footy finale...

...and so endeth another football season...and for various members of the family... not much to yell about:-

Chester City (us lot)... relegated. TO THE CONFERENCE..ARRRGH

Coventry City (me and Ross et al)... plummetted after the Chelsea game

Nottingham Forest (Chris) ...hung on to survive in the Championship after a precarious season

Newcastle (Ed) ... relegated

Middlesbrough (Phil-my beetroot advisor)... relegated

Sheffield United (Husb).. failed in the play-off final

Leeds United (Paul and Daniel) ... didnt even make the play-off final

Reading (Matt) ... k.o`d by the winners of the play-off final

Arsenal (Ben)... trophyless

Liverpool (Nic)... trophyless

Manchester United (anyone?????)... blew it

GRIMSBY!! (Janet).. STAYED UP!! in the Football League.. Yippee! (at Chester City`s expense)

Below are a couple of bread boards I burned, the bottom one was for a fanatical Liverpool policeman.

RELEGATED!

Well Newcastle United only needed a point to stay up but they didn`t even have a shot on goal in the 2nd half of their game at the Villa so it`s Championship football for them next season. Junction 3 off the M6 lads. The Ricoh Arena awaits.

I hope I didn`t jinx them when I gave my neph his birthday bread board 3 months early....... (it was the first one I did with my new prangler)

Burnley v Sheffield United at Wembley tomorrow.

Husb will be watching from the comfort of the sofa .....he scored 121 runs playing cricket today so by tomorrow afternoon he will have stiffened up considerably and will no doubt shriek with cramp at various points during the game. He scored 22 fours and a six... not much running there then.... but it was the young lads pushing for the singles (and twos) that gave him such a good workout. Well batted Mr Chairman.

Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy?

Caught in a landslide, no escape from reality....

Rock and Roll... Galileo is dreaming about it, the Bohemians are searching for it, the Killer Queen wants to deny it ever existed...

At the time of writing, the London production of WE WILL ROCK YOU has been seen by nearly 4 million people, playing over 2,300 performances. The PALACE THEATRE, Manchester is the starting point of a major national tour and it was to this lovely theatre that I took 65 people last night (yes I took another 61 to see the same show in March)

It was a star studded cast but in all honesty there wasn`t a weak singer or a weak dancer on the stage, there was endless energy and enthusiasm and the crowd responded accordingly.

Jonathan Wilkes (friend of Robbie Williams, tv presenter, footy player)...

Kevin Kennedy (aka Curly Watts from Coronation Street)(I wouldn`t know, Ive never watched it)...

the wonderful Brenda Edwards, one of our favourites from the 2005 X-Factor..

... they all dazzled us with their dynamic performances.

The show has been seen all over the world in the cities of Moscow, Johannesburg, Toronto, Sydney, Cape Town, Vienna, Hong Kong and more, each having its own individual performances relative to where it is showing. We have Wembley Stadium as the place of "Champions", America uses Elvis`s Graceland mansion as the hallowed ground, so no two shows are exactly the same. Apparently the Manchester show had far more humour than the London production.

What a fantastic tribute to Freddie Mercury, I think we all knew ALL the words, there`s not much better tribute than that.

The Dee Stakes.

The Dee Stakes at Chester is considered a rehearsal for the Epsom Derby. This is because in order to win the Derby, a horse has to be able to run comfortably round a sharp left hand bend near the end of the race. With the Roodee having a tight left hand bend almost all the way round (the final "straight" being only 2 furlongs) trainers often bring their horses here to give them the run with a view to entering them in the Derby.

In recent years there have been 2 winners of the Dee Stakes who have gone on to win the Derby, OATH and KRIS KIN.

DRUMBEAT was sent off the favourite, with the other Derby entry SOUTH EASTER at 6-1.
My selection(as Arthur Shone says every week) SOUTH EASTER won by a nostril but not before a stewards`s enquiry. John Egan complained that he had had a bit of argy bargy with South Easter very early on in the race which hampered his positioning. It was never going to alter the outcome of the race but it does emphasise the importance of the start at Chester... if you get onto that inside rail asap you gain a yard or so on the other horses. I wasn`t worried... I knew my money would soon be credited to my new (OMG OMG ) very healthy (WUTWOO) betfair account.

So an excellent May meeting for me, and I didn`t even go IN. I had a fabulous view from the city walls... you can see the whole race all the way round, your feet stay comfy in trainers and you can`t have a bet when you`re there so you keep your winnings. Brilliant.

The Chester Cup and the Chester Vase

Picking winners at Chester Races should be straightforward (ha ha) as there are always certain factors to be considered. The course is exactly one mile all the way round so horses that can run round tight bends are favoured and for the same reason horses that are drawn on the inside rail(especially on the 5 furlong sprints) are also at an advantage (if the horse is actually any good!!)

"Horses for Courses" definitely applies here. It is also a favourite racecourse for some trainers...and so it should have come as no surprise that DARAAHEM won the Chester Cup albeit by a neck.

Trained by Hills. Ridden by Hills. Hills and Hills. Often a good recipe for the Roodee.

Barry Hills, 72 years old and a survivor of throat cancer, LOVES coming here and hasn`t missed a May meeting for 40 years. Daraahem`s win, Barry`s 150th win at Chester, was ridden by his son Richard.

I`m still trying to remember WHY I decided to back Downhiller who finished a measly 7th....

However...

....my betting account is now looking very healthy after the Chester Vase threw up a little surprise... Jon Francome commented on how well GOLDEN SWORD was looking in the paddock during his TV coverage so on impulse I had £2 each way on him and couldn`t believe my luck when he romped home, easily beating his stable companion Masterofthehorse.

The 5th race, the Moscow Eight EBF Maiden Stakes was sponsored by the Manchester United players and they were there in force today watching from the prime spot on the roof of the bar by the finishing post, you can just see GIGGSY and SCHOLESY in the top photo. REEL CREDIT CRUNCH won me a fiver by coming 2nd... (good crowd today, no sign of the credit crunch)

And I had the winner of the last race too, based purely on the fact that INVINCIBLE HEART was drawn one ie inside rail, with decent form and a good jockey. What fun! I must not blow it all at tomorrow`s race meeting.......