Punters on Song back in the days of the 'getting out' stakes

It is Thursday and I have this feeling a summer jumps card at Fontwell may not quite furnish the wherewithal for a major investment on Ribchester in the Queen Anne next week. Even a quiet session in the garden behind the Anglesey Arms at Halnaker, if time allowed it, might not work the oracle, although I see Ribchester's stable companion George Bowen is due to turn out at Nottingham.

The last time I backed him he won the race for grey horses at Newmarket. It was a couple of years ago and I had to ring Wilson’s from Calgary, so I'm not sure there was much of a profit, even at 8-1.

There is something deeply satisfying about waiting a while for sprint handicappers. Deeds Not Words used to be owned by my good friend George Materna and when he won at Goodwood four years ago there was general agreement in the Anglesey that he was the proverbial good thing. He fought back under maximum pressure to win by half a length, as good things do.