3rd MOST LIKELY OAKS WINNER, SAFFIE POOR RIDE/GREAT RIDE, MR. SIMPSON OF PRESTON & LEAVE THE BAG IN.

I cannot see any horse winning either the Derby or Oaks this season. Hardly worth staging either race, is how I see it. I could not even be sure if an O'Brien will be holding the trophy aloft. Yes, something will have to win the Derby and Oaks, it is just, thus far, my instincts are telling me that all the talking horses (the Ballydoyle horses) are a mixed bunch and all the others are ordinary fare. My mind's eye is empty; all I see is a racecourse with no horses and all the fun of the fair poised as if in wait of Prince Monolulu calling for punters to pay him their hard earned money in exchange for the name of the winner of the Derby.

If you tied me up and put a gun to my head and I was told by my nervous captors 'your Derby tip or your life', I would have to give the ultimation some long and serious thought. For my life, I could not give you a serious tip for either the Derby or Oaks. What I will say is this, if the winner is to come from the Musidora this year, I am inclined to think it will be K Sarra and not Legacy Link.

Circumstance not poor judgement was the cause of Startled being given an indifferent ride in the opening few furlongs of the 7-furlong handicap at York yesterday. Her own natural ability in the saddle was the reason Saffie Osborne was quite brilliant in the final few furlongs. I just hope near neighbour Richard Hughes was as impressed with the ride as I was and will offer her more rides in the future. I did wonder if her career would plateau having lost the role she had with Ed Walker, with Walker now having Kieran Shoemark as his stable jockey, but this season the quality of horse she is riding is higher than ever and she is riding for a large spread of trainers, including Owen Burrows. Also, what you get from Saffie when interviewed is something that is more informative and amusing that the usual mush jockeys come out with. She is presently fourth in the jockeys championship table. Doubtless she will drop down a good few notches as the season progresses, though there is hope she will bag a few notable races along the way down to, say, tenth-to-fifteenth.

In the Racing Post's letters column today there is an informative letter penned by Mr. Simpson of Preston regarding the wording of the Gambling Act of the early 1960's that brought to an end the unregulated betting activities that occured before bookmakers were allowed to open offices on the High Street. Back then the Act was about protecting people from the unregulated markets. To those with experiene and knowledge of the gambling industry, the concensus is that the vulnerable people the government seek to protect will be given licence to bet as heavily as they want in the shady, unregulated black markets that flourish all around the world. I would advise Mr. Simpson to send copies of his letter to all the ministers and government departments involved in this nonsense before they commit the extreme folly of shooting themselves and the addicted in the foot.

In the 1-45 at York this afternoon, Adrian Keatley runs a horse with perhaps the most insulting name ever given to a two-year-old. Why this horse was named Leave The Bag In is beyond me. Perhaps someone involved thought it funny or clever given her dam was called Two for Tea. Thoroughbreds are beautiful creatures, deserving of our total respect. This horse has been disrespected from the off. And don't owners realise that good horses never have stupid or disrespectful names. Whoever chose this name deserves to be horse-whipped or at the very least severely nimbled by every horse he or she comes into contact with. And no, I do not go along with the idea owners can give their horses any name of their choosing. There are B.H.A. rules, yet no diligence on their part. The B.H.A. are as much to blame as the owners of this unfortunate horse.