Codd at his best

Ask Nile (9/4f) opened his account under rules when taking the Surehaul Race Day Maiden Hurdle at Clonmel on Thursday for Bridgetown-based trainer Seamus Neville, in the colours of his wife, and ridden by Brian Hayes from Leighlinbridge.

Ask Nile won his point-to-point at Dromahane last May under Mark Scallan (Cleariestown) but this was trainer Neville’s first track win for a few years and he said: ‘I thought the ground would have caught him out a bit but he travelled well. He’ll probably go for a winners-of-one and stay hurdling this season’.

Mikey Fogarty rode a stormer for second in the 18-runner handicap hurdle on Rock on Barney (12/1), failing by just half a length to peg back Paul Townend and Knockraha King.

Seán Flanagan was a comfortable winner of the valuable €25,000 rated chase over an extended three miles at Fairyhouse on Saturday, aboard Noel Meade’s Texas Jack at a tasty 10/1. Formerly highly-rated, this drop in class resulted in a first win for the eleven-year-old in three years and 16 runs.

Jamie Codd produced a masterly front running ride to win the listed €40,000 mares’ bumper for Gordon Elliott on Fayonagh (7/1). This was a strong race that included five other previous winners but Codd controlled the pace from the front and kicked on half a mile from home to win by an astonishing 20 lengths.

Fayonagh had won her only previous bumper at Naas last November at 33/1 under J.J. Slevin when trained by Richie Rath from Screen and then owned by a four-person Rosslare syndicate. She was sold on after that for a handsome profit, but I wonder if there any regrets now as this win makes her a very valuable acquisition for her new owner, Mrs. Gittins from England.

Codd was the only Wexford winner at Punchestown on Sunday and had to be at his absolute strongest to take the bumper on Elliott’s Oakley Hall (7/4f), forcing his mount up in the closing strides to beat Gigginstown’s Judgement Day. In a lengthy career, Codd has seldom ridden better than he did this week.

In Britain, Daryl Jacob (Davidstown) kept up his remarkable recent run by taking a major featured televised race for the third Saturday in a row at Sandown, this time winning the £50,000 Grade 1 Betfred TV Scilly Isles Novice Chase on Top Notch (11/4) for Nicky Henderson and owner Simon Munir, by a comfortable five lengths.

Tom O’Brien had a snug win over fences at Southwell on Tuesday on Loyus Vac Pouch (7/2) for Philip Hobbs, and on Wednesday he had an all-the-way winner on money-on shot Ice Cool Champs (4/7) at Hereford for Philip Hobbs.

Pat Dobbs from Enniscorthy had a good day at Maydan in Dubai on Thursday with a win and a second for Doug Watson, his regular trainer, in two valuable races worth nearly half a million euros. He won by a neck on Cool Cowboy in a six-furlong sprint, beating Jim Crowley on an odds-on shot, and then was pipped by a nose on the dirt on Second Summer (13/2). HIS IS an odd time of the year in so many ways. We’re far enough beyond Christmas for the festive celebrations to be a dim and distant memory at this stage. And though there is a noticeable stretch in the evenings, we’re still too far away from summer to even entertain thoughts of what that period may bring.

It feels like we’re operating in a state of limbo, although that is likely to dissipate with every passing week as the positive vibes return.

It’s the very same in a book-reading sense. Most new offerings are geared for the Christmas market, and nobody with past experience of publishing is going to release something in the month of February.

Given that prevailing mood, I was looking for something of a light-hearted nature last week, not too taxing on the brain and a book that one could dip in and out of at regular intervals.

In that regard, I was quite pleased with my choice of ‘Football’s Strangest Matches’ by Andrew Ward, the 2016 edition of a publication that first saw the light of day in 1989.

This is a chronological look at a series of extraordinary but true stories from the world of football, stretching from a crossbar protest in 1888 up to the game in 2015 when two Scunthorpe United goalkeepers suffered broken arms in the same game.

It’s a look at some of the unusual incidents which have taken place down through the years, with the main focus on games in the British Isles although some of the madness associated with soccer in South America also comes in for honourable mention.

What I really like about the book is the short and snappy way in which the stories are told.

None are longer than two and a half pages, and this has a couple of positives. Firstly it gives scope to the author to cover a wide variety of interesting tales, more than 110 by my count, and secondly there is no fear of the reader struggling to keep attention as a new story is ready to be perused as soon as the previous one is read.

Everything and anything of a wacky nature is covered, and as well as being funny in parts it’s also educational as some of the early chapters focus on the manner in which the game gradually evolved as the rules were tweaked.

For instance, there’s an interesting piece on offside, and I was also intrigued by the manner in which the first live radio commentaries of games were conducted.

The ‘Radio Times’ published a photograph of the pitch divided into eight numbered sections. And when the commentator was describing the play, he had an assistant whose sole role was to but in and tell the listeners which grid the ball was in.

I know of some modern-day radio commentators who could do with this type of help, and I’m sure you do too!

Were you aware that for three successive years from 1956 to 1958, Leeds United were drawn to play Cardiff City at home in the third round of the FA Cup?

Not alone that, but the result in all of those encounters was a 2-1 away win! What are the odds on something like that happening?

Or how about the Chester City team of 1966 which paraded two full-backs with the surname Jones, both of whom once broke their left arms in the same game.

That’s another ‘believe it or not’ moment, and this book is full of them. It won’t tax your brain but will keep you informed and entertained, and that’s not a bad mix at this time of year if you ask me. ALAN AHERNE Visit The Book Centre on Wexford’s Main Street for the very best selection of sports books.