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Hello, Pigale!
This early "spring-cleaning" must be catching! We worked our way throughout our house earlier this week!
Cleaning and carrying out small outstanding jobs that have been awaiting our attention.
All ready now for the arrival of part of the family on Tuesday!
Beds made up too!
Glad the kits are making progress? Are the stitches self- dissolving- or do you have to back to vet to have them taken out?

Indeed it is catching, elle - we have been spring cleaning too!

Maybe it's because of the occasional glimpses of the sun, Chris?

Well, in some ways it feels like Spring. I would like to cut the grass, but the ground is far too wet.

Not so spring-like today, though - temperature hasn't got above 2C!

The sun has not 'glimpsed' at me today !

Will have to go back to the Vet but the taking out of the stitches is free - isn't that nice !

Hello, Elle!
I think the less you know about betting the better!
Gambling is a mugs game. Put your purse away!
Keep your money to pay the sparky!
But, IF, I were to bet on Vic, I think the 5 to 1 for being in the first four home looks enticing. She just might manage it, if she is progressing as well as Paul Nicholls says!
5-1 means for each unit of money you put on, if your bet is successful, you would get five times your unit back, plus the unit you staked. eg £1 x 5 = £5, +£1 = £6 returned.
I will leave it alone until the day of the race.
I already have Faugheen to win on the first day.
And Willie Mullins is sending a big team from Ireland, I will have to sift through. "Willie walks on water!"

Good news about the kits, Pigale!
Glad to hear they are getting up to mischief!

Hi, Rusty!
I am unlikely to break the general principles of a lifetime and start betting! although I did have a flutter on the one occasion that we went to Ascot! severely restricted though to a certain amount of outlay! and I enjoyed it!
I like learning about it though, especially when it concerns someone like Victoria, where my interest is piqued!
But why are you waiting until the "Day" - won't you get better odds now, "well ahead of the game", so to speak?
Surely , nearer the time, the "true" situation may be more easily accessed, and the odds might be more realistic? or is this "tommyrot"? ( to borrow your word of the other day!)

Hello, Elle!
You "may" get better odds, but with some bets you will lose your money, if, say, Vic does not make it to Cheltenham.
Other bookies are more generous. "Non runner, no bet"
You takes your chance!
I have had a "double" on for quite a while, Faugheen in the Champion Hurdle, and Air Force Blue in the Guineas.
I have good odds for the pair, much better odds than they are at now, but things can go wrong.
Thoroughbreds are delicate creatures.
So, I am happy with that bet, and when Cheltenham arrives, I will browse through all my favs, like Nina, Ruby Walsh, Davy Russell, Paul Nicholls, Wilie M, etc, and pick two or three each day. Just for fun!
I have a bet on Phil Mickelson to win the golf at Pebble Beach this weekend. I can watch it on my TV and the bet adds a bitty spice, that's all. If good old Phil is in the top five, I make a profit. And Pebble Beach is a beautiful place to be.
Wonderful scenery etc. It's in California.

Hi, Rusty!
Ah yes, I understand! and I guess as it is only for fun there is an added bit of excitement deciding at the time whom to support; it adds to the mood!
It is like a science though....so much to consider......the horse's condition, the state of the ground....etcetera........do you "work" all this out, too?
And you have golf to watch tomorrow.
We don't have any specific plans for this weekend, just take it as it comes.
Maybe have a rest ready for the onslaught when the family arrives on Tuesday!
I'm looking forward to that!
There are plans to get all the grandkids together - it is nice for the four of them to meet up and play.
( And very soon ,of course, the four will become five!)

Hello, Elle!
That is good about the young ones meeting up.
You will be run off your feet!
I do work things out regarding the horses.
I do know a lot about them, but I have discovered that it is not much help to choosing a winner!
To let you understand, for a trainer to have a horse good enough, and fit and healthy enough, to run at Cheltenham, is a trainer's dream. Many hurdles to overcome on the way there.
And that is just to run there, never mind winning.
So I tend to look for value in the big stables, who have the best of everything.
Like, say, Nicky Henderson, Paul Nichols, and Willie M.
On the Flat I tend to follow several of Aidan O'Brien's Classics contenders, and I pay very close attention if Criquette Head or Andre Fabre send a raider here from France.
"Good old Phil" is joint second after two rounds at Pebble Beach. Two days to go!