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it is what is it, media will always spin it at the end of the day the numbers will always be on our side but unfortunately politically we are easy kill, who knows what will happen, all everyone can do is the right thing and hopefully the powers to be can deal with politicians..... today at my local meat works we killed 3500 4 day old bobby calves so everyone can have milk in there coffee, and at the same time we drained 1000s of litres of bloody from calves who still haven't been born yet while mum hanged on a hook so females can look and smell good.... no stories on stuff about that......

The Brains Trust……1001, 6xs, Chevy, Shodsie and Lee having a meeting…..should be riveting………

Moving on to the coming weekend up here and tomorrow's racing is dominated by the Shergar Cup at Ascot. For quality, we have to wait until Sunday and Group 1 races in Ireland, France and Germany. Nine go in the Phoenix at The Curragh where the ground remains Good though showers are forecast. This 1200m juvenile race is the start of the late summer/autumn series of Irish juvenile races which culminate in the Moyglare and the National on Irish Champions Weekend which is just 5 weeks away. Favourite is GO BEARS GO who beat CASTLE STAR in the Railway with DR ZEMPF in fourth. I thought he did it well that day and he's an obvious contender. The main British raider is our old mate friend EBRO RIVER who was a close fifth in the Coventry, a decent fourth in the July Stakes and beaten less than a length in the Richmond when also costing me each way money again. He's a useful barometer (as is the favourite) for the relative strength of some key Anglo-Irish juvenile form lines. Aidan O'Brien has two including the sole filly PRETTIEST who ran well in the Duchess of Cambridge and on the strength of that went off odds on for the Silver Flash only to finish fourth beaten five lengths. The concensus was she didn't see out the 1400m and the drop back in trip will suit but I thought her Leopardstown run was moderate and I did just wonder if it was a bit quick after the Newmarket exertions. I'm with the favourite here whose last two runs look the best form on offer. Off to Deauville and 12 go in the Maurice de Gheest over the unusual trip of 1300m. You don't get many races over this trip in the UK, Ireland or France. Five 3-y-o take on seven older horses and this is as usual a fascinating renewal. A dry week has improved the ground to Good and that will be significant for STARMAN, who swerved the heavy ground in the Diamond Jubilee and went straight to the July Cup and did it really well. In most years, he'd be a short priced favourite on that but he faces an intriguing challenge from the American-trained CAMPANELLE with Frankie Dettori riding for Wesley Ward. As a 3-y-o filly, she gets 8 lbs from STARMAN and that's not going to be easy. CAMPANELLE has course form having won the Morny over 1200m last year and at Ascot, she got the Commonwealth Cup despite finishing behind DRAGON SYMBOL. Now, you could argue STARMAN beat DRAGON SYMBOL a length and a quarter in the July Cup giving him 6 lbs and he now has to give the filly 8 lbs so he's actually a 1 lb better off. I get that but if the rain comes, I'd want to be on CAMPANELLE and if it stays dry, I'd want to be on STARMAN. The two dominate the race. KINROSS won the Lennox over 1400m at Goodwood the other day and GLEN SHIEL was a fine second in the Diamond Jubilee. Both will appreciate any rain while among the 3-y-o we have LAWS OF INDICES and THUNDER MOON, who were the first two home in the Jean Prat. I think THUNDER MOON may finally be coming to himself after some lacklustre efforts at the highest level over 1600m. MARIANAFOOT has won her last six but on a line through DUHAIL looks held by KINROSS. The wildcard might be the 3-y-o ROHAAN who, as a gelding, couldn't run in the Diamond Jubilee and didn't like the quick ground at Newmarket when finishing down the field in the July Cup. If the rain arrives, he's another you can put right in the mix. On a line through DRAGON SYMBOL, you could argue he's right up there with CAMPANELLE yet he's 12/1 which will look a very good bet if the ground softens. Finally, a rare visit to Germany and the racecourse at Hoppegarten in Berlin which stages the Grosser Preis von Berlin. It's a race with a long and chequered history. After World War 2, the course was in East Germany and lay unused for decades. The race went to Dusseldorf and then Hamburg and was only restored to its original name and venue in 2011. It often attracts foreign raiders though the post at £90,000 is pretty derisory. Godolphin run WALTON STREET who hasn't been seen since running fourth to MISHRIFF in the Sheema Classic on World Cup night. On that form, they won't see which way he went - ALPINISTA won the Lancashire Oaks last time and against what doesn't look a strong local challenge, you'd think the British duo might fight out the finish.

Deauville is a gorgeous track and very fair - it has one big month a year when people from Paris traditionally went to the coast for their holidays (and before the south of France was reachable by train, Normandy was the obvious choice). It's 125 miles from the centre of Paris and the excellent French trains get you there in not much over two hours. Jockeys? That's a question and a half. A lot depends on the track - I always follow Richard Kingscote at Chester for example. The truth is the best jockeys get on the best horses and usually ride the most winners. Only three senior jockeys are currently operating at or above 20% (meaning they ride one winner in every five rides). They are James Doyle (20%), William Buick (21%) and Oisin Murphy (22%). You'll not be surprised to hear Murphy leads Buick by eleven at the top of the championship - Doyle is further back but he's had more than 100 rides fewer than Murphy. Another thing I like to look at is which jockeys does it pay to back - which return a level stakes profit on their rides. The likes of Dettori, Moore and Spencer often ride horses whose odds are more indicative of the jockey than the horse's actual chance. The three I've mentioned earlier are all ahead - Buick is £36.93 up for a £1 level stake and Doyle £37.82. Of the others showing a profit, the one I'd pick is Hayley Turner (16% strike rate) and £51.50 level stake. I often look at what's she riding in a tricky handicap or if she's riding a 2-y-o for Michael Bell or Andrew Balding. The other stat I'm following at the moment is Jim Crowley is 10 wins from 25 rides for William Haggas which is 40% - they are often Shadwell horses and the odds reflect that but it's the best statistic I'm seeing currently.

Good horses draw good crowds on course, which in turn creates atmosphere and enhances the experience. In both harness and gallops we rarely see good quality fields anymore, and even more rarely a champion. If they're not sold as a young horse, they're set to do most, if not all, of their racing in Australia, probably more so with gallopers than harness but both struggle to get me interested on a regular basis. Plus with the drain of trainers and jockeys/drivers as well, what are we left with?

Nine cheques from nine runners at Donald, and fresh Kiwi bred legs running with the team tomorrow.

He Dropped $300 so definately time to cut him loose Its a good thing the TAB screwed him definately save him Plenty longterm