Sunday June 25th 2023

😂

Is that a win only stake?

When I was child in the 1950s my great uncle Richard who was a notorious miser, but a very personable one who had a fund of anecdotes about blood curdling accidents which appealed to great nephews like me, used to calculate if it was worth backing the entire field in the Grand National every year. If it was, he would put sixpence each way on all the runners. As well as being a miser, he was a very clever man and made his own TV whose components took up a space about one metre wide on the table and employed a four inch wide TV tube. The picture had a greenish tinge. I imagine the race was on BBC in those days?

Win only, Quai. On the twattersphere, someone asked what the returns would for a 50p ew. I will check later, and see if the return has been calculated. I would guess pretty reasonable based on the odds on some of the placed horses, including fortunately a couple of my selections.

Nice one Luke 20/1 Well Done

Hi Joe ,nothing to apologize for,you are far more accurate that I could hope to achieve,I just think we should help you and keep an eye on our returns.

Hi EGS,Very well done this week at Ascot I am pretty sure you had a better Ascot than me.Good luck with the monthly competion we are now on the run in.I am happy for any money to go to your charity.

Thanks Jake, but it's a good opportunity for me to make a donation! I need a nudge from time to time. So I shall go with EGS's charity picks. So far I have done the WWF but the RNLI's Giftaid option does not work...They say they are looking into it.

And very well done winning the "Cup" or is it a "Vase"? All goes back to the Holy Grail and Knights on their Quests....I have never researched this, but I wonder when competitions started...that aside, the Holy Grael is a mythological artefact stated to be the cup out of which Christ drank at the last supper. Been good for film makers, that myth.

Yesterday's pic of the 2 yos drew some interesting emails / questions.

Unlike commercial studs ,all neat post and rails,the paddocks are surrounded by natural hedgerows that are not cut back. They act as weather breaks against wind and rain enabling the horses to stay out longer in the year which does the youngsters the world of good.

A strip is left uncut at the foot of the hedges so that the herbs and other plants thrive.

I've no idea what most are but it's always interested me to watch horses nibble away there.

When they switch to the fields with the stream the Comfrey growing along the banks doesn't last long.

She has a beautiful head and intelligent eyes.

I will let Joe decide that as it is about pragmatics. We usually have some direct payments.

I do World Wildlife Fund and RNLI (who provide the same service to the Irish Republic despite the Royal in the name).

He should keep coming back to us for administration fees but best to keep the one-off to a Charity where the payment doesn't require excess form filling but is one he knows.

EGS, please accept my apologies. I wrongly entered Age Of Kings as a win only selection when your instructions were EW. My fault, as I should have been paying more attention, especially with a prize competition. The amended table now shows Jake the winner. Given your wish for the prize to go to charity, at least you need not suffer any cash penalty, and that's about the best I can find to say of it. I've aplogised to Jake too.

All the best.

Joe

O.K. EGS, thanks. You are right, no need to complicate it. I'll do both of these, hopefully through Giftaid so I can get tax relief added.