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DAVID CARR |
Weblog: What do you mean the Wi-Fi doesn't work? The life of a Racing Post reporter
Racing Post? No thanks, I've already given
You expect the occasional dig on the phone. Like 'Never phone me again.' Or 'That was an arse of a story'. And they were both from the same man in the sameconversation.
But there aren't many worse things to hear than I got today.
After trying for half an hour to reach a perpetually engaged trainer I finally got through, introduced myself and was told: "I have just spoken to someone from the Racing Post. He was on for a while and he asked me all the questions you are about to ask."
Now, I was pretty sure that was not the case - we are not that desperate that we try to fill space in the paper by getting different reporters to do alternative versions of the same story.
I asked him who it was and he said: "Oh, I have spoken to him dozens of times, I can't remember his name - mention a few."
So I went through a roll-call of likely and unlikely people, each of which drew a blank from the trainer - who is a naturally kind-hearted and talkative guy who went on to answer all my questions anyway.
Mysterious. At least it was until a news agency story appeared featuring numerous quotes from said trainer, who obviously reckons their reporter works for us. (Incidentally, the trainer clearly has good neighbours. When I first tried him I misdialled his number and got through to a charming man who knew from experience exactly which two digits I had transposed - he clearly gets plenty of similar erroneous calls but seemed to welcome them and could not have been nicer about it. Perhaps I should have stuck to speaking to him).
Fewer problems with the day's other tasks, which included a focus on the peaks that Frankie Dettori still has to conquer now that he has won the Cesarewitch after 25 years of trying - can you name six major British Flat races he has still to win?
Answering the Monday Jury questions was trickier than usual as we were in Kings Cliffe for a family birthday party yesterday (many happy returns for Tuesday, Maureen).
But 21st century means that you can catch up with all that you missed, either online on the Racing Post website or via a digital TV recorder - and watching it back while fast-forwarding through all the flim-flam is not a bad way to watch racing.
The questions, for your entertainment:
1. Do you agree with Richard Hughes that the Breeders' Cup Mile is 'made' for Strong Suit?
2. Does Parish Hall look a Derby horse to you?
3. Where does Wading stand among this year's top juvenile fillies?
4. How far up the sprinting ranks can Sirius Prospect go?
5. How impressed were you by Cue Card's chasing debut
6. Did anything else catch your eye this weekend?
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