Tweet

racing news / captain's blog /

Captain's Blog - 28th December 2011

I must apologise for a technical error which meant that my blog did not appear on the site yesterday. These things happen I am afraid and I am sure you were far too busy to worry about logging onto my blog.

I hope you all had a Merry Christmas and enjoyed our coverage of 31 live races on Boxing Day and indeed all the action yesterday as well. We enjoyed a lovely Christmas at McNae towers and although our daughter did not know what was going on she seemed to really enjoy the day and a brand new toddle truck went down a storm.

As ever the cooking from yours truly was not timed particularly well, but I am yet to get everything spot on when cooking a roast despite watching Jamie Oliver do it perfectly every year! I still have not lost my touch when it comes to opening bottles of wine though which is a relief.

In winning the King George on Boxing Day Kauto Star proved that his Betfair Chase win was not about him being fitter and better prepared than Long Run on the day, but more about him being a better racehorse. The Cheltenham Gold Cup may be a different story for that race is more about stamina and that could suit Long Run better, but for now Kauto is the champion and he seems to be a different horse this year. Whatever Paul Nicholls has done he has really got this horse back to his breathtaking best.

From my vantage point in the studio it looked as if the atmosphere at Kempton was electric and it really was a day for the racegoer that will linger long in the memory. We must spare a thought for Master Minded who suffered a serious injury in the race and may not be seen on the track again. Let's hope the injury is not too bad and he makes a speedy recovery.

Grand Crus was another impressive winner on Boxing Day. He won the Feltham Novices Chase in a fast time and the manner of his win caused bookmakers to install him at around 2/1 for the RSA chase at the Festival. On what he has done so far in three races over fences I think he deserves to be favourite but surely that price is too short at this stage. There is a good deal that could happen between now and the Festival in March and I would not be interested in taking 2/1 about any horse for any race at the Festival.

Our close family paid us a Christmas visit yesterday which gave us the chance to show off our new dining room table; it is extendable I will have you know and it successfully reached its full length yesterday accommodating all of us and the accompanying pizzas. All we need now are enough chairs to go round the table - that would prevent us from using the emergency garden chairs when we have such a gathering. Nonetheless the day was a success and our daughter really enjoyed having lots of people to play with. We have not planned anything so grand for today other than to head out for a walk along the river this afternoon, which of course is a nice place to walk, and the presence of a nice pub on the route makes it even better.

All the best.

Today's Selection

3.25 Catterick - Risk Runner (each way 5/1 Ladbrokes)