There are certain horses that really catch the eye, and one that caught mine a couple of years ago was Nicanor, who saw off the mighty Denman at Cheltenham in imperious fashion. Harry Findlay had taken the box next to ours that day, and I know him pretty well – it wasn’t his best day and I don’t think he returned to …
Bad to Worse
Ugh. This season is going from bad to worse – it’s the fourth time I’ve decided to have a big bet on a horse the day before the race only to change my mind on the day and then see it win (others were Osana, Twist Magic, Denman). I think I suffer from having too much information – I was probably …
Follow the Bear
A MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ONE AND ALL It’s been a fairly low key Christmas for me this year in as far as Christmas with four small children can be. My side of the family come round tomorrow – 18 of them with 11 children, which may get a little noisy. I’ve been to church a couple of times this year, which is something …
Ladbroke
I was hoping to be at Ascot today cheering Mon Michel on in the Ladbroke, but it wasn’t to be. It’s a shame as I’d have given him a real chance – everything would have been in his favour. Gary has two other entries, including Altilhar which I’ve backed. I spoke to Gary about him yesterday – he loves the …
Lost and alone
Day 2 of life outside of Betfair, and already bored and depressed – after years of being institutionalised within Betfair I feel lost and alone, like Brooks in the Shawshank Redemption. I’m contemplating carving my name on a rafter in my office and hanging myself with my Betfair tie. Goodbye cruel world. But there’s no great rush as it’s another great days …
Irish tour
I’m still having a busy time in the run up to Christmas. On Thursday night I went to a do in the city – later on the Duke and Duchess of York turned up (separately), giving me my celebrity action although I didn’t talk to them. I got to Heathrow late, meeting Tom Goff, and we flew to Cork – from there we …
Maternity leave
It was a big day for me yesterday, with Betfair finally launching the SP mechanism. I kicked the product off over 2 years ago, but it was a year and a half before we started work on it (the Betfair roadmap is permanently backed up). It is a very big piece of work – in many respects the biggest single …
No rest for the wicked
The story rolls on – Felon escapes the clutches of the BHA but walks straight into the arms of France Galop. If he fails his B test and gets some more time off he will at least be able to update and release his long awaited autobiography, and it’s going to be a cracking read. I’m having a bad time betting at …
Infamy infamy…
… they’ve all got it in for me. Fallongate abruptly winds to a merciful close, the Fallon six walk free and the recriminations begin. I haven’t read all of the papers yet. One article I read said that the case is “far from over”, suggesting that Fallon and others may seek compensation. Another simply says that there was never any evidence against …
Michel Ma Belle
At last!! I’ve been saying for a long time that Mon Michel is a decent result waiting to happen, and it’s gratifying to finally have a decent win to prove the case. I thought he ran an excellent race, finding just a little extra at the end when asked, which is something he hasn’t really done before. He isn’t the …