The Grand National..

This is the greatest ‘steeplechase’ event anywhere, and animal lovers love to hate it. Notwithstanding, almost all Brits place a bet on it. We even had a sweepstake at boarding school for the 1967 race.

This is what happened..

.. and this is why the Grand is so popular. You never know what will happen next, and anybody with a bet on Foinavon, running at 67:1 on the day, did ok thanks..

In the winners enclosure, there was just the horse and rider. The owners and trainer were not present, doing something more productive elsewhere as Foinavon usually ran like he had knee surgery on all fours the day before any race. What a shame that they missed the greatest achievement of their ‘ride’. It just isn’t the same watching a re-run on the telly..

In the 1956 race, the Queen Mother had a horse in the race which was leading right up to the end.. almost.. until Devon Loch adopted a stance not dissimilar to a rocking horse..

.. and then there was the 1975 race where, guess what, Red Rum was beaten to the post by a snail. The snail’s real name was L’Escargot, and was a multiple winner of the Cheltenham Gold Cup..

I am no follower of horse racing, even though I lived within five hundred yards of Warwick Races, but horses are agile animals which like to run like the wind and jump stuff. It is part of what they are, part of the ‘escape plan’ in the event of danger.

Of course it’s sad when a horse has to be put down, but trust me, if a horse doesn’t want to jump, it won’t and has no problem depositing the rider over whatever is to be jumped.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_National

Daley, Daley, Daley..

The world’s greatest decathlete ever, and he was British (still is)..

He was the first athlete to win Olympic, World, Commonwealth and European titles and hold world record.

Before him, British Olympic athletic interest was none too high because we didn’t have too many outstanding competitors. Daley changed that, and how we roared. In case you do not know what constitutes a decathlon, read this..

The decathlon requires proficiency in ten events - the shot put, discus and javelin throws; the long and high jumps; the pole vault; the 100 m, the 400 m and the 1500 m run and the 110 m hurdles.

You have to be good to win the Olympic decathlon just once. Our Daley won it twice.. in a row.. yayyyyyyyy.

He began competing in the decathlon in 1975 and won every event he entered from 1978 until 1988, winning gold medals at the 1980 and 1984 Olympic Games.

It has been suggested that he lights the torch for the 2012 Olympics. I can’t think of anybody more appropriate, can you? Maybe he will whistle the British National Anthem again, for old times sake. Yayyyyyyyyyyy..

You will never read anything bad about Daley. He may have been a little irreverent at times, but that was his to be. He was and always will be one of Britain’s true greats, and we all love him for what he is, and what he did..

For more about our Daley, start here..

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daley_Thompson