[wordfromthewise]

I’d need excuses for Patkai looking so quirky in the business end of the race before I could entertain him over 20 furlongs in the GC………..he travelled well until being sent on when he edged right and then later appeared to jink again.Doubtful runner?

[wordfromthewise]

One minor crticism though. She needs to reel in the daft remarks and over excitability at times. Makes her look a bit doowally (Scots term for off her head

Couldn’t agree more.The intentional or uncontrolled attempts at being funny or wacky really put me off her.
I’m always uncomfortable being played by the media/Cowell hype into over rating anyone’s real worth as a performer this time rather patronisingly due to Boyle’s apperance and humble background etc.

I know the worth and value of fame and celebrity has altered unrecognisably in the last decade or so but even so I don’t get how Susan Boyle is known around the world because of 1 performance on a lowish rent light entertainment contest.It can only be a testament to the power of the media.

I know its only a piece of entertainment butI can’t help feeling patronised by how all TV formats have to merge into this one successful model? Why is this show identical in production values to the X Factor ?
Are light entertainment audiences not considered sophisticated enough for anything other than hyper whipped up screaming audiences,everyone described as ‘fantastic’ by the judges( in this case bellydancer? odd ball couple lifing things with their ears?) and do we have to have Cowell on every show of this type.Lazy programme making that doesn’t deserve its success IMO and either a saddish reflection on the general viewing public or the alternatives available or both.

I for one have never been particularly interested in ‘opera light’ style music or entertainment beyond the odd one performance on TV so no amount of trying to sell an album by Boyle or Paul Potts would ever work, but seemingly not so for a significant numbers of others who IMO don’t see these pay per vote shows for what they are and allow Simon Cowell seemingly the only person who has an opinion to decide what they should like.

[wordfromthewise]

This looks like a great forum and just wanted to share some views, and get some winner here. Couldn’t see a daily thread…. so.
2.05 Curragh
Boylesports 143 Shops Nationwide Maiden (3YO plus)
1 pt e/w Blue Ridge Lane
CHANGINGOFTHEGAURD is unlikely to be ideally suited by the testing conditions, but the son of Montjeu is still difficult to oppose on the strength of his second behind the smart Harbinger over this trip on fast ground at the recent Chester meeting. The Ballydoyle colt, who had only one run last year, was beaten three lengths at Chester and was possibly a shade unlucky not to have finished a little closer to the winner after encountering some traffic problems about 2f out.
It is difficult to see any of his rivals who have run previously posing a major threat, but two of the newcomers, Eytarna and L’Impresario, are potentially interesting. Both are well bred, particularly Eytarna, who is a Dubai Destination half-sister to five winners, including three who achieved Group 1 success for the Aga Khan-John Oxx combination in Ascot Gold Cup winner Enzeli, Irish Oaks and Prix Royal Oak winner Ebadiyla, and Edabiya, who won the Moyglare Stud Stakes.
However, with so many runners looking short of standara or on a newcoming run, the value e/w bet if anywhere near forecast price has to be Blue Ridge Lane, having shown ability on his only start last season before finishing third behind five-length winner Love Bird, a runner in the Irish 1,000 Guineas, over 7f at this track on his reappearance early this month.

2.10 Curragh
Boylecasino.com E.B.F Maiden (2YO only)
1 pt win Macada
1 pt e/w Harry Hunt
In a maiden which Jim Bolger has won 2 of the past 5 years, (stable won the last 2 on the run), MACADA is given the vote to do the business, with a smaller bet in mind of the fact that heavy ground is hardly going to be an ideal scenario for a filly by Orientate who made a name for himself as a top-class sprinter on dirt in the US, the highlight of his career provided by a victory in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint at Arlington. However, the stable’s horses are usually fit for their 1st runs and the Bolger Stable are still in form, having had Coolcullen Times win yesterday for the 3rd time in a row.
The other Bolger filly here is Roise, a Rock Of Gibraltar filly out of a Don’t Forget Me mare. The testing ground won’t be a problem, but even then this might be on the short side for her and on Jockey bookings she does look like the second string, which in a maiden like this, isn’t a plus.
Dermot Weld is represented here by Bygone Age, a colt by Whipper, who counted the 2003 Prix Morny among his three Group 1 wins. He is an obvious contender for a share of the money, along with the Kevin Prendergast-trained Alshahbaa, by Alhaarth out of a Listed winner by Sahm. However none of the two stable are in sparkling form, or have won this maiden in the last 5 years.
Black Quatrz, a French-bred son of Danehill Dancer is at least reasonably likely to handle the ground and his stable have won this 3 times in the last 5 years, but their horses usually improve for their 1st run, even their top 2 yo’s so far this season.
In spite of all this, a good e/w bet may be Harry Hill, with a trainer usually not associated with Juveniles, in Cecil Ross. He showed huge improvement from an unpromising debut at Gowran when second at Navan three days later behind Cocorvada, who wasn’t disgraced when 7th in the Marble Hill yesterday, in a decent maiden at Navan. He should handle the ground, if finding any improvement form that, could cause a minor shock.

3.05 Curragh
Tattersalls Gold Cup (Group 1) (4YO+)
Casual Conquest: Lightly-raced colt who won last season’s Derrinstown Stud Derby Trial and went on to finish third behind New Approach in the Derby at Epsom and second to Frozen Fire in the Irish Derby; Still room for improvement and will be much the better for 2nd in Jockey Club stakes on ground way too fast for him; There could still be improvement in him, being lightly raced, and also he does look like the stable’s 1st string.
Famous Name: Talented colt who has only once been out of the first three in nine starts; won twice at Leopardstown last season, including a 1m2f Group 3 race in November, though ran best races in defeat when a head second to Vision D´Etat in the Group 1 Prix du Jockey-Club and 3rd to Sprinto Del Vento in Prix Daninel Wildenstein ; That form looks very strong now and will be better for his reappearance run, but questions over that form raised when winner was well beaten in Prix D’Isphan; Looks stable second string, but don’t let that put you off if you like him.
Moqien: Won the Group 3 Ballysax Stakes over this trip at Leopardstown last season; later well beaten in third behind Casual Conquest in the Derrinstown; Did well to be beaten only slightly by Famous Name last time but don’t see him reversing form with the Weld pair.
Thewayyouare: Former French-trained colt who was a very smart juvenile in 2007, winning four races including the Group 1 Criterium International at Saint Cloud; ran just twice last season, including when finishing in mid-field in the Prix du Jockey-Club; made an encouraging start to the new season when fourth behind Vision D´Etat in the Prix Ganay, form that could give him the beating of all of these, and accounting for massive improvement usually made by Ballydolyle runners on 2nd start of the season, could take this.
Lush Lashes: Stable in terrific form and should be better for this tough; Won three Group 1 races, Coronation Stakes, Yorkshire Oaks, and Matron Stakes at Leopardstown during outstanding three-year-old campaign; ended European season with second placing behind Lady Marian in the Prix de l´Opera (may well have been tired and also couldn’t find a gap); nothing went right for her in the Hong Kong Cup on her final outing, and the run can be ignored, but ground conditions huge problem and this is a high class field.
VERDICT: A top class, proper Group 1 race, and it would be even more so if the ground was better. Given the form of his stable, and the massive improvement made by horses from his team for the seasonal reappearances, along with the fact that his form could well be good enough to take this, THEWAYYOUARE is picked to take this. Lush Lashes may well have been the selection, but she lacks a reappearance run and has a ground worry. Moqien will have a hard task there reversing form with an improved Famous Name, and Casual Conquest may well be the best of the 2 Weld runners, but only by a bit.

3.40 Curragh
Boylesports Irish 1,000 Guineas (Group 1) (3YO Fillles)
Again: Top-class two-year-old, winning three of her five races; beat Oui Say Oui and Rare Ransom in the Group 2 Debutante Stakes at Leopardstown, and produced a smart performance to beat Shimah on soft ground in the Moyglare two weeks later; unfavourable draw probably a factor when she failed to produce her true running in the Prix Marcel Boussac on her final outing; However Shimah ran a shocker in English Guineas and she may well need the run.
Always Be True: Stablemate of Again; takes a massive rise in class having won a 7f maiden on yielding-to-soft at Gowran less than three weeks ago. Possible tiny e/w squeak.
Barathea: Exposed maiden who has to failed to make the progress that might have been anticipated after finishing 9l fourth behind Again in last season´s Debutante Stakes.
Chintz: Notched two wins and two seconds from four starts at two, gaining her most notable success when beating Lahaleeb and Hallie´s Comet in the Group 3 CL Weld Park Stakes over 7f here in September; suited by cut and probably unsuited by quick ground when running poorly on her seasonal debut in a 7f Group 3 event at Leopardstown; Still, needs to find a lot, and this might be an extreme of cut in the ground for her.
Cuis Gahire: Won first three outings at two, including the Albany Stakes at Royal Ascot, and ran a fine race when second to Rip Van Winkle in the Tyros Stakes; holds a very strong claim on the form of her second to Ghanaati in the Newmarket equivalent, but has only raced once on heavy and disappointed; Needs better ground to be safe of her giving her running.
Dance Pass: Had only a single run at two; coped well when fourth to Maoineach on seasonal debut in 7f Group 3 race at Leopardstown in March and went on to justify favouritism in a Naas maiden over this trip; Will improve, but needs to step up.
Dubishanna: Useful horse; Twice successful from four starts but nothing to suggest that she can feature here judged on her fifth to She´s Our Mark in a Listed race at Gowran last time; Looks stable second string.
Hallie’s Comet: Placed behind Chintz and Lahaleeb in the Group 3 CL Weld Stakes here before gaining a well-deserved maiden success at Naas; out of the money in two outings at Group 3 level this season; This is Group 1, top level here. Up against it.
Lalaheeb: Very experienced filly who rose through from the nursery ranks last season; signed off the campaign style by winning the Rockfel Stakes after finishing second to Chintz at this venue; Confirmed ability to handle soft ground when winning the Fred Darling on her reappearance; Ignore her run last time as she hated firm ground and she’s got top class form in the book, loves the cut, and could well have been overlooked; On the basis of her Fred Darling win, 15/2 is value.
Love Bird: Progressive filly who looked ready for a rise in class when winning a 7f maiden in good style at this venue almost three weeks ago, but this Group 1 venture may come too soon for her; One for the future.
Luminous Eyes: Won twice from five starts last season, including a victory defeat over Chintz in a 7f Group 3 event on good ground at Leopardstown in June; However has a lot of ground to make upon 4th in Goffs Filles Million last time when well backed favourite.
Moinvea: Maiden winner over 6f on good-to-firm ground at Leopardstown last August; Good 4th in Group 3 last time, but more needed here.
Oh Goodness Me: Twice placed in Listed company after winning a Gowran maiden last season; handled soft ground when winning a Group 3 event on her seasonal debut over the course and trip; failed to feature in the Poule d´Essasi des Pouliches; More than that needed here.
Rare Ransom: Galway maiden winner last season, and finished creditable third behind in the Debutante Stakes; finished ninth in the Moyglare and again out of the money in the CL Weld Park Stakes; Nice win last time out but those opponents were not up to this class.
Super Sleuth: High-class maiden who ran well above her rating when losing out by only a head to Lahaleeb on soft ground in the Fred Darling at Newbury on her seasonal debut (Sariska come out and won since); came from well off the pace when an excellent third behind Ghanaati and Cuis Ghaire in the 1000 Guineas at Newmarket, and different ground can see her reverse form with Cuis Gahire; Arguably has best form in race, and her form is certainly good enough to win this; Trainer form slight worry.
Totally Devoted: Maiden who was highly tried in a Group 3 event at Leopardstown on her second outing; did not enjoy much luck in running then, and probably capable of a great deal better, but this is much better.
VERDICT: Again was one of the stars of the juvenile season last year, and heavy ground shouldn’t be a problem, but she may well need the run and her Moyglare win doesn’t looks strong, with Shimah being well beaten in the Guineas. That leaves her with a lot to find with Cuis Ghaire, who may well have been the selection with better ground, having much the best form in this. However I’m not taking this risk that she could handle it, in what looks like a good classic. Super Sleuth could well do better on ground she likes and her display in the guineas was very encouraging, but I can’t see why LAHALEEB is twice the price, seeing as she could well come back to form on her best ground, and has beaten Super Sleuth on it. 10/1 is a good price. There are many unexposed horses in here, and the best of them may well be Dance Pass, but they will have to be something special to land this, and heavy ground is probably a prominent factor in their betting.

4.15 Curragh
Boylesports Best Price Guaranteed Handicap (3YO plus
1 pt win Sesenta.
Blessed with enough stamina to see out the conditions, fit from jumping, and with a high class jockey on board, SESENTA is taken to give Willie Mullins a winner here. She’s fit from a hurdling campaign that ended with a handicap success from subsequent Killarney winner Faltering Fullback at Punchestown, and makes considerable appeal on the form that she showed in three races on the Flat last season. She is 2lb lower than when third to Solwhit in the Leopardstown November Handicap and has good prospects of confirming form with two rivals who were behind her on that occasion, Muskatsturm and Deputy Consort.
Deputy consort has improved a lot, going up a total of 9lb for his runs. He started the campaign by finishing a head second to Dilshaan’s Prize over course and distance (Glitter Baby back in sixth), and went on to beat Beau Michael at Leopardstown. He may be just a smidge too high in the h’cap.
Daasij, blinkered for the first time, gets in here with his handicap mark unchanged, having beaten Elyaadi in a 1m6f conditions event at Killarney. A clearer idea of the form was obtained when Elyaadi justified favouritism at Wexford on Friday, and he looks like the main danger and I’d take the 11/2 e/w about him, with stamina guaranteed.
Speed Ticket is a lightly raced import who looks capable of paying his way for Jessica Harrington on the evidence of his third to Eagles Pass at Leopardstown two weeks ago. He could well take a hand in a tight h’cap. Lancetto, running for an in form Karl Burke (had Philario win yesterday)looks best of the outsiders dropping in class from listed level.
4.45 Curragh
Gallinule Stakes (3YO) (Group 3)
With high class form in the book, a stable in form, and his OK for stamina and testing ground conditions, ALVIAIN is taken to land a good renewal of the Gallinule Stakes. He beat Fergus McIver and Sirgarfieldsobers well at Gowran last time out in the mud, and based on the former’s exploits behind Fame And Glory, that form is good enough to be taking this.
Aidan O’Brien runs four here, with riding arrangements pointing to Grand Ducal as the pick. However I like the look of Chief Lone Eagle, who appeared a more obvious contender here, especially since he has the benefit of an outing this season and did not seem inconvenienced by heavy ground when second to odds-on chance Vocalised in the Tetrarch Stakes here this month. He won a Leopardstown maiden on soft ground on his only run at two, whereas Grand Ducal looked more at home on good ground last season and was soundly beaten in third behind Arazan on heavy ground in the Group 2 Futurity Stakes here in August. They will both give the favourite a good race.
Aaroones runs here in preference to an alternative engagement in the 1,000 Guineas on this card. She was a creditable fourth to Again in last year’s Moyglare Stakes and began the new season with an encouraging second to Baliyana at Leopardstown. Given the possibility of improvement over this longer trip, she might not be too far away, but her form looks a bit weak.
The Bull Hayes had very useful form as a juvenile, and although it was not until his seventh start that he broke his duck in a maiden at Navan, it would not be a huge surprise if he manages to hold his own in this company. His two-year-old form ties in with a number of horses of Pattern standard

MR TOPAZ, who is proven in heavy going, and does look like he has one more h’cap in him, can take this. After being placed on his first two starts, the son of Celtic Swing won a 7f maiden on soft ground at Cork in October and lost out by only a neck to Chorus Of Angels in a 7f handicap here on his reappearance in March. He is 2lb higher here but the extra furlong should suit him.

On form, he holds Optimal Power.

Apart from anything else……….incredibly boring and condescending,stopped reading after first sentence and would have done even before racing. Genuine tips (good information from exclusive sources etc) are always interesting but playing at being a newspaper tipster plagarised or not is just tedious IMO.

[wordfromthewise]

I’m remembering that great Welsh Speaker, can’t remember his name, but he had a terrific air of gravitas about him

Thomas George Thomas (Speaker from 1976 to 1983), 1st Viscount Tonypandy.

gc

………….Great?……….Gravitas? ………Probably actually most famous for his voice and accent and particularly then because of the novelty of Parliament being radio broadcast in the mid- late 70s.Simiilar modest humble etc background to Michael Martin and seemingly not particularly distinguished career in Govt unless you regard Secretary of State for Wales as particularly high flying, so IMO that begs the question why the hereditary title as opposed to the bog standard ten a penny peerage that comes with leaving the job.
Could it be that the self serving,some might say corrupt practices of politicans and the political system has been going on for even longer than we thought. Surely not?

[wordfromthewise]

Entirely right that Michael Martin was forced to resign in such undignified fashion as the Speaker is effectively in charge of the expenses system.
I heard on the news today that in the past Martin is alleged to have said something along the lines of :’I came from a trade union background and I didn’t come into politics not to get what is due to me’.
Martin was amongst the frontrunners in a crowded field of corrupt MPs who effectively stole taxpayers money,the worst of his crimes was claiming for a 2nd house despite a grace and favour home that goes with the speakers 140k job.
Good riddance to him and it is now time for a comprehensive list to be published of all of the MPs abuses and each one of them should be analysed for their eligibility to continue to be MPs and if proven they should be sacked and tried for dishonesty.When the Commons has been done move on to the Lords followed by the MEPs and then the local councils.

[wordfromthewise]

IMO The overkill was more the hype especially from C4 Racing that Paco Boy was ‘one of the best horses on the planet’ ???? Even Richard Hughes was taken aback by that ridiculous assertion.
As York proved this week with substandard IMO Group 2 renewals in notable supply( Yorkshire Cup,Duke of York) it never pays to get carried away by ratings or by success in races that owe their G1 status much more to history than the actual quality of the field.

[wordfromthewise]

How much do politicians get paid? I think a lot of people in less important jobs get paid a lot more.

Therefore?………………..its ok to exploit self penned rules to fiddle expenses?
I would dispute how important most politicians jobs actually are aswell. The average MP doesn’t seem to be doing anything particulcarly important IMO.
Civil servants in govt departments possibly have a more important role but my suspicions are that there may be plenty of flab and excess lurking there aswell.

Bring on the enquiry and lets see where the public money is actaully going and for what?

[wordfromthewise]

Joking apart.There should be a public enquiry and the sooner somebody trustworthy ( anyone left ?) is put in place to enquire into each and every case of dodgy looking expense claims from each and every MP from all parties the better.

While they are at it, they would do very well to include the MEPs and local councillors aswell……….can anyone name any of the above that are worth what they cost either in salary or expenses? .
When the so called rules have been proven to be abused or even the spirit of them stretched to the limit the perpetrators should be thrown out of office whoever they are.

The whole political structure should be examined to see if we really need these legions of professional politicians who represent nothing and nobody and seem to achieve nothing in what is IMO is the most stagnant political climate for decades devoid of any conviction politicians who really want to change things for the better.

Now we know why MPs have resisted the publication of their expense details for all these years, so it seems reasonable to conclude that this kind of self serving bare faced corruption has probably been going on for decades.All falsely claimed expenses and profits from house sales or so called ‘flipping’ should be siezed back once proven.

In furture no ballot paper should be produced without full details of how much each sitting MP has cost the tax payer plus the number of votes they have attended or contributions to debates etc, so that voters can decide who if anyone is value for money.

I for one would support a public demonstration demanding a public enquiry and immediate reform of our political infrastructure.

[wordfromthewise]

I am hugely disappointed in this. Loved the original as one of the funniest sitcoms ever and eagerly awaited a new version. Can understand it not being everyone’s taste.

From the start of the first episode when Clunes walked past the Sunshine deserts office I kind of knew it would not work. This new modern take on the same story is dismal. The canned laughter is irritating. The characters are nowhere as good as the originals (the old doctor creased me out). Apart from the sexy Jane. Their catch phrases are tired already.

Really this sitcom only made it to telly on the back of the original and in turn by failing to be a tenth as good it should be humanely put to sleep.[/q

uote]

Why have they burdened this sitcom with inevitable comparisons with the original inimitably sublime performances of Rossiter,Barron ( CJ) ,Horsley ( Doc Morrisey) and Palmer (Jimmy) to name but 4 when apart from the title viewers wouldn’t have a clue that it was a remake at all.

Comparisons aside it is possibly no more dreadful than 99% of current sitcoms but can’t be mentioned in the same breath as the orginal IMO.
Remaking this is as pointeless and unnecessary as remaking Fawlty Towers or Rising Damp.

[wordfromthewise]

….. get things sorted instead of drifting from one bent,incompetent self serving government to another.

Amen to that – unfortunately, (and I realise it is dangerous to generalise – I am sure there are a few honourable politicians out there.) most who enter politics do so to feather their own nests or fuel their own egos and have no interest at all in those they purport to serve.

Ergo you will always get self serving Government.

Not suggesting that the answers are another set of no conviction professional politicians whose only contribution is towards their and their cronies well being or that the solution for campaigning journalism and driving change is the BBC as it currently stands anymore than it is blogging for minority consumption but the answer is IMO that when obvious nonsenses for example like wasting of public money,bare faced dishonesty or incompetence are exposed they remain exposed and on the agenda until they are dealt with either by changing the law,rules,personnel etc………no cover ups,no excuses,no stalling…….an open,accountable and efficient government out there for public approval and critique via the media.

[wordfromthewise]

All emails from wherever they come from are intended solely for the person they are being sent to IMO nobody that ever sent an email would be comfortable or indeed empolyed if everything they ever emailed was leaked to the press so if its not good enough for me or you it shouldn’t be acceptable for anyone’s emails to be exposed.

The real ‘villain’ here is the worm who leaked them and the consistently lower than low life media who give us their usual contemptible ‘……..isn’t it terrible’ hand wringing whilst privately delighting at how much crap they can stir and for how long.

I have to disagree with you Bob. The offending mail, as I understand it, was sent by a Government official whilst at work using official computer.
If so the equipment should not be used for the purpose for which it was, it was at least a breash of trust and would probably probably come under the remit of Gross Misconduct.

Therefore whoever disclosed the mail was simply being a whistleblower and actually doing a public service – I fully applaud them for what they did.

As for your attack on the "low life media" are you saying they should not be exposing the contemptible e-mails? Would you prefer a Soviet style media which is simply a mouthpiece for the Government?

I don’t normally go in for running forum dialogues but as the first two replies have got me so wrong I’m back to explain that there is no greater critic of this or any other government that presides over the kind of down right dishonesty, corruption and incompetence that regularly crops up in the news currently and there is nobody more frustrated by the stagnant politcial climate in this country that is reduced to a (non) personality contest between Brown and Cameron with no real discussion of issues or policies.

Private emails containing peurile juvenile slurs are totally unimportant and a distraction from what the real issues are which we are still waiting for change on IMO.

IMO the media can have an improtant role in reporting the issues but more importantly keeping them on the agenda until the powers that be account for or change what is going on instead of what they currently do which is whip up whatever they can seemingly to sell copy without any responsibility or consistency or genuine desire to inform or drive the desire to change……..they tell us how terrible things are and then move on to the next story instead of making the corruption of governments and organisations a real campaigning issue that the man in the street can get accessible and balanced information on so that when an election comes we can make an informed decision and get rid of the lot of them hopefully.
There will always be more than one point of view but lets have them all out there and regenerate some genuine informed political debate and awareness in the country and get things sorted instead of drifting from one bent,incompetent self serving government to another.

[wordfromthewise]

While the good members of the racing forum were enmeshed in the study of the form book and stuck into all of the excitement of the national, Liam’s teeth, etc. There has been another phenomena from the tinternet that has finally spilled over into real life politics, in a manner that only the internet could bring about.

Pro-Liar

Damian McBride

has become the first proper victim of the anti-establishment blogger

Guido

.

Liar McBride apparently made up these stories for offal for the Derek Draper’s Blog

labourlist.org

. This blog was set up to engage young people and take control of the anti-internet community by way of engagement. This labourlist is so far up it’s own behind, it’s almost beyond me. What the blog basically does is gives an on-line platform to the rich and famous (Prescott, Campbell, and co) and then invites feedback. The feedback is then vetted and only the agreeable comment is posted back. Sort of in their own database driven, irrelevant NuLabour way, pissing off everyone and serving no good purpose to anyone.

I’ve highlighted some of the links in here for anyone who is interested in reading more. Imo, I reckon Labourlist is over, they will never grasp what the online thing is all about and they can’t win.

Meh.
:D 8)

All emails from wherever they come from are intended solely for the person they are being sent to IMO nobody that ever sent an email would be comfortable or indeed empolyed if everything they ever emailed was leaked to the press so if its not good enough for me or you it shouldn’t be acceptable for anyone’s emails to be exposed.
The real ‘villain’ here is the worm who leaked them and the consistently lower than low life media who give us their usual contemptible ‘……..isn’t it terrible’ hand wringing whilst privately delighting at how much crap they can stir and for how long.
I would have no objection to the row about a few stupid emails being twittered about in the generally saddo and boring world of blogs and forums (this one mostly an exception but not always)but am I alone in feeling mad with frustration at the media trying to whip this into a big political issue when it is totally irrelevant to 99.9% of the population in my opinion and we are still waiting weeks later for real issues like MPs exploiting self serving expenses rules and fat cat failures retiring on huge public money pensions to be sorted out etc etc.

[wordfromthewise]

Hi Bob,

You wrote a posting in the Lounge which could do with clarification. Not drivel exactly (at least in the technical sense), but debatable and lacking in empirical evidence. I’ve queried it.

Would you reply please? Cheers.

No

[wordfromthewise]

There is no argument that Ruby Walsh is a supreme horseman but I have never been a big fan of his.
This goes back to the Irish Grand National of 2005 when riding Numbersixvalverde he passed his father’s horse Jack High on the run-in although the latter did have some compensation for this defeat when winning the Betfred[old Whitbread] cup later on in the season.

His greed

was highlighted again at the festival when he brought home American Triology.In hindsight it was obvious to all that the horse had been layed out for this race with the ease in which it won .The horse travelled like a dream all the way round then flew the last couple of furlongs to win by a wide margin.Im convinced that ANY jockey could have won on A.T.that day,so surely some of the lesser lights in the yard could have taken the ride….Sorry I just dont like the man, and a gun at my head would be the only persuader to follow him.

rant over cheers.

ps I see that there is another sea pidgeon [seepigeon]on the forum so Im going to reinvent myself as "rustneversleeps"if thats ok with the moderators

The kind of utter drivel that gives forums a bad name ( in my opinion of course)

[wordfromthewise]

racing is hardly a minority sport, its the second largest spectator sport in the uk and the sixth largest industry [whats left of it] in the uk,

Most people go racing for a day out but the majority of people on a racecourse are not what you could call fans or followers of the sport in the way other sports are followed.

[wordfromthewise]

From Racing Post:

Balding apologises for Treadwell teeth comment

By Graham Green6.34PM 5 APR 2009

CLARE BALDING has apologised to Liam Treadwell over the comment she made about his teeth when interviewing the 23-year-old rider following his Grand National triumph on Saturday.

Not least of Treadwell’s impressive accomplishments at Aintree was how, in front of a TV audience of millions, he retained his poise in response to the implied criticism of his appearance, but viewers were quick to object and many posted complaints on internet forums and chatrooms, while others contacted the BBC switchboard to register their protest.

Balding asked Treadwell to bare his teeth to the camera, supposedly to show the perils that a jump jockey faces. When he did so, the presenter blurtedout that he "could afford to have them seen to now".

The BBC would not say how many complaints it received, but Balding was on Sunday taken to task by her bosses over the remark before fronting the Corporation’s coverage of the Rugby League Challenge Cup clash between Leeds and St Helens.

In my opinion I don’t think Claire intended any personal insult to Liam Treadwell but probably thought his teeth were a testament to his life as a Nh jockey and was going to make a point about what sacrifices they make an how tough they have to be etc. going down the road of trying to illustrate to non racing viewers what warriors they are etc
It is a real shame that the normally excellent Claire is being picked up on both here and the national press for an untypical minor gaffe as she better than anyone normally succeeds in making racing more accessible to occaisional viewers which is a thankless and near impossible task in my view.
I think this forum has got much more to fear and be ashamed about from the unnecessary,unfunny and often homophobic abuse that is included in some of these posts.

[wordfromthewise]

Not sure why racing fans continue to have any expectations about Sports Personality of the year.Racing is a minority sport in that the number of people who are actually interested in it aside from having a bet is relatively miniscule compared to football or cricket etc.
In the old days when the BBC did horseracing properly the look back at the years racing highlights was worth suffering the programme for and Lester Piggott was given a special award during SPOY at the end of his career and the same will probably deservedly happen to Tony McCoy but the reality we have to accept is if you stopped 20 people in the street and asked them who he was they wouldn’t know and the beeb’s coverage of racing is now more of a reflection of that fact.

[Author]

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