Memory Lane

Arkle and Flyingbolt still the Greatest

With the abandonment of the Sandown card on Saturday C4 filled in with discussions comparing Kauto Star with Arkle. Kauto Star is a great Chaser who has the speed to win at two miles and the stamina to win a Cheltenham Gold Cup. Film footage of the sixties bought back many happy memories of my…

Review of Newmarket July Meeting 2008

This meeting is my favourite of the Flat racing calendar and this years meeting was exceptionally enjoyable. Wednesday’s Group 1 Falmouth Stakes, run in the pouring rain, showed how unlucky Nahoodh (pictured) was in the 1000 Guineas. She was given a great ride by Frankie Dettori and clearly relished the softer ground. Majestic Roi appeared…

Cheltenham Day 2 Abandoned

With day 2 of the Cheltenham Festival abandoned due to high winds there will be a ten race card on Thursday and a nine race card on Friday. This will be a marathon for all concerned but at least no races will be lost. Unlike in 1975 when Cheltenham was waterlogged and the first day…

Cheltenham Gold Cup 1969

I watched recordings from my Sky+ box of BBC’s coverage of four of the races from Ascot on the 19th January and it seemed the ground was once again putting a premium on stamina. Twist Magic looked a different horse on the softish ground and if the rains continue might not even run at Cheltenham…

King George VI Chase Kempton 2007

There is a feast of racing coming up this holiday time starting at Ascot on Saturday 22nd, then Kempton on the 26th, Chepstow on the 27th and Leopardstown on the 28th December. The centre piece will of course be the King George VI Chase at Kempton on Boxing Day.I am sure the results will go…

Hennessy Cognac Gold Cup Handicap Chase at Newbury 2007

The £150,000 Hennessy Cognac Gold Cup will be run at Newbury on the 1st December 2007. It was first run in 1957 when Mandarin won the race. There have been some top class chasers win this race since 1957 and I have once again collated the past winners. My first visit to the Newbury track…

Ayr Gold Cup 2007

The £121,000 Ayr Gold Cup for 3yo’s+ will be run over 6 furlongs on Saturday. The first Ayr Gold Cup winner I ever backed was Compensation way back in 1964. He was a super sprinter who needed an easy surface to show his best form. In those days the race used to be run on…

Ebor Handicap Winners since 1958

A month after I left the King Edward VI Grammar School in Chelmsford in 1958, Gladness won the Ebor Handicap at York carrying 9 stone 7 pounds. The race was a much more important race than it is nowadays. In terms of first prize money it ranked ninth among among the season’s races, behind only…

Review of Coral Eclipse 2007

Full marks to Ryan Moore for walking the Sandown course and discovering where the best ground was. Anybody who had seen Channel 4’s Morning Line interview with the clerk of the course on Saturday morning knew that the best ground in his opinion would be the route that Ryan Moore took in the Coral Eclipse.…

Newmarket July Meeting 2007

Newmarket stages their three day July Meeting next week commencing on Wednesday 11th July with the Falmouth Stakes, a Group 3 for 3yo+ fillies over 1 mile, as the feature race. The feature race on Thursday will be the Princess of Wales Stakes, a Group 2 for 3yo+ over 12 furlongs. On Friday the 13th…