RACING REVIEW
REVIEW YESTERDAY'S RESULTS
PREVIEW TODAY'S CARDS
PAUSE FOR THOUGHT
DAVID ASHFORTH
Saturday's musings from a retired racing enthusiast.
Saturday's musings from a retired racing enthusiast.
David Ashforth:
Twice voted journalist of the year
Twice voted journalist of the year
PICTURE: Dan Abraham
DAVID'S RACING POST SATURDAY MUSINGS (p23)
27. 04. 2013
27. 04. 2013
"Drake
has a nose for a winner while Sedgefield gets Mania mania".
Pic:
Samantha Drake: unseated at Towcester but a winner at Sedgefield
“DO
YOU know what won last Saturday’s Scottish Grand National at Ayr ?
It’s just that I tipped Godsmejudge and wondered how he got on. Yes, yes, yes GODSMEJUDGE won 12-1. http://m.bbc.co.uk/sport/horse-racing/22216973
“What
with Punchestown and Sprinter Sacre and steroids, you may not have noticed that
this week was National week again, the National in question being Sean Magee’s
Full Set Durham National at Sedgefield, one of my favourite courses.
“Magee
kindly invited colleague Steve Dennis, myself and other curiosities along for
what has become an annual institution and, as I passed an enormous sign
alongside the A1 reading, “Prepare to meet thy God’, I was reminded that this is,
perhaps, the greatest of all Nationals.
“It’s a long way to Sedgefield so I called in at
Towcester, another favourite of mine, where I fancied Meridiem in the
conditional jockeys’ race, although I fancied him a lot less after the second
hurdle, where he unseated Samantha Drake. The stewards stood her down for the
rest of the day. I don’t blame them. I assumed they’d backed Meridiem too, but
it turned out that Samantha had hurt her nose (for breaking news on Samantha’s
nose, try to keep reading) . I then backed Amistress – trained by Renee Robeson
and owned by Mrs P Robeson – in the mares’ novice hurdle. Who could ever forget
her husband Paul’s rendition of Ol Man River?
“Dat ol’ Man
River
About the song Ol
Man River
Computer skills? Dear all, my live text keeps hop, hop hoppin' all over the page ...... sorry
“Anyway Amistress looked as though she was going to
win, but finished second instead. You’ll know the feeling and it’s always a
good idea to remind yourself things could be a lot worse.
“For instance, almost 2,000 years ago, as I discovered
at Towcester’s brand new museum, an army led by Boudicca suffered appalling
losses in a battle fought nearby.
“At Towcester, you shouldn’t take on either the
Romans or bookmaker Barry Johnson. On the other hand, it’s worth visiting the
Towcester tea rooms and asking Sharon McMurray about her kidneys, one of which
is now inside her dance teacher, Tracey Aspin. It’s also worth transplanting a
slice of the coffee and walnut cake.
“At Sedgefield, there was a bookmaker trading under
the name of Jo Bloggs and a private box
occupied by The Pet Crematorium. I didn’t like to open the door.
“In
the first race, another conditional jockeys’ hurdle, I backed
Danceintothelight, who fell, while Samantha Drake, her nose held together by a
sticking plaster, rode Takaatuf, who won. It shows a bad nose is no obstacle to
success, as long as you can breath through it.
“Having
followed my own nose, without success, I decided to follow Drake’s instead,
which eventually brought us to Sean Magee’s Full Set Durham National. As Magee
pointed out, it’s better than the Aintree version, where they only go round
twice, whereas they go round three times in the Durham National. Well most of
them do.
“DRAKE, and her nose, were on Leac An Scail
jumped poorly, particularly at the seventh fence, where he fell. This may have
been what is known as ‘a blessing in disguise*’, as Lackamon’s victory provided
the perfect prelude to the guest appearance of Auroras Encore, fresh from
winning that other National and, like Lackamon, trained by Sue Smith and ridden
by Ryan Mania. Mania Goes Mad!
“Tommo
was in terrific form, as were the crowd, who applauded Auroras Encore,
applauded Ryan Mania, applauded Tommo, and applauded Sean Magee. If you’d been
there, they’d probably have applauded you, too.
“Sir
Peter O’Sullevan, a Sedgefielder himself, would have been there if he hadn’t
been detained elsewhere on the grounds of being 95, but Magee announced
O’Sullevan’s tip for Call It On, each-way. Call It On finished where such bets
tend to – fourth. All except Paddy Power who’s colt
promised to pay out on even fifth place as well yesterday. We hear you David, Paddy,
Rory, Tanya. Yes, yes, yes.
“As
a prize, and a wonderful one it was, O’Sullivan had donated the original
colours chart he used when calling home Rubstic in the 1979 National (the other
one). Rubstic, as you know, won the Durham National on three successive
occasions, from 1978 to 1980, and is the only horse to have won both Nationals
in the same year. Golden Miller and Red Rum, what have you got to say about
that?
“Denys
Smith didn’t train Rubstic but was encouraged on to the winner’s podium, aged
88, on the grounds that he’d trained Red Alligator to win the other National in
1968, would add interest to the group photograph and was liked.
“Sue
Smith wasn’t in the photograph, on the grounds that she wasn’t there, but Mania
was not only in several photographs but also came across well and, one way and
another, it was terrific fun.”
“*Blessing in disguise. An attempt to persuade the
victim of disastrous misfortune that it’s all for the best. No, it isn’t, you idiot.”
J Margaret Clarke Turfcall Comment
Best
for whom? Calling into question the British Horseracing Authority
Government’s (BHA) Bloodhorse Illiterate handling of this weeks breaking news
concerning the use of steroid medication for racehorses suffering injury either
in training or whilst racing.
Have
you noticed how some of the British who have themselves called ‘The Great and
the Good’ have only one remedy for everything ‘Punishment’.
eg David Cameron, Paul Roy,
George Osborne, and Paul Bittar. Punishment so harsh, so
cruel, so severe as has
happened this week to Godolphin trainer Mahmood Al Zarooni, warned off for 8
years for using steroid medication to treat 11 injured racehorses placed in his
care by owner Sheikh Mohammed.
We observe David Cameron and George
Osborne allowing world bankers to be bailed out by British tax payers hard
earned cash. Their financial greed, their dodgy rip off working practices ignored completely.
We
observe the recent millions of hard earned taxpayers cash used to finance the
funeral of Baroness Margaret Thatcher. Who split this country in half causing
horrendous hardship to millions of other peoples lives, whilst she herself, died in the Ritz Hotel in London.
We observe Mahmood Al Zarooni this week
facing an illegal bloodhorse illiterate BHA disciplinary panel plucked straight
out of the dark ages, with every financial
advantage point that money can buy. With Al Zarooni acting as Litigant
in Person alone, under sufferance
treated like a criminal due to his concern for suffering racehorses who in his
opinion needed medication.
LIVES
OF THE
QUEENS OFENGLAND
BEFORE THE NORMAN CONQUEST.
OF THE
QUEENS OF
BEFORE THE NORMAN CONQUEST.
History and literature by the Middle Ages Boudica
was forgotten. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boudica
AFTER
THE ADOPTION OF CHRISTIANITY IN 380
A gladiator (Latin: gladiator, "swordsman",
from gladius, "sword") was an armed
combatant who entertained audiences in the Roman
Republic and Roman Empire in violent confrontations with other
gladiators, wild animals, and condemned criminals. Some gladiators were
volunteers who risked their legal and social standing and their lives by
appearing in the arena. Most were despised as slaves, schooled under harsh
conditions, socially marginalized, and segregated even in death.[citation
The games reached their peak between the 1st century BCE and the 2nd
century CE, and they finally declined during the early 5th century after the
adoption of Christianity as state church of the Roman Empire
in 380, although beast hunts (venationes) continued into the 6th century.
Gladiators, replaced by worldwide licensed
jockeys’ together with the trained racehorses they ride. Licensed by the bloodhorse illiterate bully
boys within both British government systems - political and horseracing. Anyone
who has achieved true bloodhorse literacy in their own right are considered to
be surplus to both government requirements. We haven’t come very far have we
since 389. What do you think?
