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Captain's Blog - 11th June 2011

Her Majesty has given out some Birthday treats today and Henry Cecil has been granted a Knighthood. He is joined by Bruce Forsyth who has a ready made line when he goes to the Palace to receive his honour. Nice to see you to see you nice will no doubt be his opening gambit to her Majesty on the big day. Henry will no doubt be a touch more reserved in his demeanour although he may be tempted to offer some advice as to where Carlton House should run next.

We all know that Ryan Moore was not happy with the outsiders that he felt got in his way in the Derby. I am not sure that they hampered him that much and cetainly did not cost him the race. Of much greater significance was the fact that he lost a shoe in the final furlong. This could have been very uncomfortable for him for a furlong or two as it worked loose and may have prevented him from really stretching out. Of course it may just have come off quickly and caused him no discomfort at all, but the focus on these outsiders is way over the top in my opinion, more focus on the lost shoe would have been a lot more pertinent in terms of analysing his performance. I am not saying he would have won if he kept all his shoes on, but the journalistic focus on the performance of Carlton House has been wide of the mark.

I am heading to the studio today to present Mark our Card and then to do duty in the booth during the afternoon. It will be a busy day for us on with four meetings keeping us on our toes. Lydia and Steve will be on duty at York and Dae Yates will join me in the studio from 12.30. I need to kick on soon and get to Marks and Spencer to get myself some lunch. Whether I will actually get time to eat it is another matter.

I hope you have a lovely weekend.

Today's Selection

2.40 York – Leviathan (each way 7/1 Betfred )