Durbanville – lovely place but the system is not working
I cannot wait to get back to Kenilworth – and hopefully the new course – as soon as possible. I am sick and tired of this ridiculous system of entering horses at Durbanville and then drawing 45 or 50 and the fields then end up with only eight runners. Something has got to change as it is clearly not working, writes Joey Ramsden.
For various reasons it has been a difficult week in the Ramsden household. However, I have had a fantastic time with the kids. Holly, my eldest, has been to surf school and can now stand up on a surf board and do some actual surfing. I am proud of her.
The weather has been its usual unpredictable self, much like the draws I am getting for my horses. It is a tricky and tough time of year all round on the horse front, for many reason, but is something one just has to get through. It is great to have all our horses back in Cape Town after travelling safely down from Natal. They are settling in nicely. It is always good to have the top horses back in the yard. It gives one something to look forward to and is a reason to get out of bed in the morning. I am looking forward to the forthcoming season.
Durbanville was quite a day…
Some of the illustrious contestants in the Jockeys Chase
Sadly poor old MJ, the chairman of the Western Cape Jockeys Association, did not crack the weather he would have liked. Another big event held in Durbanville also probably did not help his cause. However, he still managed to get a pretty good crowd for the jockeys charity race day, the first time (I think) this has been held in South Africa.
What a truly commendable achievement all round for the guys. They are a smashing bunch; MJ, Greg Cheyne and the rest of the team. I only hope his day and the idea goes from strength to strength. They really did a remarkable job and raised a lot of money. I think for once it is time to stop whingeing about the poor fellows. This was a good job and really well done.
Me and the other wise men on the Summerhill RTR panel
This is the sale for which we viewed most of the gallops at Mooi River where many smart horses with really good pedigrees were put through their paces. It looks to be a competitive event with a horse for everyone. There is big prize money on offer at these events and it would be foolish and naive not to attend.
CTS really know how to put on a show, not just for offering quality race horses but also in the way they look after their customers.
Roll on the weekend…
The rugby world cup is hotting up and my team, Australia, is the one that is still impressing me the most. Knowing my luck, they will probably fall flat on their faces but at the moment they look to be a powerful team.
Wales looked an extremely tricky bunch to overcome and I think Australia did a remarkable job. The Scottish game was fantastic with the old Sweaties just managing to eke their way across the line.
The France vs Ireland game was a truly muscular affair, with the Irish looking to out muscle the Froggies.
The French are many people’s tip for this year’s World Cup but on Sunday’s performance I sadly do not see it at all. I have to say, my hearts went out to the Japanese. It is also sad looking through the list of the teams that have managed to scrape their way through and thinking that England only got to use their bus a couple of times.
On the other hand, the English football team is basking in the fact that they were unbeaten in the Euro qualifiers for the UEFA Euro 2016.
However, it really looks like my daughter Holly’s girls soccer team could have given any of the teams which finished further down the field in their group a pretty good game.
