Juliette's weekly frolic
What's a girl to do with a Saturday When she wakes to the news that Newbury's off, Wolverhampton's doubtful (it was later reprieved) and she lives in a household of ,philistines who only permit racing on the box if there's no conceivable alternative — Catterick wouldn't have got a look in. A man in my situation would either go to a football match or to sleep, for the London-bound female there's only the dreary trudge down Oxford Street in the pelting rain — depressing to a degree if you don't buy anything and considerably more costly than losing at the races, if you do.
If the current spate of cancellations continues I shall be reduced to Panting on politics. As far as straight bets go only the Liberals (100-1) are my kind of price, though William Hill will give you 200-1 against a Labour majority of 101-110 — a similar bet with the Tories as victors proved so popular that the odds were slashed to a quarter. For us more conventional gamblers this weekend's interests will be spread over a wide area of the country, with Lingfield, Nottingham, Chepstow and Newcastle vying for attention and a favourable weather forecast. Statistically Newcastle 4nd Lingfield seem least likely to get the latter, each having lost this meeting three times in the past five years. Chepstow, on the other hand, has a 100 per cent record over the same period, which is just as well considering they stage the Corals Welsh Grand Na
tional on the Saturday. Among horses keeping their weather options open with engagements here and in Newcastle's four mile, one furlong Bacal Eider Chase are Clarification, who won, and Straight Vulgan, who fell, in the Brooke Bond National. The latter's 5Ib weight pull is cancelled out by the 61b overweight Clarification carried in the Tea Chase, nevertheless I professed great faith in Straight Vulgan then and am honour bound to stay loyal.
The preceding Television Viewers' Hurdle is the second race financed by public subscription that Clerk of the Course John Hughes has put on and is likely to attract a number of refugeesfrom the 'Schweppes.' Since I can't face going through their credentials again, why not try a new name, Single Spur, who defeated the expensive Taramoss at Sandown and recently got within a length of the Queen Mum's talking horse, Isle of Man?
Potentate and Credo's Daughter are doubly engaged at Lingfield the same day and in the Jerry M Chase could well meet Hound Tor and Sonny Somers. The form lines of these four got very entangled at Ascot after Christmas and more recently in the Stone's Ginger Wine Chase. Potentate didn't actually turn up for the latter, despite a tempting weight, but is 101b better off with Credo's Daughter and 51b with Hound Tor on Ascot running.
Assets. £67.45. Outlay: £3 to win Straight Vulgan, Single Spur, Cossall & Potentate.
more flamboyant figure than its previous creative director, Tony Fry, who is also off to Australia.
Flamboyant figures are not in huge supply just now, even though unemployment in Adland is increasing. The headhunters (placement agencies) on whom most creatives depend to find them jobs are hard at work trying to solve both contradictory problems.
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