David Nicholson Hurdle - Labelthou @ 7/1 with Totesport
Ballymore Novices Hurdle - Forpadydeplasterer @ 9/2
Coral Cup - Leg Spinner @ 5/1
JCB Triumph Hurdle - Beau Michael @ 9/1
Albert Bartlett Novices Hurdle - Carruthers @ 9/2
Totesport Gold Cup - Denman @ 13/8
Christies Foxhunter Chase - Drombeag @ 9/1
Grand Annual Chase - Andreas @ 15/2
Vincent O’Brien County Hurdle - Wingman @ 10/1

Apart from Leg Spinner in the Coral Cup, the other cricket related runners are:

Fiveforthree running in the 1.05pm. Actually worth a squirt at 7/1. It’s not done the distance before but still a good each way bet if the price goes out. Hold Em in the same race is definitely worth a look at 20/1. Ickle Timmy Murphy is on board and I reckon he might just have a sniff of a place.
Warnes Way runs in the 1.40pm but I wouldn’t touch it with yours.
In the 2.15pm there’s a horse running called Won In The Dark. Remember the dramatic Test match in Pakistan in 2000? Tenuous again but this horse might be worth an each way look.
Gone To Lunch runs in the 2.50pm and is likely to be there at the finish.

And that’s yer lot. I’ll be back to talking crap about cricket next week. Let’s face it, after the amount of money I’ve lost at Cheltenham this week, I’m not going to be going out am I?

Peter O’Sullevan National Hunt Chase - Beantown 15/2
Royal & SunAlliance Chase - Silverburn 6/1
Jewson Novices Handicap Chase - The Hairy Lemon 25/1
Queen Mother Champion Chase - Master Minded 11/4
Ryanair Chase - The Listener 7/2
Ladbrokes World Hurdle - My Way De Solzen 8/1
Racing Post Plate - Il Duce 14/1
Pertemps Final Handicap Hurdle - Miko De Beauchene 15/2
Kim Muir Handicap Chase - Jaunty Times 25/1
Weatherbys Champions Bumper - Apt Approach 4/1

As you can see, I’ve stuck with my original selections from Wednesday for the rescheduled races. To be honest I was fancying a little each way dart on Ice Tea in the first race but stuck with my guns. Still looking quite interesting at 18/1 with Totesport.

Cricket Related Runners

Nudge And Nurdle in the 1.40pm. Sitting at 25/1 with Totesport at the moment. Likely to find itself a wee bit out of it’s depth.
Big Rob in the 4.05pm. This is one for the guys at King Cricket. There’s more chance of Rob Key winning this race…
Drive On Regardless in the 5.50pm. Another tenuous link but it’s sound advice if you play and miss outside off stump. Might be worth an each way look if it pisses down with rain overnight.

————————–

I managed to pick up Kruguyrova each way @ 14/1 so managed to cover my arse a wee bit yesterday otherwise it would have been a painful start to the Cheltenham Festival for me. Looking back at some of the tips from the experts, though, I wasn’t alone in getting my fingers burnt on Day 1.

Anyway, onwards and upwards and let’s have a look at my Cheltenham tips for Day 2.

Ballymore Novices Hurdle - Aigle D’Or @ 9/2
Royal & SunAlliance Chase - Silverburn @ 11/2
Queen Mother Champion Chase - Master Minded @ 5/2
Coral Cup - Leg Spinner @ 9/2
Peter O’Sullevan National Hunt Chase - Beantown @ 7/1
Weatherby Champion Bumper - Apt Approach @ 4/1

The prices are the Totesport prices as of silly o’clock Wednesday morning (just before 1am).

The Atheist from Are You A Left Arm Chinaman rightly pointed out that I ought to mention some of the cricket related horses running.

Rather foolishly I didn’t back Katchit @ 10/1 on Day 1 so I’m not going to miss out on a chance to back Leg Spinner. Interestingly enough Warnes Way is also running in the Coral Cup if you fancied an each way punt @ 25/1 although you might as well just send me your money instead for what it’s worth…

A rather tenuous link but one I’m going to run with is in the first race of the day, the Ballymore Properties Novices Hurdle, and that’s Fiveforthree. Well worth a cheeky little 50p each way at 7/1.

I’m no racing pundit by any stretch of the imagination but I’ve had a bit of luck on the horses in my time so here are tomorrows Cheltenham Festival tips:

Supreme Novices Hurdle: Cork All Star @8/1
Irish Independent Arkle Trophy: Kruguyrova @11/1
Smurfit Kappa Champion Hurdle: Sizing Europe @2/1
William Hill Trophy: Abragante @10/1
BGC Cross Country Handicap Chase: Kilbeggan Blade @20/1
Fred Winter Handicap Hurdle: Prince Erik @9/1

Prices quoted are the current Totesport prices who, incidentally, are offering up to £100 of free bets during the festival week. Huzzah!

It’s all set up for an interesting last day. If England can bowl out New Zealand in the first hour will they then have a dart and try to win this match? Dunno but I’ll be sitting in front of the telly to find out so expect various drunken updates over the course of the next few hours…

Do you often lay in bed tossing and turning?

Have you tried all of the insomnia cures out there?

If the answer to any of these is yes then Flintoffs Ashes has the perfect answer for you!

Tune in to Sky TV and watch the current Test match between New Zealand and England. After watching 10 minutes of this turgid Test you’ll be sleeping like a baby!*

New Zealand versus England. It’s better than Mogadon!

* - We don’t mean that you’ll be shitting in your pants and waking up every two hours wanting to suckle on your mums tits.

Anyway, I’ve just read an outrageous post over at Cricket 24×7. I’m shaking my head in disbelief at what Jagadish has written regarding the recent comments made by Matthew Hayden about Harbhajan Singh.

Just in case you’ve missed what Hayden said, here’s a quote from the BBC website:

“It’s been a bit of a long battle with Harbhajan. The first time I ever met him he was the same little obnoxious weed that he is now,” stated Hayden.

He also said in the same radio interview that he’d like to get in a boxing ring with Ishant Sharma so I’m guessing that he was enjoying playing up to his bully boy role that he seems to have cultivated over the last few years (i.e. ever since he actually started to consistently score runs for Australia). The barrel chested Aussie opener is built like a brick shit house so I guess he feels he can get away with saying what he wants.

Personally I don’t like Matthew Hayden for all the reasons above (not least of all that consistent run scoring thing, particularly against England) but what has really got my goat is that Jagadish suggests that this comment is “obviously a case of racial stereotyping” and that it “very clearly qualifies as a racist statement”.

Obnoxious implies Harbhajan is annoying, offensive or disgustingly objectionable. Little refers to Harbhajan being smaller-built in comparison to Hayden (and the rest of his teammates). This is obviously a case of racial stereotyping, and hence vilification (just like Tony Greig’s “Those little Shri Lonkans” chant). Weed again refers to Harbhajan being obnoxious and detrimental.

Clearly this is a case of offensive and seriously insulting language. If someone tells me I’m a weed, I’d be pretty offended and feel insulted about it, since it implies that I shouldn’t be existing. Add in the ‘little’ part and this very clearly qualifies as a racist remark.

You can read the full article here but I genuinely can’t see how anyone can possibly believe that calling someone a “little weed” is in any way racially motivated. Maybe this is just a reaction to the recent Test and one day series and all of the associated..ahem..monkey business that went on there. Whatever the reasons, I actually found it quite sad that Jagadish has played the race card here.

What Hayden said wasn’t racist. It was just stupid.

* Or maybe I won’t

So much for a team that former Black Cap Ian Smith described as being the best England one-day team he has seen in years. I’m just wondering just how much cricket Smith has been able to watch in between rifling the pie shops of Wellington.

I really can’t see how England can fight their way back into the series. From what I’ve seen we look like a team all out of sorts and lacking leadership. I’ve got nothing against Paul Collingwood - some of my best friends are gingers - but I don’t see him as an inspirational leader. Maybe I’m wrong but I don’t think I’ll be taking up Totesports generous 9/2 on England to win the series.

Still, at least Lord Fred is on his way back. Peter Moores seems to think that Flintoff will be back to something close to his best after his fourth ankle operation. Let’s hope so, eh? Putting his cricket performance to one side for a second, this England team is woefully short of anyone you’d put your money on to beat Jesse Ryder in a yard of ale contest.

Anyway, I’m going to be moving Flintoffs Ashes to a new server over the next couple of days so if you happen to pop by and find everything has gone Pete Tong, you’ll know the reason why.

Ermm..I still love cricket, by the way. Does that help at all?

Ackk…it’s all crumbling around my ears…

I fell out of love with cricket

I don’t know at what point it happened but I’m guessing, as I suggested at the time, it was during the farcical World Cup. Whereas for the previous 30+ years of my life I could sit and watch cricket for hours, I found myself bored of watching the Australians dominate everything and England being pants. Even watching the potentially brilliant Pakistan or the sublime batting line up of the Indians failed to get me going.

Maybe it’s a sign of the modern game but I found most Test matches to be entirely predictable and I started to find the constant cheating gamesmanship of the sides rather distasteful. That and the fact that Bob Willis really gets on my tits.

Nothing much has changed in the last couple of weeks - England are still pants and Australia keep winning - but for some reason I’m back in love with cricket again. Maybe it’s all the monkey business going on in Australia at the moment. Maybe it’s because the new English season is now only a few short months away. Maybe it’s because Lord Freddie is due to make his comeback any time soon.

Whatever the reason let us rejoice and say yea verily at the top of our lungs. Go on. I dare you. Stand up in the middle of your office and shout “Yea Verily”. Bonus points awarded for anyone who videos it and slaps it on YouTube.

Power up the Photoshop, Scotty. There’s a cricketer out there somewhere who needs to be humiliated.