Trebles all round as Thomson and Fox enjoy fine day out at the seaside
Borders trainer Sandy Thomson saddled a hat-trick of winners at Ayr yesterday.
He set the ball rolling with Storm Nelson, who was having his first run for the Thomson yard near Greenlaw, havingmovedthereafterlucynormile’s retirement.
On his first outing for 398 days,intheconditionaljockeys’ Handicap Hurdle, the 11-4 joint favourite won with nine and a halflengthstospareoverfellow co-favourite First Class Return.
It was an eye catching display from the eight year-old, who was ridden by Theo Gillard and who could turn out again in around 10 days’ time.
Win number two for Thomson came courtesy of Doyen Breed, another ex-normile horse, who was given a confident ride by Grand National winning jockey Ryan Mania to justify 15-8 favouritism and beat Charm Offensive by two and three quarter lengths.
The hat-trick came up when Sirwilliamwallace, the 6-4 favourite, provided Mania with a double in the Thank You NHS
Novices’ Limited Handicap Chase – pulling 10 lengths clear of runner-up Kalaharry.
Thomsonwasn’taloneincelebrating a treble as jockey Derek Fox did likewise. He rode Ahoy Senor for Milnathort trainer Lucinda Russell to win the opening maiden at 16-1. After following up with victory on Ardera Cross (6-1) in the Ayrshire Cancer Support Handicap Chase for Crossford trainer Willieyoung,heteamedupwith Russell again on Slainthe Mhor in the three-mile staying chase and won again at 6-1.
Ardera Cross was winning for the eighth time since joining
Young from Dan Skelton for only £1,000. His win yesterdaytookhisprizemoneyforhis current trainer to £73,000 – not a bad investment.
Young said : “He’s certainly paidhisway!he’swonoverhurdlesandfencesbuthe’scertainly better over fences nowadays.”
Meanwhile, at Newcastle today, Stargazer has an ideal chancetoshowhiscurrentwellbeingwithvictoryinthebetway Handicap .
Phil Kirby's very useful stayer has tended to run in and out of form in his successful career to date. But, at Wolverhampton last time, despite extending his winless run to six outings over five months, the eight-year-old gave a strong indication he is back in good order as he settled for an unlucky and close third.
That was two weeks ago, and thereisnobettervenueforstargazer to consolidate a return to his best than Newcastle. He is a dual course-and-distance winner, as well as a four-time runner-up and once third.
Heearnedacareer-highrating of104aftervictoryhereinavaluablehandicapalmosttwoyears ago - but after just one success in nine subsequent attempts, he races off an 8lb lower mark this time.
That gives him a little leeway, againstaclutchofoldrivals,following his highly encouraging Wolverhampton effort. There, Stargazer was not quite able to peg back the first two at this sametrip.buthewasnothelped by some minor late trouble in running - and back at this significantly stiffer track, he has much in his favour.
Spring training is here, the words that lift every baseball fan out of the doldrums of winter and place them firmly on the path to warm afternoons sitting with friends enjoying a $15 hotdog and a $20 beer – at the cheaper ballparks, of course.
But those first four words really do lift the spirits of baseball aficionados, many of whom would have spent Sunday evening watching meaningless games, where star players make fleeting appearances alongside players you’ve never heard of, and may never again.
Still, it’s exciting, and is only topped by the feeling which comes a little over a month later when the real games begin.
While many players will be hoping to make the opening day roster for the first time, a few may well be making it for the last and that seems to be the case for Albert Pujols. The current designated hitter for the Los Angeles Angels looks set to retire. As indicated by his wife on Instagram last week, people thought he was retiring before the season started.
That would have been a travesty, because Albert is a living legend and is deserving of a final run around the track.
Pujols is in the last year of his 10-year contract with the Angels and will, unfortunately, not put up the numbers associated with other players in the $30 million a year bracket. In fact, Angels fans may well say he hasn’t been worth anywhere near the $224 million total paid to him by the end of this contract.
But Pujols’ career can be divided into two acts and, when the Angels signed the player as a free agent almost a decade ago, they would have been aware that, at 32, his production would go into decline during the latter years of the contract.
Now 41, injuries have plagued Pujols since his move to LA but, even including his least productive seasons, he sits fifth in all-time home runs for the Angels.
Pujols produced some of the greatest baseball hitting and fielding that modern fans could ever hope to see in his first act. In those days, he was a member of the St Louis Cardinals, where he collected both his World Series wins, nine of his 10 all-star appearances, two National League MVPS and too many batting titles to be listed.
In those days, the first baseman struck fear into the heart of every pitcher. Pujols quietly entered the league with a solo single in his firstever game and he didn’t record a hit in his next two games, as his batting average dropped to a career-low .111. Then El Hombre arrived. That season, Pujols became a unanimous choice for Rookie of the Year, hitting 37 home runs, batted in 130 runs and collected the first of his Silver Slugger awards, all at the age of 21.
During his first 11 years in baseball, Pujols hit 445 home runs, 1329 runs batted in and was on pace to become one of the greatest ever. What’s more, the slugger produced a feat that, in today’s sabermetrics era, may never be achieved again. He avoided strikeouts.
At his peak, Pujols was stuck out just 50 times in 2006 and, even as his physical ability has declined, his eye hasn’t; a comparison to Mike Trout, the current league superstar and Pujols’ teammate, shows he averages 152 strikeouts a season. There’s no dispute that Pujols will be a Hall of Famer.