5th July 2017

Hi ,

I watched a program on the BBC the other night about the life and times of George Best which was extremely interesting and entertaining despite the sad end to Georges life.

It showed you when he first came over to Manchester Utd as a shy teenager and how he progressed through the ranks to become United’s greatest player and that’s saying something when you consider the likes of Charlton, Law, Cantona etc who have played at Old Trafford.

We were shown how Sir Matt Busby rebuilt the side after the tragic plane crash of 1958 to finally winning the European Cup ten years later with Besty the star and at the age of only 22. In a way it was the pinnacle of his career as it was then that the team seemed to age with Busby retiring and it was left to Best to carry the team on his young shoulders which was too much and he sadly turned to the bottle for moral support.

Now it is widely acknowledged that the two best footballers were Pele and Maradona however I believed that Best had more natural skill than either of them. The only modern day player that comes anywhere near is Lionel Messi. You only have to watch current Premier league players when they have a one on one with the goalkeeper as most will try to place the ball between the keepers legs or blast it as hard as possible where if you look at old clips of Best he would delightfully dribble round the keeper and slot the ball into the goal.

This Saturday sees the Coral Eclipse at Sandown in the first group one race where the younger horses take on their elders. It’s a fascinating renewal with the 2nd and 4th in this years Derby in opposition plus Barney Roy and Jack Hobbs for the older brigade.

Cliffs of Moher is the favourite but I believe that Eminent can reverse Derby form with the Derby 2nd as he is an improving big horse who will get better with each run. I also believe this track will play to his strengths especially with Silvestre De Sousa taking over in the saddle.

Eminent did us a big turn as Howies Hottie at 8/1 when winning the Craven and there is every chance he can do it for us again on Saturday and become the first son of Frankel to win a group one race.

EYE-CATCHERS

FLAT

Kentuckyconnection trainer B.Smart - Ran well at Newcastle and seems to be coming back to form.

Top Notch Tonto B.Ellison - Ran down the field in the same race as the above but showed enough to say he can win when he gets his favoured soft ground.

Sea the Lion trainer J.Fahey - Stayed on strongly to win in Ireland and still looks ahead of the handicapper.

Stormy Antarctic trainer E.Walker - 2nd at Windsor and might have needed the run.

Desert God trainer R,Hughes - Ran a nice race on his English debut. This horse was a prolific winner in his home country where they called him the Indian Frankel. He will win races here especially over longer trips.

Back next Wednesday be lucky.

Howard Davis-Shaw.

CLICK HERE For Howard's Betting Opportunity!