Juliette , s 'Weekly Frolic
"The man who thinks he understands the fair sex in either their actions, or thoughts, is a raving lunatic, a diabolical liar, or worst of all, very vain." So says poor Mr Mills of Portsmouth writing to reprimand me for selecting Snow Knight, third from last in the Observer Gold Cup. His gambling companion, on the other hand, has me all weighed up. I am, would you. believe, a "Tory plot" designed to lure " poor working blokes" into spending their hard-earned cash. Frivolous female or Tory temptress? — of the two descriptions I 'think I prefer the former. and since by page 2 of his letter Mr Mills is inclined to forgive my foibles, I'd better act .the part and stick with intuition and the stars for this week at least. After all, the masculine population appears impossibly confused by my particular brand of logic.
With no Monday papers the fields for this week's contests are shrouded in even greater mystery than usual and the only presence I can guarantee is my own at Cheltenham for Saturday's Mackeson Gold Cup. The Irish. and the bookmakers, are inclined to regard the race as being as good as won. though opinion is divided as to whether dual ' Festival ' winner Inkslinger or his recent conqueror. Skymas, will prove the stronger suit. Since not many horses can claim a dual entry in the record books of a major meeting, top weight should not trouble Inkslinger, though the distance might as his spectacular successes hive been gained over two, rather than two and a half miles. No feminine fancies there, but a royalist splurge on the Queen Mum's Game Spirit probably just qualifies. He showed tremendous improvement with a trio of wins at the close of last season and is one of the few horses in the line-up who specialises over the distance, another being Royal Relief. • Women are often accused of putting too much store on a handsome face or figure but since Tirneforni describes one of my favourite hurdlers. Perambulate, as 'large and rangy' I must have peculiar tastes. In fact, this fellow's big attraction is his jet black coat, plus a victory in the £5,000 Greenham Hurdle that not only gave David Barons and Bob Davies the biggest wins of their respective careers, but repaid his owner a large slice of his 9.000 guineas purchase tag. His connections could well be a further £1,000 the richer after the 3.0 Newbury (Wednesday). or 1.0 Cheltenham (Saturday). A rising star, two years his senior, is Fulke Walwyn's Well Oiled. I'd be happiest if he opted for the Seven Barrows Hurdle (Newbury, Wednesday) but even in Saturday's competitive ' Fighting Fifth' at Newcastle he could count on my blessing. Well Oiled also won Liverpool's Coronation Hurdle last March, but if that's a ,bit rational, just take it I'm hooked on the name.
Assets: 09.75. Outlay: £3 to win Game Spirit (alt Royal Relief). Perambulate and Well Oiled.
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