Just one this week...

Ascot, Saturday, 3.10. Ace High. This reminds me of one of my favourite Iron Maiden tracks, Aces High.

I'm back!!!!

Here we go again.
Saturday, Doncaster 1.25. Rocky Reef. It's rocky and there's a great band called Reef.
Newbury 3.15. Trapeze. Wonderful band from the early 70s, featuring a very young Glenn Hughes, later of Deep Purple and Black Country Communion.
Aintree 1.50. Rumble of Thunder. One of my favourite bands... Thunder.

Ta-ra.

Long time, no communicado...

Been away for a bit.
Just two choices tomorrow, both at Ascot.
Day of the eagle runs in the 13.55. This is the title of a fantastic track by Robin Trower, a superb guitarist.
My tip of the week goes in the 14,45. Arnold Lane is a track by a very early Pink Floyd, back in the days of the legendary/mad as a hatter Syd Barrett.

Somewhere over the Rainbow

This week I have managed to find four horses with a link to one band... Rainbow. Rainbow were formed in 1975 by guitarist Ritchie Blackmore, after he left Deep Purple. Over the years they had more members than you can imagine, the only constant being Blackmore himself. The band finished in 1984 when Purple reformed to top up their pension fund. After Blackmore left Purple again, he briefly reformed Rainbow, but that didn't last long. Ritchie Blackmore nows wears tights and plays medieval music... really.
All of these horses, run on Saturday. First up is Rainbow Riches, in the 4.20 at Bath. Next is Diamond Rainbow in the 7.25 at Limerick. Those links are obvious. Next up is Cozy Tiger in the 5.30 at Sandown. One of Rainbow's many drummers was Cozy Powell, and he played on Rainbow's best stuff. He had a hit of his own in the early 70s with Dance with the Devil - it's not often you have a hit with a drumming instrumental. After Rainbow he joined Whitesnake, and later worked with Peter Green. He died stupidly in 1998, when he drove his car at high speed whilst using his phone, and crashed.
Finally, my tip of the week is Stargazy in the 7.35 at Lingfield Park. This reminds me of Rainbow's best track Stargazer, from their best album, Rainbow Rising. An epic track - so epic that a friend of mine recently rediscovered it, and listened to it constantly for about a fortnight... go listen and enjoy.

Long time, no communicado...

After a short break, I'm back with my wonderful tips!
First up is Teenage Kicks, in Saturday's 2.45 at Worcester. This was the Undertones biggest hit and a fantastic song. Famously, it was John Peel's favourite record.
Next selection is also at Worcester on Saturday, in the 2.10. The Boss is, of course, Bruce Springsteen.
Next up is Monterey, in the 5.40 at Newmarket. Monterey is also the venue of probably the first rock festival, featuring the Who, Janis Joplin and an incendiary set by Jimi Hendrix.
Finally, my tip of the week is Million Faces, running in the 3.15 at Doncaster. This is a lyric from Bon Jovi's Wanted Dead or Alive, "I've seen a million faces and I've rocked them all". He probably has seen a million faces, but whether he's rocked them all is a moot point.
Ta-ra for now...

Here we go again...

Couldn't do any last week, so let's see if the break has changed my luck.
All runners go on Saturday.
First up is Bohemian Rhapsody, which, of course, is the title of Queen's most famous ditty. This runs in the 5.50 at Newbury.
Next is Darkness, running in the 5.25 at Uttoxeter. The Darkness have recently reformed after a bit of a break. Their first album, Permission to Land, was huge, but they got a lot of criticism because of singer Justin Hawkin's high-pitched vocals. The jury's still out, I think.
Next is Saints and Sinners, running in the 2.05 at Bangor. This is the title of one of Whitesnake's albums, made with a proper bluesy British line-up, before they went all American hair-metal.
Finally, my tip of the week is a nod to prog, with Close to the Edge, running in the 8.20 at Doncaster. Recorded by Yes, it is probably their finest hour, a masterpiece of prog rock grandiose, right down to the Roger Dean gatefold sleeve. Absolutely splendid.
Ta-ra

Still waiting...

I'm still waiting for one of my tips of the week to win. However, one of my other tips, Outlaw Pete, did win last week, at an SP of 9/1. We're getting closer, I'm sure.
So to this week - all runners go on Saturday. First tip is Get it on, in the 4.10 at Uttoxeter. This is the title of one of Marc Bolan & T.Rex's biggest hits. One of the best glam rock bands of the 70s, Marc Bolan was tragically killed in a car crash in 1977.
Next up is All or Nothing, running in the 3.55 at Thirsk. This is the title of a great song from the Small Faces. Led by Steve Marriott, the Small Faces eventually split, with Marriott forming Humble Pie, and the rest of the band joining up with Rod Stewart, becoming The Faces.
My third tip is Fairway to Heaven, in the 2.40 at Thirsk. I'm guessing that the owner is a fan of both golf and Led Zeppelin, so no complaints there. If you've never heard Zeppelin's Stairway to Heaven, I suggest that you do.
Finally, my tip of the week is Day of the Eagle, in the 3.20 at Thirsk. This is a song by Robin Trower, from his Bridge of Sighs album. Trower was originally in Procol Harum, and then went solo, releasing some superb albums. Still touring today, he is well worth going to see.
That's it for this week... here's hoping...

Still waiting for that elusive winner...

At this stage in the life of my blog, I was going to say something along the lines of "If you had placed a £1 bet on each of my tips of the week so far, you would have spent £4, and you would have received winnings of £xx". Here's the reality. If you had placed a £1 bet on each of my tips of the week so far, you would have spent £4. Er, I'm afraid that's it. No winners yet, although Uriah Heep did come 2nd last week.
So to this week. My first tip runs on Saturday in the 14.40 at Punchestown. Outlaw Pete is the title of a Bruce Springsteen song, taken from his 2009 album Working on a Dream. Springsteen has been around for years, and still performs epic gigs. I saw him once in 1985 and he was on stage for well over 3 hours.
My next tip runs in the 14.20 at Ripon on Saturday - Toto Skyllachy. Toto had some massive hits in the early 80s, including Rosanna, Africa and Hold the Line.
A friend of mine is going to Saturday's meeting at Sandown, and has foolishly asked me for a couple of tips, despite the fact that he actually knows what he's doing when it comes to racing. So, just for him, are two tips, both running in the 15.10.
First up is Free World, which brings to mind the anthemic Rockin' in the Free World, by Neil Young. One of the greatest rock artists around, Young writes some fantastic stuff, and covers so many different music styles you never know what he will come up with next.
My tip of the week, again in the 15.10, is Deep Purple. Running two weeks after being pulled up in the National, let's hope being tip of the week again doesn't worry it. As I've said before, and will probably say many times, Deep Purple are one of the best rock bands around. Full. Stop.

Ta-ra

Back to reality...

After the previous week's successful tips, it was back to reality for the National weekend. Deep Purple pulled up at the 19th, whilst Midnight Haze actually finished. Admittedly, it was in 15th, or last, as some would say, but nevertheless a good effort to get through the carnage. Neither of my other tips figured in their races.
My choice of Deep Purple for the National got me speaking live on national radio to none other than Danny Baker on Radio 5 Live. I'd e-mailed him about the coincidences (see previous post), and got a call asking if I'd go on air and tell him in person. Danny is a top bloke and it was good fun to chat to him. My e-mail was also read out by Planet Rock DJ Rob Birnie, who seemed to enjoy it too.
OK, this week's tips. Blog regular Nazreef is running again, this time in the 3.45 at Newbury on Saturday. See previous posts for the rock connection. Next up is No Quarter, which runs in the 6.05 at Thirsk, again on Saturday. No Quarter is the title of an epic track by the mighty Led Zeppelin, from their Houses of the Holy album.
Shredding is running in the 8.00 at Nottingham on Saturday night. Shredding is a guitar technique used a lot in metal. It involves fast finger-tapping, rapid soloing and whammy-bar abuse... lovely. You can't beat a bit of whammy-bar abuse!
My tip of the week, however, runs in the 4.20 at Newbury on Saturday. Uriah Heep, apart from being a Dickens character, is the name of a great classic rock band from the 70s. Still going today, led by original guitarist Mick Box, Heep were one of those bands who were big but never made that step up. Great live band, and they produced some fantastic albums.
That's it, I'll let you know how they get on.
Ta-ra...

It's the big one...

You could be mistaken for thinking there's only one race this weekend, with all the hype surrounding the Grand National. I'll come to that later, but other horse races are available.
My first two selections run on Saturday at Newcastle. First up in the 13.35 is See Emily Play. This is the title of a very early Pink Floyd song, when Syd Barrett was still with them, and before they became hugely huge. Next is Hardrock Diamond, running in the 15.20. I chose this because it's got 'hard rock' in the name, and the 'diamond' refers to Diamond Head, a band from the Black Country, one of the so-called New Wave of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM). They were tipped for huge things, but a combination of bad management, bad luck and poor decisions scuppered that. Widely acknowledged as a huge influence on bands like Metallica and Megadeth, they are still going today with original guitarist Brian Tatler at the helm.
Now, the Grand National. Two tips from this. First up, Midnight Haze. This is a combination of two Jimi Hendrix songs, Midnight Lightning and Purple Haze. If you haven't heard of Jimi Hendrix, shame on you.
My tip of the week, again from the big race, is Deep Purple. You can't go wrong with Deep Purple, one of the best rock bands ever. They wrote Smoke on the Water, for heaven's sake. Now, a lot of people like to look for links and coincidences when trying to pick a horse in the National. So how about this. The race is on 14th April. Deep Purple, the horse, was born on 14th April (see, I do research things properly). Here's the spooky bit - Deep Purple's guitarist, Ritchie Blackmore, was born on 14th April.
Get down the bookies right now!

Not bad for a beginner...

After last week's no show, my tips came up trumps this time. The big one involved both Nazreef and Double Dealer running in the same race. They only came in first and second!!! Now, if you had forecast that result on the Tote Exacta, for a measly £1 stake, you would have collected £56.60. Did I collect that amount? Er.... no. Picking the first two horses in a race, in order? Never happens!
Layla's Hero didn't do anything, but my Tip of the Week, Way Too Hot, came second in its race. So, out of four tips, I had two seconds and a winner, so a pretty good week.
I'll post again later in the week, ahead of the big one at Aintree - the Grand National.
Toodle-pip!

Let's see if I can do any better this week...

OK, first off is the 14.05 at Kempton Park on Saturday. Nazreef is running again - perhaps he was saving himself last week. If not, he's likely to be tired this week! In the same race is Double Dealer. The link here is to the Deep Purple song Lady Double Dealer, from their 1974 album Stormbringer. Deep Purple - one of the greatest rock bands of all time - 'nuff said!
In the 15.20 at Musselburgh, again on Saturday, we have Layla's Hero, a nod to the classic song Layla. Recorded by Derek and the Dominoes, it was, of course, written and performed by Eric Clapton. Written as a love song to George Harrison's wife, Patti, even though they were still married at the time, it is a timeless classic. And it worked, as Patti and George split up later, so he got the woman he loved.
Finally though, I've chosen my Tip of the Week simply because it's a perfect example of the thinking behind this blog. Way Too Hot is running in the 15.45 at Saturday's Kempton Park meeting. The link here is the classic British band UFO. Their bass player is Pete Way, and one of their many excellent songs is called Too Hot To Handle. Can you see what I've done there?
All the best, and I'll report back next week. Ta-ra...

Well, that was a load of rubbish...

Four tips, four complete failures. Ah well, the only way is up from here. I managed to watch a couple of the races on TV. My tip of the week, Heavy Metal, and another tip, Nazreef, both looked strong in their respective races, with Nazreef leading for most of the race. However, in the final couple of furlongs, it soon became apparent that they had already reached their top gear, whereas the other horses had a few more to go through. It's amazing to watch a horse that you know is going forwards appear to be going backwards!
Heavy Metal caused a bit of excitement in the betting, starting at 10/1, then coming in quickly to end up with an SP of 5/1. The Channel 4 presenter reported one punter putting £500 on it - hope he hadn't used my blog to choose it!
The bookies weren't troubled by Thunderstruck or Stevie Thunder either.
However, my wife used my Metal Mayhem Madness Method (MMMM), as I've now called it, to choose a horse in the 2.45 at Meydan, in Dubai. She placed an each way bet on Joshua Tree at 16/1, as it shares the name with an album by U2. It came in 2nd, so she actually won money using my MMMM, whereas I didn't!
Still, it proves that the MMMM works... sort of.

More tips later in the week for the Easter weekend.

Off we go...

This is how it will work. I'll choose two or three horses from the weekend's runners, explaining why they link to rock music. Then I'll choose one of these as my "Tip of the week". Then you back it and see what happens. I'll also link any band names to their websites, so you can explore further.
So, for my first week we have:
Stevie Thunder running in the 3.15 at Doncaster on Saturday. The link? Thunder, a great British rock band, formed in 1989. One of the best live bands I've seen - and I've seen a lot of live bands!
Thunderstruck, running in the 6.05 at the same meeting. Thunderstruck is the title of one of AC/DC's biggest hits - fantastic track, taken from their Razor's Edge album..
Nazreef is running on Saturday in the 3.30 at Kempton Park. This is a bit of a double-whammy, as we have Nazareth, a great Scottish band from the late 60s, and still going strong, and Reef, a band who hit big in the mid 90s.
Now, I've been ummimg and ahhing about starting this blog for a few weeks now. I don't believe in fate or omens or any of that mumbo jumbo. But I couldn't believe it when I saw this.
My first tip of the week runs in the 3.50 at Doncaster on Saturday. It's called... Heavy Metal. You couldn't make it up!
Good luck, and I'll let you know how they got on next week.