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0 degrees with a dusting of snow when driving in... Having said that we are frozen solid, well the grass is..

Wincanton report...Frozen Tuesday and Wednesday morning. Ground Temperature reached -5.687 °C overnight, Air Temperature reached -3.685 °C... All very precise?... Inspection to be held on Thursday 19-01-2023 at 08:00..

David Bass and Ciaran Gething were in to ride out this morning..

Carnage yesterday with the local roads.. Ice and untreated roads caused havoc…. The downside of councils lack of funds?

Yesterday we had another round of early closing races for Cheltenham..

I have a pet hate for these early closing races and making entries for horses so far in advance is another way of the racecourse collecting money off owners, for frankly no reason… If I were to make entries for 150 rated chasers in the Cheltenham Gold Cup 2 weeks ago you would be asked to explain why, especially when on all known form they had no chance… But those facts could change nearer the time.. But how do you support the entry?

Yesterday we had a couple more early closing entries..The Arkle Chase being one, but then the National Hunt Challenge Cup Amateur Jockeys' Novices' Chase..

Why on earth does the old 4 miles chase need to be closing so far in advance? Not only is it no longer the betting race that it was, but it is also the one race the Cheltenham executives have being doing their level best to get rid of..They are permanently tampering with this race, so why do you have to enter so early….

Yes I can understand the Gold Cup and Grand National closing early so they can hype the media frenzy and betting public to focus on these races, but the others? Frankly all it is is another way of costing owners money for no reason… Not a great time to be doing that.. Racecourses should stop these early closing races..It is a con!!

Noble Yeates misses out this weekend.. Vaccination problems.. They have become a nightmare and we fell foul of the new rules when Trelawne was declared NQ for the same reason at Chepstow yesterday.. Thankfully the weather saved our bacon!!

The Australian Open is in full swing. Andy Murray won a very tense 5 setter yesterday and Nadal was knocked out this morning..

The two golden girls of tennis play each other this morning.. Emma Raducanu takes on Coco Gauff..

A middle management executive has to take on some sport, by his doctor’s orders, so he decides to play tennis.

After a couple of weeks his secretary asks him how he’s doing. “It’s going fine, ”

The manager says. “When I’m on the court and I see the ball speeding towards me, my brain immediately says, ‘To the corner! Back hand! To the net! Smash! Go back!'”

“Really? What happens then?” the secretary asks.

“Then my body says, ‘Who? Me? You must be kidding!”

Happy birthday to Fenella Tillier