*Juliette's Weekly Frolic
I doubt if any tipster could have turned Skinflint's last few coins to gold at Ascot. A total rout of favourites on " Whisky " Saturday quickly silenced the experts and all thirsted desperately over the racecard quiz as the safest way of getting out. Unable to present the Queen Mother with their Gold Cup, James Buchanan and Co must have been highly pleased when the Marchioness of Milford Haven won this game, though I could think of more deserving homes for the crate of "Black and White" she received.
The happy marriage of booze and steeplechasing takes a slightly different turn at Newbury this Saturday, when the brandy people dispense with the sideshows and concentrate all the loot and lustre on one magnificent prize. A stamina-breaking three and a quarter miles of pre-Christmas Gold Cup, the Hennessy, pits the " Establishment " in the shape of L'Escargot, Spanish Steps and Titus Oates against a distinguished bunch of beat-thehandicapper lightweights. As a seasoned professional(I) I have till now resisted the feminine temptations of pretty names and the "inside information" of third cousins with one leg of a novice 'chaser, but when the Berkshire farmer Who sold us a Christmas turkey has a horse in the Hennessy that even the national press pay homage to, the lure is irresistible. An exPoint-to-pointer, Grey Sombrero hit the headlines with last season's Midlands Grand National and has run away from his field in two starts this autumn. The opposition is formidable but with the race wide open, a local tip is probably sounder that a form book of confusing statistics.
Assets: £100. Outlay: £3 each way Grey Sombrero.
Previous page
