Easy peasy

Sometimes I have to think about the connections between horses and rock music. This week, it's a no-brainer.
Kempton Park. 2.15. Saturday. Uriah Heep.
Uriah Heep are a band that I've followed since the mid 70s. Wonderful band. I went to see them a couple of weeks ago, and they were fantastic.
Nuff said.

This is what we want...

When I started this blog, I emphasised the tenuous nature of the way I chose my tips. This week is no exception. My tip runs in Saturday's 3.15 at Newbury, and is called Knight in Purple. One of my favourite bands of all time is Deep Purple, and their biggest hit, and still a great live staple, is Black Night. So Knight in Purple works brilliantly, even though it's Knight, not Night. Can you see what I've done there?
As always, best of luck!

Rock and Real Ale

One of my other passions, apart from rock music, is real ale. So it's nice to report that a couple of races at today's Chepstow meeting are sponsored by Bath Ales, brewers of superb beers.
My tip runs in one of these, the 2.45. Presence Felt reminds me of one of Led Zeppelin's albums, Presence. Released in 1976, it is a tremendous album, with the cover causing a lot of speculation, as it featured images of everyday life, but in each photo was a "presence" - a black, obelisk shape, that no one knew what it was (apart from the designers, Storm Thorgerson and Hipgnosis, presumably... or maybe not)..
Not the best album cover in the world, but a bloody good album.

Trying to beat those winter blues...

Well, you never know - one day, one of my tips will come good.
My choice this week runs in tomorrow's meeting at Ascot, in the 2.40. The Rainbow Hunter has a dual connection with two, now defunct, bands. Rainbow were a superb band, existing between 1975 and the mid 1980s. Formed by former Deep Purple maestro Ritchie Blackmore, they went from bombastic hard rock to commercial success, all the time underpinned by Blackmore's wonderful guitar playing.
The Hunter was a song performed by Free, a fantastic short-lived band. The singer, Paul Rodgers, along with drummer Simon Kirke, went on to form Bad Company. Sadly, their troubled guitarist, Paul Kossoff, died in 1976.

Let's try again

Last week's tip, Thunder Sheik, was a non-runner, but it's going tomorrow in the opener at Wetherby, so we'll give it another chance.
My other tip also runs at Wetherby, in the 2.45. Sammys Gone reminds me of Sammy Hagar. A brilliant guitarist and singer, he was part of the classic Montrose, fronted Van Halen for a time and now fronts Chickenfoot. In between, he has produced some fantastic solo stuff. All round, a true rock legend.

New Year - here we go!

I know it's been a long time but here we go. This week, assuming it goes ahead, my selection runs in the last race at Cheltenham on Saturday (4.10). Thunder Sheik. I saw this horse run at Warwick a couple of weeks ago, and it came 2nd after a very good run. This time, it'll be an outsider, but you never know. You know it makes no sense at all. However, Thunder, as I've said many times, are one of the best British rock bands around. Although they have officially split up, they still reform occasionally, presumably when they need some cash!

Just one this week...

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