to bring his horse back. New London Theatre has finely staged this ambitious project with life size horse puppets.
Watching the classic War Horse show would be an enthralling experience for your family, as it features some great humor finely entwined with heart stirring emotions. If you want to enjoy this touching saga of love and emotions fully then order War Horse Theatre Tickets now! You can order London theatre tickets for War Horse playing at New London Theatre from official theatre and show experts London Westend Theatre Tickets.
(XMAS CHANGES: Times from Mon 20 Dec 2010 to Mon 3 Dec 2011 inclusive: Mon 7.30pm; Tues, Wed & Thu at 2pm & 7pm; Fri 2pm; Sat 2.30pm & 7.30pm - No perf Sat 25 Dec)
Credits:
Author: Michael Morpurgo, adapted by Nick Stafford
Director: Marianne Elliott and Tom Morris
Producer: National Theatre/Handspring Puppet Company
Designer: Rae Smith
Lighting: Paule Constable
Sound By: Christopher Shutt
Show times
Evenings:
Monday, Wednesday to Saturday 7.30
Tuesday 7.00
Matinees:
Thursday & Saturday 2.30
Cast Includes: Jacob Anderson (Billy), Matthew Aubrey (Albert Narracott), James Barriscale (Chapman Carter/Colonel Strauss/ Sgt. Fine), Nigel Betts (Arthur Narracott/Sgt. Thunder), Andrew Bridgmont (Alternate Songman/Greig/Schmidtt), Matthew Burgess (Joey heart, Schweyk), Emily Cooper (Joey and Topthorn hind/ensemble), Vanessa Faye-Stanley (Baby Joey/Ensemble), Matthew Forbes (Ensemble), Ross Green (Joey and Topthorn heart/ensemble), David Grewcock (Joey and Topthorn head/ensemble), Robin Guiver (Joey and Topthorn heart/Geordie), Stephen Harper (Topthorn head/Geordie), Nicolas Karimi (Topthorn heart), Sarah Mardel (Baby Joey/Emilie), Jess Murphy (Paulette/Baby Joey), Eamonn O'Dwyer (Songman), Toby OIie (Joey and Topthorn head/Goose), David Ononokpono (Captain Stewart), Ian Piears (Joey hind/Heine), Malcolm Ridley (Sgt. Allan, Schnabel, Manfred), Ruth Rogers (Joey head), William Rycroft (Bone/Rudi/Callaghan), Abdul Salis (David Taylor), Rachel Sanders (Rose/Sentry Shaw), Anthony Shuster (Vet Martin), Perri Snowden (Captain Nicholls), Ben Thompson (Joey and Topthorn hind/Ludwig /Goose), Zubin Varla (Friedrich Muller), Andy Williams (Ted Narracott), Thomas Wilton (ensemble).
PAUSE FOR THOUGHT
Rt HON ALEX SALMOND MSP SPECIAL GUEST, MORNING LINE.
Early life and career
Salmond was born in Linlithgow, a town in West Lothian, Scotland on 31 December, (Hogmanay) 1954. He is the second of four children born to Robert Fyfe Findlay Salmond and Mary Stewart Salmond (née Milne), both of whom were civil servants Salmond attended the local Linlithgow Academy before studying at the University of St Andrews, where he graduated with a Joint Honours MA in economics and history.
In 1978 he entered the Government Economic Service as an Assistant Economist in the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries for Scotland, part of the now defunct Scottish Office. Two years later he joined the Royal Bank of Scotland where he worked for seven years: first as an Assistant Economist before being appointed Oil Economist in 1982, and from 1984 combining that role with duties as a bank economist. While with the Royal Bank, he wrote and broadcast extensively for both domestic and international outlets. He also contributed regularly to oil and energy conferences. In 1983 Salmond created a "Royal Bank/BBC oil index" that is still used.
Early political career
Salmond became active in the SNP when he joined the Federation of Student Nationalists at St Andrews University in 1973 while a student at St Andrews. As a left-winger at the time he joined, he had considerable doubts as to whether or not the Labour Government would legislate for a devolved Scottish Assembly.
Salmond started his political life as a committed left-winger inside the SNP and was a leading member of the socialist republican organisation within it, the 79 Group. He was, along with other group leaders, suspended from membership of the SNP when the 79 Group was banned within the larger party. In 1981, he married Moira French McGlashan, then a senior civil servant with the Scottish Office.
Following the SNP's National Council narrowly voting to uphold the expulsion, Salmond and the others were allowed back into the party a month later, and in 1985 he was elected as the SNP's Vice Convener for Publicity.
In 1987 he stood for Parliament in Banff and Buchan and defeated the incumbent Conservative MP, Albert McQuarrie. Later that year Salmond became Senior Vice Convener (Deputy Leader) of the SNP. He was at this time still viewed as being firmly on the left of the party and had become a key ally of Jim Sillars, who joined him in the British House of Commons when he won a by-election for the seat of Glasgow Govan in 1988.
Salmond served as a member of the House of Commons Energy Select Committee from 1987 to 1992.
Biography. Taylor, Alan; Wilson. Alan (1999). Alex Salmond: a biography. Canongate. ISBN 9780862419219
First time as SNP leader
When Gordon Wilson stood down as SNP leader in 1990, Salmond decided to contest the leadership. His only opponent was Margaret Ewing, whom Sillars decided to support. This caused considerable consternation amongst the SNP left as the two main left leaders were opposing each other in the contest. Salmond went on to win the leadership election by 486 votes to Ewing's 146.
Personal life
Salmond's main interests outside work and politics are golf, horse racing, football and reading. He supports Scotland and Heart of Midlothian F.C. and sometimes attends matches. He also attended the 2008 UEFA Cup Final between Rangers FC and Zenit St Petersburg.
He takes an interest in Scottish cultural life, as well as watching Star Trek and listening to country and western music. For Children in Need in 2008, Salmond performed an impersonation of the Rikki Fulton character, the Reverend I M Jolly.
He has also been a visiting Professor of Economics at Strathclyde University. He and his wife Moira live in Strichen in Aberdeenshire.
Resignation and time in Westminster
Salmond was elected to the Scottish Parliament in 1999 and was one of its highest profile members. He stood down as SNP leader in 2000, and was replaced by his preferred successor John Swinney, who defeated Alex Neil for the post. He left the Scottish Parliament in 2001 to lead the SNP group in the House of Commons.
First Minister Salmond speaks at the launch of A National Conversation
His first test as leader was the general election in 1992, with the SNP having high hopes of making an electoral breakthrough. Whilst considerably increased its share of the vote, it failed to win a large number of seats. Sillars lost his, causing him to describe the Scottish people as '90 minute patriots'. This comment ended the political friendship between Salmond and Sillars, and Sillars would soon become a vocal critic of Salmond's style of leadership.
The SNP increased its number of MPs from four to six in the 1997 General Election, which saw a landslide victory for the Labour Party. After election, Labour legislated for a devolved Scottish parliament in Edinburgh.
Although still committed to a fully independent Scotland, Salmond signed the SNP up to supporting the campaign for devolution, and, along with Scottish Labour leader Donald Dewar and Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Jim Wallace, played an active part in securing the victory for devolution in the Scotland referendum of 1997. However, many hard line fundamentalists in the SNP objected to committing the party to devolution, as it was short of full political Scottish independence.
Salmond's first spell as leader was characterised by a moderation of his earlier left-wing views and by his firmly placing the SNP into a gradualist, but still pro-independence, strategy.
Salmond was one of the few British politicians to oppose the NATO bombing of Serbia in 1999. He was opposed to the conflict because it was not authorised by a United Nations Security Council resolution, which was a controversial subject at the time. Despite this, Salmond was heavily criticized in the media for describing Tony Blair's decision to intervene militarily as an "unpardonable folly".
Several years as party leader earned Salmond an unusually high profile for an SNP politician in the London-based media. In 1998, Salmond won the Spectator Award for Political strategist of the Year. Following an appearance on the entertainment programme Call My Bluff, Salmond used one of the 'bluff' cards that are used as props in the show in the run-up to the first elections to the Scottish Parliament.
To counter his frustration at having to sit in silence through what he claimed was an inappropriately political speech by Tony Blair at a charity lunch, he held up the bluff card as the Prime Minister began querying Scotland's economic prospects should independence occur. Throughout his time in politics, Salmond has maintained his interest in horse racing, writing a weekly column for The Scotsman and appearing a number of times on Channel 4's The Morning Line.
Return as leader
On 15 July 2004, Alex Salmond said that he would be a candidate in the forthcoming election for the leadership of the SNP. This came as a surprise because Salmond had previously declared that he would definitely not be a leadership candidate.[12] In the postal ballot of all members he went on to receive over 75% of the votes cast, placing him well ahead of his nearest rival Roseanna Cunningham l though he was re-elected in the 2005 general election, he made clear his intention to return to the Scottish Parliament at the 2007 Scottish parliamentary election in an attempt to win power for the first time.
In that election, Salmond stood as a candidate for the Gordon constituency, which had been represented since 1999 by the Liberal Democrat Nora Radcliffe..Salmond won the seat with 41% of the vote, and a majority of 2,062, returning to the Scottish Parliament after six years' absence. In the election the SNP emerged as the largest party, winning 47 seats to Labour's 46.
First Minister
Salmond with Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon at the launch of the National Conversation.
Having won more seats than any other party in the 2007 Scottish Parliament election, the SNP initially approached the Scottish Liberal Democrats to form a coalition, but they declined to take part in negotiations. This left the SNP without any possibility to form a coalition with an overall majority. The Scottish Green Party agreed to support an SNP minority administration on a confidence and supply basis.
Salmond (right) meets Ian Paisley (centre) and Martin McGuinness (left).
Salmond was elected by the Scottish Parliament as First Minister on 16 May 2007, and was sworn in on 17 May after receiving the Royal Warrant from the Queen and taking the official oath of allegiance before judges at the Court of Session.
Salmond became the first nationalist politician to hold the office.. He reduced the size of the Cabinet from nine members to six, and said he would seek to govern on a "policy by policy" basis. In order to concentrate on his new role as First Minister, Salmond stood down as the SNP group leader at Westminster and was replaced by Angus Robertson.
The Guardian reported in November 2007 that Salmond believed Scotland would be independent within "the next decade"
In November 2007, Salmond received the The Spectator's Parliamentarian of the Year Award for his "brilliant campaign" and "extraordinary victory" in the Scottish Parliament elections, thereby ending eight years of Labour rule.[21]
2010 TV election debate
Salmond said it would be "unacceptable for the SNP to be excluded from the 2010 UK election televised debate and has sought "guarantees of inclusion from the broadcasters, given their inescapable duty to ensure fairness and impartiality in election-related coverage in Scotland" in the build up to the 2010 UK General Election.
The party used the Freedom of Information Act to see if the BBC could have broken its own rules. Salmond said it was entirely unacceptable to Scotland as well as to the SNP for the broadcasters to exclude the party that forms the Scottish Government and leading in Westminster election polls.
He emphasised, however, that he was not trying to stop any debates from being broadcast. After having failed to change the BBC's decision to not include the SNP in the final UK debate, in line with the decision by ITV and Sky News, the SNP mounted a legal challenge to the BBC at the Court of Session in Edinburgh.
Despite earlier reassurances by the SNP that it was not trying to stop the broadcast, it sought an 'interim interdict' to prevent the debate being broadcast without the participation of the SNP. However, the Court of Session dismissed the SNP's complaint, and refused to ban the BBC from broadcasting the third debate in Scotland, on the grounds that the SNP had left the bringing of the case
Which 2 year old will win the Mill Reef Stakes the 2.30 at Newbury this afternoon?
Can HAWKEYETHENOO win the Ayr Gold Cup sprint, a big ask in a 27 runner race, but maybe, just maybe, with a little magic on his side, he can?
END
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