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Captain's Blog - 21st October 2010

Rip Van Winkle has been retired. A minor setback in training means that his connections would have to rush his preparation for Churchill Downs and they have decided to call it a day with him. The Rip was a three times Group 1 winner and was unfortunate to come up against Sea the Stars last year, indeed it can be argued that he ran some of his best races when defeated by that exceptional colt.

The Rip had plenty of speed and enough stamina to win over 10 furlongs. Aiden O’Brien in paying tribute to him was keen to highlight how much speed this horse had. This is often the line that Ballydoyle take when a horse retires, they are of course trying to secure the horses future as a Stallion by promoting his versatility.

Rip Van Winkle
© racing-images.co.uk

In the case of the Rip I do believe he had loads of speed and can only wonder how good he would have been if they had decided to ride him patiently more often than they did. He was often ridden close to the pace as if his main asset was his stamina, and in doing this his finishing effort was sometimes blunted. He was however a top class racehorse, and a tough one at that, who overcame serious foot problems last year. I was always a fan and will remain so as over the next few years we watch his progeny take to the track, they may just have more speed than we would first imagine!

I mentioned yesterday that I was going to settle down and watch the One day International game between Australia and India. I have to admit I backed Australia at even money and then had to wait for four and a half hours before I found myself in a decent trading position and could lay my bet off at 1/3. It was a long haul to say the least and in the end the Aussies lost to give me only a small profit. I am glad I sat there and waited for a decent hedging moment but I am not sure I will be doing the same again in the near future. I really enjoyed what was a superb match but it was hardly worth it financially and it prevented me from doing something useful like going to the Gym. I now remember why I like punting on 20/20 games!

Our selection at Ffos Las yesterday was heavily backed and ran like a drain, there is some compensation in knowing that others fancied the beast as well but that is somewhat scant given the woeful performance that it put up. Not to worry we are still ahead this week and I am hopeful of getting back on track today.

Enjoy your day.

Today's Selections

3:55 Carlisle (Ascendant each way 5/1 Ladbrokes )

2:00 Brighton (Kinigi each way 7/2 Sky Bet )