Showing posts with label horse-racing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label horse-racing. Show all posts

Monday, 4 June 2012

After the Derby . . .

I expect most people have seen shots of the Epsom Derby on the news recently. You don't have to be a racing enthusiast to know about the Derby, especially as this year it marked the beginning of the Celebrations for the Queen's Diamond Jubilee.

Living fairly close to Epsom, we take these scenes for granted . . .


I always find it interesting to walk down to the racecourse a day or so after the race meeting to see how the area is being tidied up and getting back to normal.

I had a lovely walk today and took a few photos. It's not quite the tranquil scene of rolling downland that I usually see on my drive home but it's getting there . . .

Interesting too that it seems to be the porta-loos that seem to be amongst the last of the temporary buildings to be removed.


A rather forlorn-looking Tote booth and starting stalls that don't look anywhere near as impressive as when they were in use on Saturday.



By this time, the sun had come out and I began to wander home, walking along the road that runs alongside the downs and enjoying the beautiful views.

What a shame we didn't have this sort of weather for the River Pageant yesterday . . .

Friday, 9 April 2010

A little flutter or a little footie . . .


I'm neither Irish nor much interested in horse-racing but even I have noticed that tomorrow is the day of the Grand National. I mention the Irish factor as most of the horses seem to have either Irish riders, trainers or owners, or in some cases all three.

Being female, I'm much more interested in who was wearing what on Lady's Day at Aintree today.

Typically, I would always choose a horse to back by its name rather than by form - I did say I was not really into horse-racing!

Looking at the card for this year's National, I suppose the obvious choice for Catholics must be 'Preists Leap'. Strange spelling!

Apparently the horse was named after the legend of a priest ambushed by brigands on an escarpment in Kerry. Cornered, he turned his horse towards Bantry and jumped. "In the town there's some rock, with four hoof marks where the horse landed," trainer Tom O'Leary explained. "Only it's four miles from the mountain."

By the way, the odds were 66/1 at the time of writing.


I'll be focusing on the FA Cup semi-final on Sunday, especially as Number 2 Son managed to get a ticket for Wembley.