“Nothing is certain in life but ……..” Last week I pinpointed some Cheltenham hopefuls under the heading “racing certainties”. To show what a mug´s game racing is, and how horses can make fools of all of us, and me in particular, the latest news demonstrates that “a week is not only a long time in politics”! The much heralded Gold Cup favourite, Best Mate, bidding to emulate the great Arkle and Golden Miller has burst a blood vessel and is out for the rest of the season. Thanks “mate”, backers please throw away your ante-post vouchers. “Kicking King”, Ireland’s flagship in the race, on the other hand, has sent investors scrambling for their litter bins. Reported as a definite non-starter, the four-legged beast has made a miraculous recovery, and goes to post after all. To make my misery complete, the “streamer”, Etendard Indian, backed from 40-1 at all rates down to 14-1 for the Triumph hurdle, put in a discouraging stinker on the gallops. I’ll stick out my neck one more time: from my “ten to follow”, Gold Medallist in the Royal & Sun Alliance Novice Hurdle. On a more positive note, it was reported last week that a pub syndicate invested “peanuts” in a “nag” [no-hoper] purely for fun. The confounded animal won its first race by nine lengths at 100-1! That’s racing for you.
