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Captain's Blog - Tuesday 6th November

The Haldon Gold Cup is live on from Exeter today as the Jumps season really cranks into gear. To be fair a small field is somewhat disappointing and it means that Cue Card will go off favourite. There is no doubt that he is a very talented racehorse and has every chance of obliging at short odds before heading to the King George.

That said I will not be backing him because despite his obvious talent I believe that under strong pressure he tends to hang left and finds little off the bridle. Now before you jump down my throat I am not denying he has talent nor am I saying he cannot win today, but there is ample evidence that in top company when he comes under pressure his response is to hang left. Let's leave it at that and see how he gets on thought the season.

I am writing this blog on Monday night after my wife and I have enjoyed an honourable 5-5 draw on University Challenge this evening. The reason I am telling you this is that you may be wondering why I have not written about the Melbourne Cup. Well the answer is simple. At the time of writing it has not been run. The fact that I gained a draw in the McNae family UC this evening meant that I avoided having to do the washing up, which apparently I am not too good at anyway.

My life has changed immeasurably since the birth of my daughter, but the changes just keep coming. At the age of 23 months my daughter has decided to ditch Igglepiggle completely. He is the main character in the children's programme called In the Night Garden and whist once she could not get enough of him, she has now moved on.

Her affections have switched to Peppa Pig and her family. She is particularly keen on George who is a young piglet, if you like, who carries a fluffy dinosaur around with him. Her affection for him is somewhat haphazard as last Tuesday I bought her a George from Tesco erroneously thinking he was Peppa.

An elementary mistake I am afraid and in a vicarious way I am therefore to blame for the demise of Igglepiggle. In my defence all fluffy pigs look alike, but that defence carries no weight apparently as Peppa is a girl and George is obviously a boy who carries a pet Dinosaur around. I have no idea who we will be moving onto next but one thing is for sure I need to concentrate harder on these kids’ programs

No joy with our selection yesterday. Today I rely on Irish Jugger in the 3.10 at Southwell. He has had a tremendous record on Fibresand and has switched yards to the progressive Michael Appleby. These two factors alone make him worthy of support today.

Today's Selection

3.10 Southwell - Irish Jugger (4/1 Paddy Power)