Horse racing betting tips: Hard to see past O’Brien’s Sir Erec in Triumph March 14, 2019 WHEN I first became passionate about the Cheltenham Festival back in the late 1980s, the Triumph Hurdle (1.30pm) was a 20-plus runner wide-open cavalry charge packed full of no-hopers. Now, the introduction of the Boodles Juvenile Handicap Hurdle earlier in the meeting, means this race has a very different feel. Those not good enough to [...]
Horse racing betting tips: DERRINROSS CAN GRIND OUT VICTORY IN ALBERT BARTLETT March 14, 2019 THIS will be the 15th running of the Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle (2.50pm) and the one thing I have learnt over the years is that it tends not to go to the lightly-raced flashy types. Such a brutal test of stamina comes very early on in the career of some of these novices and the [...]
Horse racing betting tips: Presenting Percy can land the Gold Cup March 14, 2019 THERE is nothing bigger in National Hunt racing than the Magners Cheltenham Gold Cup, which is being run this year for £625,000. A gruelling race run over 3m2f with 22 fences to jump, it is the ultimate test of a National Hunt horse and the reason why any jockey, trainer or owner gets into the [...]
Horse racing betting tips: Keep close Eye on last year’s winner Prezien March 14, 2019 IF YOU haven’t backed a winner by the time the Johnny Henderson Grand Annual Chase (4.50pm) comes around, it may be time to draw stumps before this 20-runner two-mile cavalry charge. Finding the most likely contenders is just one part of the job as you tend to need plenty ofl uck in-running to avoid trouble. [...]
Horse racing betting tips: Skelton looks set to strike again with Ch’tibello March 14, 2019 FRIDAY at Cheltenham is probably the trickiest day of the week for punters. With three puzzling handicaps, a hunter chase and an ultra-competitive Gold Cup, winners will be hard to come by. One man with proven form on the final day of the Festival is Dan Skelton. He’s landed two of the last three renewals [...]
Ollie Phillips: Ireland will find their form and help England to Six Nations victory this weekend March 14, 2019 The Six Nations builds up to its crescendo this weekend and all the indications are that it will be an intriguing one. With three sides still able to win the tournament there’s no problem with dead rubbers, although Wales against Ireland is the match which will shape the outcome. England’s hopes of winning the trophy [...]
Westminster’s Brexit deadlock means the only realistic route forward is a second referendum over May’s deal March 14, 2019 Observing the dog’s breakfast that is the Brexit process in Westminster brings to mind the saying attributed to Albert Einstein that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over, and expecting different results. The second meaningful vote has gone the same way as the first, and hints are now dropping that [...]
DEBATE: As RBS trials a fingerprint bank card, is biometric technology the future for digital payments? March 14, 2019 As RBS trials a fingerprint bank card, is biometric technology the future for digital payments? YES, says Ann Cairns, vice chairman of Mastercard. As we shift towards using digital services, and the need to protect our data becomes ever more critical, the use of passwords is woefully outdated. Many people simply have more passwords than [...]
Raising corporation tax may seem like a vote winner, but it makes all of us poorer March 14, 2019 Last year, parliament passed a law requiring the UK’s overseas territories (OTs) – including Bermuda, the Cayman Islands, and the Virgin Islands – to publish lists of the “beneficial owners” of the companies registered in them. The sponsors of the law claimed it was a crime-fighting measure. Conservative MP Andrew Mitchell justified the law by [...]
The UK’s elites have a habit of ignoring the will of the people March 14, 2019 On 20 April 1653, Oliver Cromwell marched into parliament saying, “you have sat here too long for any good you have been doing here lately” – words that surely chime with current events. Cromwell was utterly frustrated with an establishment which denied the will of the people. Obviously, no one is suggesting that the army should [...]