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Minus 1 and dry when driving in.

Alan King recalled that during the last hot and dry summer that was 1976, racing at Cheltenham did not take place in October/ November or December due to the very dry and fast ground..

I have tried to find out whether this was in fact the case and although I am sure Alan is correct, I cannot find anybody on the racecourse who remembers..

I do know that the racecourse were that worried that they made a third course which was fairly tight which they could water and used in October as result of 76....

You have to remember that racecourses in the 70’s and 80’s did not water..

Yes ground has always been an issue

The current racecourses that have watered all through this summer have a much better chance of having good ground, but step off the racing line and it will still be fast..

Sandown are refurbishing and renaming some of their Grandstand boxes, adjacent to the Gold Cup Suite, and are attaching winners of the bet365 (Whitbread amongst others) Gold Cup and one of the boxes will be named Mr Frisk..

But for some very odd reason they cannot find any photographs of Mr Frisk and Marcus Armytage jumping the last or passing the winning post in front.... If you know of any, please let me know..

Book 2 at Tattersalls Yealing sales started yesterday as Book 1 finished.. Extroadinary..

We have our usual vet visit today..

This weeks movers and shakers in the BHA handicap charts were Gerard Mentor up 6 to 96 and El Presente down 3 to 142

Watching this you can see how much the NHS has changed!!