jolono's blog

Less than a week to go till Froch / Groves 2. I was there in Manchester for the first one and I’ll be at Wembley on Saturday for the re-match. To say I’m looking forward to it would be a massive under-statement! The hype is beginning to build. Every night this week there will a “behind the scenes” programme on Sky helping to increase the tension. Sky expect this to be their biggest pay per view boxing event EVER. It seems cheap to me at £17. I...

Something wonderful happens today. At thirty minutes past one this afternoon, a massive spine - tingling roar will be heard throughout the country. Yep, it's the start of the Cheltenham Festival. Now I can hear some of you thinking, it’s just horse racing, it’s just another meeting, what’s so important? In the next few hundred words, I will do my best to explain. Whatever sport you follow, there are always the big events. In Athletics you have...

So much for putting him away for a few months! That was the plan but the stable is in great form so we decided to give him a run out today at Ludlow. Where is Ludlow? I hear you ask. Well, imagine the end of the world and then a bit farther than that! It's in Shropshire and close to Wales. From London the train takes over 3 hours and then theres a short cab ride. To be honest for a race that lasts a few minutes its not worth it. Even though I...

We were concerned about the ground. If we'd had a frost then the ground would have been too hard. But its been mild and a nice drop of recent rain has made the ground soft and just what we want for Rio. Because of his last win he's up in class and up against some good Novice Chasers. But, we know he jumps well and the distance is no problem for him. We're hoping to get either Richard Johnson who rode him last time or Tony McCoy. You can't get...

Okay, where to start? Let’s begin at the end. After the fight. Sometimes to get an idea of how good a fight was you have to look at the faces of the boxers. Froch’s top lip was so badly swollen that he had trouble speaking. His nose was busted and his right eye bruised. His left eye was irritating him. It was puffy, red and angry. It was obvious he could hardly see out of it. He had a bump and a bruise on his forehead that looked as though he’d...

I'm off to Manchester tomorrow to see the fight. Its the biggest grudge match since Benn v Eubanks all those years ago. These two are not playing up to the cameras, they really do loathe each other! On paper Froch wins. Easy, he's the most experienced and has fought the best there is at his weight. But, Groves has the con fidence of an unbeaten fighter. He really thinks he's indestructible. I'll give a full report on Monday. Its on Sky pay per...

He's back! After two runs over in France we've brought him back to the UK for a 4yr old Novice Chase at Warwick tomorrow. It's been 278 days since we raced him in the UK. Not only that but we've been able to book Tony McCoy ( Champion Jockey) for the ride. Only seven runners and there are two extemely good prospects in the race. One from the Paul Nicholls stable and one from Charlie Longsdon. The other three horses have never been over the big...

For those of us who are horse racing fans, the first Sunday in October is a day we all wait for. Today’s the day! At Longchamp in Paris the best 3 year old plus Horses in the world come together to race in the “Prix de I’Arc de Triomphe”. This year, five French, four Irish, one British, one German, two Japanese, one Brazilian, one American and a few others, meet to find out who is the best horse in the world over a mile and a half. The best flat...

Well he's back out again tomorrow in Auteuil France. Not such a stretch this time. Eurostar to Paris then a cab ride. It a big race. Lots of prize money. Got to give it to the French they do put up some fantastic money for young Chasers. Rio is still only four and perhaps we have expected too much from him. He still needs to get experience and thats why we're running him in France where there are plenty of four year old novice chase races. In...

I’d never heard of Ken Norton until I saw him fight Henry Clark in 1972. He knocked Clark out in the ninth round. He looked like a film star. He was an ex-marine with rugged good looks, droopy moustache and a physique that wouldn’t have looked out of place in a Mister Universe contest. No wonder they called him “The Black Hercules.” Four months later he was fighting Muhammad Ali for the North American Boxing Federation ( NABF) Heavyweight title...