Bruised McCoy plans to rest until weekend

REPRODUCED COURTESY OF THE RACING POST

TONY McCOY will not ride again until the weekend at the earliest in a bid to be fully fit for the start of the Crabbie’s Grand National meeting in nine days’ time.

Speaking at Towcester on Monday, McCoy indicated the bruising he sustained in a fall at the Cheltenham Festival almost two weeks ago was still troubling him.

McCoy took a couple of days off after Cheltenham and has ridden winners since, including posting his 200th success of the season on Palermo Don at Haydock six days ago.

However, after drawing a blank at Towcester the champion was still feeling sore and was strongly advised by jockeys’ doctor Philip Pritchard to take the rest of the week off.

McCoy said: “Dr Pritchard has been treating me for the bruising and told me that continuing riding at the moment was only aggravating the bruising and that I definitely needed to give it a bit more time to settle down.

“I’m still getting a lot of pain at times and feel very sore, so I’m now resigned to having the rest of the week on the easy list. I hope to be back by the weekend.”

McCoy will be crowned champion for the 19th time at the end of the season in just over a month and wants to be fit and well for the busy end-of-season schedule.

He said: “It’s important I’m at the top of my game for Aintree, so taking a break seems the sensible option as I don’t want to be letting anyone down.”

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Premier Information: Done in bid to resurrect racing at Great Leighs

Good to see that the Great Leighs race track may eventually get going. We reproduce the article below courtesy of the Racing Post.

BETFRED owner Fred Done is at the heart of a new attempt to resurrect the racecourse at Great Leighs.


Done, along with SIS and Bet Solutions International, the parent company of the course's betting partner Betsi Ltd, has formed a company that has taken on the Essex track.


The new owners, who hope to rename the course Chelmsford City Racecourse subject to permission, expect to be ready in time to enter the BHA's fixture application process for 2015 in the new year.

There is no grandstand at the track but planning permission in place, while the Polytrack surface is said to be in extremely good condition.


The new owners plan to offer at least £42,000 in prize-money per fixture, with some meetings offering more.

Betfred's director of racing Joe Scanlon has been appointed as racecourse chairman. He said: “I’m delighted that a new joint venture company has acquired the assets of Great Leighs and I look forward to working with our partners.


“The track is ideally placed for Newmarket’s training centre, while the surrounding area has a total catchment in excess of three million people.


“This is an exciting challenge and represents a significant investment. Working closely with the BHA we intend to deliver a high class programme of racing which can only be to the benefit of everyone involved in our wonderful sport.”


The news is the latest twist in the remarkable story of Great Leighs which became Britain's first new racecourse for 81 years when it opened in April 2008 but closed in January 2009 after it was announced the companies owning the racecourse had been put into administration.





The track has remained closed ever since despite the efforts of previous owners MC Racetracks, who had two subsequent applications for fixtures declined by the BHA.

MC Racetracks is no longer involved and the new owners said that neither is the course's founder and former owner John Holmes, who was last week arrested along with his partner Jill Turner and a second man over allegations of involvement in a £2.4 million VAT fraud.

All three have been released and bailed to report to their local police station on March 5 and 6 next year. They have not been charged and they deny the allegations.


If you would like to read more articles such as the one above, you can read up to date news on our Premier Information website, along with looking at some of the other blogs in the industry such as Brians Betting.

Premier Information: Whats Happening At Warren Place

Since the sad death of Sir Henry Cecil, there has been much uncertainty of the future of the training operation at Warren Place. Those of you who have followed the fortunes of Sir Henry will be interested to read the article below which is reproduced courtesy of the Racing Post.

THE long-running debate about the future of Warren Place in Newmarket came to a conclusion on Monday when Lady Cecil revealed to the Racing Post she is to carry on training at the famous yard from which her late husband Sir Henry enjoyed incredible success for nearly 40 years.

The destiny of the historic stable had been the subject of intense speculation in racing circles ever since the ten-time champion trainer, for whom a memorial service was held just a week ago at Ely Cathedral, died in June.

Following Cecil's death, Lady Cecil was granted an emergency licence by the BHA and with the help of 'Team Cecil' has carried on the success story by sending out 31 winners including two emotional Group 2 victories at Royal Ascot with Riposte and Thomas Chippendale.

Rather than Warren Place being sold off, Lady Cecil will carry on the dynasty. She said on Monday: "I have spoken to our owners and our staff and confirmed that it is my intention to carry on as trainer at Warren Place.

"I have also talked to the BHA about plans to continue and have signed up to complete the training modules through the winter."

Regarding the past few months, she added : "It has been a difficult time but everyone has pulled together so well, which has enabled us to continue to get the results people associate with Warren Place. We've all wanted to make Henry proud and that will continue to be the case."

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