so embarrassed was i, strangely, the standard of starting, triumph & and after yesterday's upturn ...

​In front of me, on the foolscap paper, so appropriate, in which I wrote my notes for yesterday’s masterpiece of illogical thought, are the horses I intended to make public as my hopes for the day. Of course, my good thing of the meeting obliged, The New Lion, as did Marine Nationale and Bambino Fever. Dancing City disappointed, as did Comfort Zone, Mister Coffey and Conyers Hill. 
Not so hopeless after all.

Strangely, contrary to Willie Mullins assertion that he will have ‘nice’ horses for next year, said after Lecky Watson had won the Broadway Novice Chase, I suspect, with exceptions, of course, he might just have a whole lot of handicap class novices. Kopek Des Bordes and Final Demand may well be high-class either over hurdles or fences, and it would be foolish to dismiss Ballyburn after his temperament made mincemeat of Paul Townend’s tactics. When he is allowed to bowl along in front we will see a different animal altogether. To my mind, not that Willie Mullins is minded too much about Kempton at Christmas, Ballyburn is more a King George horse than one for the Gold Cup and I would bet a pig to a whistle that we see Ballyburn in the Ryanair next season.
Although he won, as usual, the Bumper yesterday with Bambino Fever, ridden by Jody Townend, sister of the famous brother, Willie’s two main hopes Copacabana and Gameofinches were very disappointing, as the majority of his bumper horses have been this season. I dare say there is a diamond amongst them but at the moment Bambino Fever is the best of them and you cannot imagine her winning anything more than the Mares Novice Hurdle at the next Cheltenham Festival.

The starting procedure for jumps racing is quite appalling at times. For instance, the field for the bumper were 200-yards or more from the tape when the starter dropped his flag. What is the point of the tape if the horses do not go within shouting distance of the starter? 
The Champion Chase was ruined by the start. Why not just have the horses within a yard of the tape from the outset, instead of having them so far back it is inevitable that at least one of the flying machines gets into a swinging canter before the trainer can say ‘Ready’ or whatever the procedure may be? It is all very well jockeys exuding diplomacy in the aftermath of a balls-up at the start, yet sometimes no commonsense by the starter is given to the situation.
As I have advocated before, there needs to be an area, perhaps signified by chalk or sawdust, in which all horses must stand, which jockeys must move their horses into when instructed by the starter, whether in a line or otherwise, with it being the responsibility of the jockeys to have their horses facing the tape. The starter can then start the race and if any horse whips round or stands still, the responsibility lies with the jockey not the starter. At the moment, starts can be an embarrassment, which is a further embarrassment when you calculate the years since the debacle at the Grand National. Still we cannot start a horse race.

The Triumph Hurdle tomorrow has a line-up of 17-horses, a good number you will agree. Except that 11 of them are trained by Willie Mullins, 3 of which have never jumped a hurdle in public. Of the other six, the name of Palladium does not appear, for which I say ‘bugger’, as he was my fancy for the race. I will return to fancying East India Dock. By then, those of us Brits, will be desperate for a British-trained winner. And it looked so rosy on Tuesday evening.

After so very nearly achieving the magic 51% yesterday, here goes again.
Galileo Dame in the Dawn Run. Moon D’Orange in the Golden Miller. Bugise Seagull, each-way in the Pertemps. Protektorat in the Ryanair.
Mysterious Power in the Stayers, though I also really like Bob Ollinger and Nemean Lion, victory for either would do my heart good. Ginny’s Destiny in the Plate. Paul Nicholls must have a winner, doesn’t he? Sa Majeste in the Kim Muir.