BANK HOLIDAY MONDAY RACING -- 31st MAY 2021

Should have been a very busy time for horse-racing for me over the past month but as Covid continues to affect many of us I've not been out to enjoy my 52nd Birthday as that would  usually have been at Ascot for their Sagaro Stakes meeting but also missed the Sandown event last week. However another round of Bank Holiday fixtures to enjoy instead, many tracks beginning to open up to a small amount of racegoers. Might have gone out to Windsor, although it's not one of my favourite tracks it is fairly local and sure to be extremely busy. Maybe it is just that I am getting older now but I do recall that Bank Holidays used to be a feast of racing, about ten meetings and now we've only six in UK (plus an evening meeting in Ireland) which is not much different from a regular Saturday? Probably just my imagination or memory playing tricks on me now that I am older ... still a good day to be enjoyed out there.

CARTMEL BANK HOLIDAY FIXTURES ALWAYS POPULAR

National Hunt fixtures;
Cartmel (above) - The long tradition of racing at Cartmel was started by the monks from Cartmel Priory in the 12th Century. The Whit Holiday Races have been a feature of the Racing Calendar since 1856 set against the backdrop of the beautiful Lakeland fells. Their seven race card begins at 13:20 with a mares novice hurdle in which I expect Somewhat Cloudy to be hard to beat, while the feature race on Monday being the Veterans Handicap Chase due off at 15:00 for which we think William of Orange could be the one to follow up his recent win at Southwell.

Huntingdon - The other NH meeting this Bank Holiday afternoon begins at 12:30 unfortunately, due to flood damage, this fixture will not be able to have spectators. An eight race card on offer with their most valuable race is surprisingly to me the 2m Maiden Hurdle contest, the only class 4 event on the card this afternoon, which is off at 13:00 and Astroman might be the one trained by Harry Eustace to foil the pair of Gary Moore runners.

Flat fixtures;
CHELMSFORD CITY (All weather) - The Essex course hosts their Bank Holiday meeting behind closed doors on Monday. "be advised that there will be no admittance to the general public permitted and no tickets available to attend this fixture" it would seem that they won't begin to have attendances for another month yet. First race is at 13:25 with their feature event is the 7f handicap off at 16:15 top weight Shimmering Dawn is expected to go well despite the burden and won here off a 5lb higher mark in February and is one of several course and distance winners.

REDCAR - Probably the feature race meeting of the day with the renewal of the Zetland Gold Cup worth more than £16,000 to the winner, prize money being down during Covid. Racing here gets underway at 13:45 with a 7f selling event that can go to Willing to Please here the Zetland Gold Cup is off at 16:40 very competitive as always and a field of fifteen so I've have a look at both Hartswood and Highwaygrey against the field.

LEICESTER - Racing due to get underway at 13:10 with a fillies handicap for three year olds that can go to Moonlit Night. Their feature race is the Welcomm Communications Handicap another race for three year olds over 6f due off at 15:25 which can go to Twilight Calls only 2lb higher than his latest win at Doncaster for which he was sent off the 1/4f winning comfortably, could be well in here.

WINDSOR - hopefully goes ahead this week as they lost last Monday's meeting due to a waterlogged course. Racing here should commence at 13:35 while their big race of the day goes off at 15:55 and is the 1m 2f handicap. A race now dedicated to the late Barney Curley and should be a win for Faisal with Hollie Doyle riding for trainer John Gosden.

IRELAND;
PUNCHESTOWN - The first of two Irish meeting today is an additional Irish meeting this bank holiday at Punchestown, it's an eight race card and the most valuable race is the 17:30 Mares Novice Hurdle which could go to Lunar Display trained by Joseph O'Brien.

BALLINROBE - The other Irish meeting today is also an evening fixture on the flat beginning at 16:35. They have a couple of nice races but the biggest prize on offer tonight is in the 19:45 Fillies Handicap with Maud Gonne Spirit an each way selection for trainer Jessica Harrington.

Whatever you doing this Bank Holiday I hope it's sunshine and fun for you. 

Enjoy your day and back to work tomorrow. 

🏇 PONTEFRACT HORSE RACING SYSTEM -- 2021 SEASON -- MEETING #4 28th MAY

  

PONTEFRACT SEASON 2021.

Welcome to our fourth meeting of the 2021 season taking place on Friday 28th May. 

1st race 6.00pm.
Going: Soft [Good to soft in places] 

Tickets are now being sold for future events and selling quickly, it will be nice to see a big attendance at courses around the country for the summer.

Under the current ‘roadmap’, the racing here will see (limited) numbers of spectators returning to Pontefract for the evening meeting on Friday 28th May. For as long as social distancing remains in place, however, the ‘normal’ raceday remains some way in the future. With all ‘essential workers’ (BHA and Racecourse officials, stable staff, trainers, jockeys etc) having to undergo health screening before each raceday, and then having to be kept at least 2m away from Owners and (when admitted) other racegoers, these restrictions effectively rule out any use of the Main Stand, and parts of the Second Stand, by the general public. Indeed two of the Dining Rooms in the Main Stand have been transformed into changing areas for jockeys to ensure that they are able to maintain social distance.

The following is a quote from the official Pontefract Racing site 'As soon as restrictions allow, we will open up bookings for ALL enclosures in their usual format. however, this will not be until AFTER the 21st June at the earliest!'

ALL results for these fixtures are recorded to a level stake at Starting Price (SP), and will also show any forecast results too in the daily results but these do not count for the profit / loss figures. Following a winning opening meeting we suffered a small loss in the latest meeting resulting in a deficit of -10.75 points to carry onto this fourth meeting this afternoon.

Going / Weather: The forecast going is now currently reported as 'Soft [Good to soft in places]' while the weather for Friday evening is for a generally cloudy day with some chance of showers but hopefully not too much. We are seeing a forecast maximum temperature around the 18C mark.
Here are our selections for the six races taking place on Friday evening, remember it's a very simple selection process using stalls one and two in every race;

18:00  Welcome Back To Pontefract Handicap

1m 6y  (Class 5  10 runners)
(1) -- CURFEWED  5th @15/2.
(2) -- BUCEPHALUS  WON @3/1.

18:35  OBP Utilities Ltd Novice Stakes

5f 3y  (Class 5  4 runners)

(1) -- SKYRUNNER  WON @30/100f.

(2) -- FOLLOW YOUR HEART  4th @7/2.

19:10  EBF Stallions VW Van Centre (West Yorkshire) Ltd Youngsters Conditions Stakes

6f  (Class 2  7 runners)

(1) -- WAR OF COURAGE  6th @9/1.
(2) -- FREDDY ROBINSON  4th @50/1.

19:45  Constant Security Serving Yorkshire Racecourses Handicap
1m 4f 5y  (Class 5  7 runners)

(1) -- CHAIRMAN POWER  3rd @5/1.
(2) -- CORMIER  WON @4/7f.

20:20  Napoleons Casino Bradford Fillies' Handicap

1m 2f 5y  (Class 5  5 runners)

(1) -- DOUBLE REFLECTION  5th @9/2.
(2) -- MAXINE  WON @1/1f.

20:50  Constant Security Services Handicap

5f 3y  (Class 4  6 runners)

(1) -- BOSSIPOP  WON @7/2.

(2) -- CASE KEY  6th @28/1.

Staked -- 12 points.

Returns -- 13.37 points.
Having started the 2021 season afresh, we begun reasonably well and with a full season on the track we look forward to a successful year, alas the opening few fixtures will be behind closed doors. After the opening three meetings we are sadly -10.75 points behind coming into this fourth fixture, the results for today will be updated during the evening. A winner in all bar one race tonight but shortish prices meant that we only able to generate a small profit of the evening, but we are still behind to the tune of -9.38 points.

The fifth fixture here will be another evening meeting with an attendance (hopefully) to be held on Monday 7th June so we do hope you will follow the action throughout the season.

SANDOWN PARK BRIGADIER GERARD MEETING -- THURSDAY 27th MAY (Evening)

The best quality evening race meeting of the season takes place at Sandown Park on Thursday 27th May. This meeting features two Group Three races on it's six race card, the Henry II Stakes run over 2m, and The Brigadier Gerard Stakes which is run over a distance of 1m 2f. When you throw in a couple of decent listed contests too it is a wonderful evening card and it was hoped that ITV would repeat their coverage on TV which they successfully trialled when this meeting was last held here back in 2019, yet sadly it appears the cameras are not here which is disappointing for all fans of quality horse racing action.
This is usually a meeting that I would have attended each year as it falls close to my older brother's birthday, and while there are some crowds back I am skipping this year and will follow things from home. 

A link to the evening race card can be found here; LINK

Going and Weather

The official going is described as Soft (Heavy in places).

Hopefully the weather is good, the on course bars are well stocked and the customers can enjoy a cracking night, I'll be back there sometime soon too. 

Now here are this evenings races and my selections for tonight; 

5.45pm Play Coral 'racing-super-series' For Free Handicap
1 mile 2 furlongs  [Class 5  12 runners].
We open with a middle distance handicap headed by BAD COMPANY who is the one to beat on latest form winner of four races towards the end of last year and returned in a slightly higher grade when runner up to HMS President at Windsor, should go very well today and acts well on soft going. Support for Noble Masquerade would be interesting as another who will act on the soft ground, but will side with BORN TO PLEASE together with the likely fav here against the field in a low key opening event.
Winner - (2) Sweet Reward @10/1 [Rob Hornby].

6:15pm    Coral National Stakes (Listed Race)
(2yo only) 5 furlongs  [Class 1  8 runners].
The first of the quality races, a 5f sprint down the middle of the course for 2yo's and all eight runners have at least one win already so this will be a test. CHIPOTLE won the season opening Brocklesby Stakes at Doncaster and then followed that up by winning a good trial at Ascot beating The Gatekeeper in the process, looks the one to beat on form available. NAVELLO won by 6L at Chester last time to complete a hat-trick of wins and the yard is doing really well so far with it's 2yo's. Support for any of the field is significant though I'd look at the filly CHOUX as the pick of the pair from David Evans' yard.
Winner - (3) Ebro River @4/1 [James Doyle].

6:50pm    Coral Henry II Stakes (Group 3) 
2 mile 50 yards  [Class 1  5 runners].
The first of our two Group Three's tonight, the stayers event will see just the five runners take on the two mile trip, a previous winner of the Ascot Sagaro stakes NAYEF ROAD will appreciate this contest without Stradivarius in the line up, and should make a good staying test despite the small field. OCEAN WIND was runner up in this years renewal at Ascot and another to appreciate the soft ground here should be between the pair of them. Of the three remaining horses RANCH HAND has continued to progress for the step up in trip but will need to improve again to reach the level of the front pair, Rainbow Dreamer and Lismore make up the field tonight.
Winner - (5) Lismore @14/1 [JP Spencer].

7:25pm    THE BRIGADIER GERARD STAKES (Group 3)
1 miles 2 furlongs  [Class 1  4 runners].
The feature race of the evening and is being dedicated to the late Joe Mercer who was of course the regular jockey of Brigadier Gerard. SANGARIUS is the top rated here and drops down a level having been runner up in a Chester Group 2 last time, Sir Michael Stoute's 5yo should be popular here and Ryan Moore on board, doesn't have much to beat as long as the small field doesn't make this too tactical. EXTRA ELUSIVE should be better for his recent third place here in the Gordon Richards stakes and is likely to give our other selection the most to think about, not a two horse race at all FOX TAL has tried G3 company last year and needs to find more but is in good hands and big owners so not discounted completely while the field is completed by Euchen Glen and Oriental Mystique (Non runner).
Winner - (1) Euchen Glen @20/1 [P Mulrennan].

8:00pm    Coral Whitsun Cup Handicap
1 mile  [Class 3  10 runners].
A pair of handicaps to end the meeting with, both over a mile, and we first of all look at EPIC ENDEAVOUR here if fit to go first time up this season should be good enough having won on the soft going when last seen, capable of seeing off the challenge from the likes of RANSOM who will need to switch from the all weather to soft ground but clearly in good order with the step up to the mile trip surely in his favour too.

At bigger prices History Writer has been highly tried and this represents a step back in grade, and fallen to a mark of 93 now could be interesting each way.

Winner - (2) Dashing Roger @5/1 [Marco Ghiani].

8:30pm    Coral 'supporting Prostate Cancer' Handicap 
1 mile  [Class 4  11 runners].
A winner here last week URBAN VIOLET reappears under a penalty and should still be one to side with for Mick Channon's team, won by over eight lengths so no surprise if she follows up once more. Also of interest in the finale is FINAL WATCH who won last time out at Newmarket too and with Hollie Doyle booked sure to remain popular. Roger Charlton does well with his runners here and Encourage runs in the famous colours of  HM The Queen and at 12/1 another for the win/place players is stepping back in trip back to the mile which should help and certainly looks a place bet for us.

Winner - (11) Coul Kat @9/1 [B A Curtis].

Have a fun evening and Happy Birthday to my big brother Graham, we will have to do this next year!

HOME NATIONS ANNOUNCE EURO 2020 SQUADS

With the delayed 2020 European Championships fast approaching, countries are starting to announce their squads for the tournament.  As well as causing a 12-month delay to the event, the impact of Covid-19 means nations are able to select 26 players as opposed to the usual 23. We'll update with the Home Nations confirmed squads as the tournament draws ever nearer (albeit just the 12 months late of course).
ENGLAND

Gareth Southgate will name his final 26-man squad on Tuesday 1st June. England face Croatia (13/6 14:00 BST), Scotland (18/6 20:00) and the Czech Republic (22/6 20:00) in Group D with all those games at Wembley.  Before then, they will play two friendlies at Middlesbrough's Riverside Stadium - against Austria on 2nd June and Romania on 6th June.

Goalkeepers: Dean Henderson (Man Utd), Sam Johnstone (West Brom), Jordon Pickford (Everton)

Defenders: John Stones (Man City), Luke Shaw (Man Utd), Harry Maguire (Man Utd), Ben White (Brighton), Kyle Walker (Man City), Tyrone Mings (Aston Villa), Reece James (Chelsea), Conor Coady (Wolves), Ben Chilwell (Chelsea), Kieran Trippier (Atletico Madrid)

Midfielders: Mason Mount (Chelsea), Declan Rice (West Ham), Jordan Henderson (Liverpool), Jude Bellingham (Borussia Dortmund), Kalvin Phillips (Leeds)

Forwards: Harry Kane (Tottenham), Marcus Rashford (Man Utd), Raheem Sterling (Man City), Dominic Calvert-Lewin (Everton), Phil Foden (Man City), Jack Grealish (Aston Villa), Jadon Sancho (Borussia Dortmund), Bukayo Saka (Arsenal)

Captain - Harry Kane.
Manager - Gareth Southgate.

SCOTLAND

Goalkeepers: David Marshall (Derby), Craig Gordon (Hearts), Jon McLaughlin (Rangers).

Defenders: Liam Cooper (Leeds), Declan Gallagher (Motherwell), Grant Hanley (Norwich), Jack Hendry (Celtic), Scott McKenna (Nottingham Forest), Stephen O'Donnell (Motherwell), Nathan Patterson (Rangers), Andy Robertson (Liverpool), Greg Taylor (Celtic), Kieran Tierney (Arsenal).

Midfielders: Stuart Armstrong (Southampton), Ryan Christie, Callum McGregor, David Turnbull (all Celtic), John Fleck (Sheffield United), John McGinn (Aston Villa), Billy Gilmour (Chelsea), Scott McTominay (Manchester United).

Forwards: Ryan Fraser (Newcastle), James Forrest (Celtic), Kevin Nisbet (Hibernian), Che Adams (Southampton), Lyndon Dykes (QPR).

Captain - Andy Robertson.

Manager - Steve Clarke.

WALES

Goalkeepers: Wayne Hennessey (Crystal Palace), Danny Ward (Leicester City), Adam Davies (Stoke City).

Defenders: Chris Gunter (Charlton Athletic), Ben Davies (Tottenham Hotspur), Connor Roberts (Swansea City), Ethan Ampadu (Chelsea), Chris Mepham (AFC Bournemouth), Joe Rodon (Tottenham Hotspur), James Lawrence (St Pauli), Neco Williams (Liverpool), Rhys Norrington-Davies (Sheffield United), Ben Cabango (Swansea City).

Midfielders: Aaron Ramsey (Juventus), Joe Allen (Stoke City), Jonny Williams (Cardiff City, Harry Wilson (Liverpool), Daniel James (Manchester United), David Brooks (AFC Bournemouth), Joe Morrell (Luton Town), Matt Smith (Manchester City), Dylan Levitt (Manchester United), Rubin Colwill (Cardiff City).

Forwards: Gareth Bale (Real Madrid), Kieffer Moore (Cardiff City), Tyler Roberts (Leeds United).

Captain - Gareth Bale.
Caretaker Manager - Robert Page 

(standing in for Ryan Giggs).

The tournament gets underway on Friday 11th June with the opening match in Rome between Turkey vs Italy. 

KEMPTON PARK HORSE RACING 2021 - MEETING #13 WEDNESDAY 19th MAY + RACEGOERS ARE BACK!

Welcome to Kempton Park racecourse a season of evening meetings following the events on a Wednesday night on the all weather flat track under the lights. We will be blogging throughout 2021 till the end of the year. Started well this season pleasantly still ahead as we pass the middle of May. Bit of a lull elsewhere for me, AFC Wimbledon ended their season the other week, surviving another season in League One, while the Epsom Derby / Oaks will be held in a couple of weeks time. NFL Fixtures due out too shortly while the 2021 London games have also been confirmed for the Tottenham Stadium, also Wembley will have welcomed about 20,000 fans from Chelsea and Leicester City for the FA Cup final. Congratulations to Leicester on their 1-0 victory which should be dedicated to the late owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha.

Returning to the horse racing all results here are reported to 1pt at Starting Prices (SP) we will be keeping a rolling record of profit/loss all the way through from January till the Boxing Day 'King George' fixture in December. A successful opening first quarter in 2021 means we arrive here with a +32.055 profit and will continue to keep a record to SP throughout the season.

Throughout the year we will keep up with our occasional lay opportunities of anticipated short priced favourites too. Naturally we will keep these results separately from the handicap figures we had been fairly successful with our selections throughout last year managed to get plenty of favourites beat so we finished on 33/49 (67.34%). We reset the counters for 2021 and will be continuing this throughout the year again. Currently standing at 12/17 (70%) after the latest meeting and we shall see how things progress during the year ahead. 

This week will be our thirteenth Wednesday evening meeting of the year and gladly this week we begin to see the return to spectators on the racecourse not just the few owners. Tonight's meeting we shall now be expecting a seven race card with five handicaps for us to review. Our action will now commence at 17:25 with a one mile apprentice handicap event, then we should end the card around about 20:35 with our final handicap event over just under twelve furlongs. 

Here's a link to this Wednesday's race card; RACECARD

Going and Weather -- The going on the polytrack surface is described as 'standard to slow' and the current weather forecast for this Wednesday is for a somewhat wet afternoon and early evening with regular showers in the forecast but a higher temperature of around 17C tonight - hopefully the showers will not put off the spectators that will be returning here for the first time tonight.

Here are our handicap selections for tonight;

17:25  Unibet Casino Deposit 10 Get 40 Bonus Apprentice Handicap (3yo)
1m  [Class 5  10 runners]

The declarations are now in and we've still five handicaps to review, beginning with this one for 3yo's and all apprentice jockey's. The field of ten is headed by Natural Value (Jonny Peate) has had only three all weather runs as a 2yo and might need this race on his debut as a 3yo. Sir Mark Todd has started his training career well with his small yard and has L'OPERATEUR [6th 4/1] here, had a recent run at Windsor where he was runner up and now returns to the all weather surface. Will also have an interest in IVYNATOR [7th 10/3] (C Fellows) a winner last year at Newcastle and now has the talented Saffie Osborne in the saddle who I think will be one to follow.

18:00  Unibet Extra Place Offers Every Day Handicap

1m  [Class 4  11 runners]

Another mile contest for older horses, plenty of experience and previous winners amongst them but my eye is drawn to BONNEVAL [2nd 10/3] (J Fanshawe) only raced three times, won his second contest last year at Ripon and returned this year with a place effort here and could well come on for that run. Also at the bottom end of the handicap tonight we've BORN TO FINISH [7th 50/1] (C Poulton) who will have the assistance of Hollie Doyle. Won back to back all weather events in January including around this track, showing that even as an 8yo there's plenty of talent still on show.

19:35  Try Our New Price Boosts At Unibet Handicap

1m 3f 219y  [Class 3  7 runners]

Just the seven now for this next handicap, better grade and all have a chance, GREAT ESTEEM [4th 11/1] heads them and is rarely out of the equation now dropped a little by the handicapper could go well under Hollie Doyle, then we have KEPALA [6th 18/1] who is fairly lightly raced, but will enjoy the trip and although it's her seasonal debut might be a bit of value against the field. Repeat of her short head second place at Newbury would certainly make her interesting.

20:05  racingtv.com Handicap

7f  [Class 4  14 runners]

The seven furlong event headed by Stone Circle (M Bell) this is a significant step down in class been competing in class 2 events and winning at Ascot too, first try on the all weather though so we will have to pass today and try the pair of lightly raced TOMOUH [7th 13/2] (S bin Suroor) along with PAXOS [2nd 9/4] (E Walker) against the field. In a fairly open event will also have a look at Don't Tell Claire [8th 40/1] as a place bet, she ran well up until the most recent effort which seemed too bad to be true, certainly if the odds allow it worth another chance to confirm the promise shown earlier in the year with wins at Sandown Park and Newcastle, although a six month absence to overcome. 

20:35  racingtv.com Handicap

1m 3f 219y  [Class 6  13 runners]

The finale is for fillies and has attracted a field of fourteen, (now lost one as a non runner, so thirteen) HAMMY END [4th 5/1] has had plenty of chances, and although regularly placed isn't one to have a huge punt on for the win, BUT we are going with him in this grade, with Tom Marquand in the saddle might be able to find some magic replacing apprentices. Also of interest is BUG BOY [3rd 17/2] who stepped from from a third place here, runner up at Southwell then winning at Bath two weeks ago, has a 7lb claimer on too which really brings his mark down and could go in again over a trip that suits perfectly.

Staked -- 10 points.       Returns -- 0 points.
Results will appear here later during Wednesday evening. All results are accurate and recorded to SP returns to a 1pt win stake only and updated each meeting. Our winning start to 2021 continues and these first few months have proved to be successful our overall profit stands at +32.055 pts after meeting #12. We will update tonight's meeting #13 during the course of this evening, so far a frustrating evening too many seconds and thirds so no winner tonight, losing -10 points off our pot which now falls to +22.055 pts. 

Lays -- 12/17 We had a good season last year again with the lays, aiming at favourites and not afraid to take on short odds on shots too. The plan will be for at least one or two each meeting and we will keep those results separate from the handicaps. Another short price selection beaten out of sight tonight so we move up to 13/18.

Tonight's Lays;

18:35 - Smart Start [7f Novice Stakes]. LOST 10th 11/10f

The next midweek floodlit meeting here will be held on Wednesday 2nd June so keep well and hopefully we can have a successful 2021.

EMIRATES FA CUP FINAL 2021 - LEICESTER CITY vs CHELSEA [SATURDAY 15th MAY 2021]

LEICESTER CITY

1 - 0    [Tielemans 63']

CHELSEA

Kick Off 5:15pm Live on BBC1

The greatest domestic cup competition in the world finally reaches it's conclusion for this season and should have the BBC's full attention today across the national network as they build up to the big show. It's not quite the treatment from the BBC that it used to be in the past, no episodes of Cup Final Mastermind, or the like this weekend and of course the kick off is 5:15pm and not 3pm where it traditionally should be but never mind. At least we will have a reasonable attendance with 20,000 due in for this match and soon we hope that fans will be back across other sports too.

This season is the 140th FA Cup Final and we've got ourselves a top four battle as Chelsea seek to win the cup having been beaten in last years final by Arsenal. This time they face a dangerous outfit in Leicester City while Thomas Tuchel's side also have an eye on the European Cup (Champions League) against Manchester City, and it was City they beat in the semi final 1-0 to reach this final. While Leicester City overcame Southampton by the same 1-0 score. Following the traditional coin toss, Chelsea’s outfield players will wear blue shirts, blue shorts and white socks, while their goalkeeper will be in all grey, and Leicester City’s outfield players will wear all maroon, with their goalkeeper in all green.

If you can remember when there was life before the Premier League and the FA Cup was THE final game of the season it used to go on all day, Mastermind, Question of Sport, watching the team coaches head to the old stadium, the twin towers and hoards of fans walking down 'Wembley Way' from the station I don't think the teams even think about having a FA Cup final song anymore (remember Chas and Dave with Ossie's Dream anyone). Chelsea still sing that "blue is colour" song from the 70s which is still better than that awful 'one man went to mow...' of course this season without the fans has been far from normal and having this Cup Final played in May while there are still Premier League games on is just one of the annoyances never mind any talk of a 'Super League'.
12pm Football Focus
We start our FA Cup Final Saturday with Football Focus, Dan Walker presents the weekly magazine programme ahead of the FA Cup final between Leicester City and Chelsea he will be joined at Wembley by Alex Scott and Dion Dublin there's a few supporting programs to follow after the news but hopefully they can fill the hour with interviews from the managers who will be looking to lift their first trophy as a manager of their respective English sides.

1:45pm FA Cup Rewind
Classic moments from the FA Cup; this year’s showpiece is a mouth watering contest between eight-time winners Chelsea and Leicester, who will attempt to lift this trophy for the first time in their 137-year history. Chelsea boast an impressive FA Cup pedigree, with eight final appearances this century, while head coach Thomas Tuchel will hope to win a fourth domestic cup of his career (former Manager/Coach of Borussia Dortmund and Paris Saint-Germain). Leicester have reached the prestigious showpiece for the first time since 1969 and will attempt to end a run of four FA Cup final defeats with head coach Brendan Rodgers who himself had plenty of success north of the border with Celtic.

2:45pm Match of Their Day

Featuring seven-time FA Cup winner Ashley Cole, who relives some of the best cup finals he played in with Arsenal and Chelsea. [* surely this would have been more apt for last season's final but I don't create the BBC schedule].

3:25pm The FA Cup Road to Wembley

A look back at the biggest stories from this season’s FA Cup ahead of the final between Chelsea and Leicester at Wembley on Saturday. From minnows Marine of the eighth tier taking on eight-time winners Tottenham to Cheltenham nearly shocking the mighty Manchester City, the world-famous cup competition never disappoints.

4:15pm 2021 FA Cup Final
Gary Lineker hosts live coverage of the 139th FA Cup final at Wembley, where he should be joined by regular guest pundits Ian Wright and Alan Shearer. Back the 'under 1 minute' market for the time it takes someone to mention that Shearer has never won the FA Cup.

• Leicester have reached their 5th FA Cup final, their first since 1969 when they lost 1-0 to Manchester City.
  
• Chelsea have reached their 15th FA Cup final, having lost 2-1 to Arsenal in last season's competition.

Alan Shearer and Ian Wright provide expert analysis and then we are almost ready to end the build up as the teams come out about 5pm for the traditional ceremonies and we will be treated to the traditional Cup Final anthem 'Abide With Me' kick-off is scheduled for 5:15pm.

The line ups will be confirmed during the course of the afternoon's program, we've just left them as per the semi final games initially and will update when team sheets are known; 

LEICESTER CITY Team News;

Schmeichel (c) (Gk)

Castagne    🟨Forfana    Evans    Söyüncü

Ndidi    ⚽Tielemans    Thomas

Pérez    Vardy    Iheanacho

Subs - Ward (Gk),  Maddison,  Albrighton,  Amartey,  Ricardo Pereira,  Choudhury,  Mendy,  Praet,  Morgan

CHELSEA Team News;

Arrizabalaga (Gk)

Azpilicueta (c)    Silva    Rüdiger 

James    Jorginho    Alonso    Kante

🟨Werner    Giroud    Mount

Subs -- Mendy (Gk),  Pulisic,  Zouma,  Giroud,  Hudson-Odoi,  Chilwell,  Gilmour,  Havertz,  Emerson

Match Officials

Our match referee for today's showpiece final have been confirmed and it's the turn of Michael Oliver to lead out a team including assistant referees Stuart Burt and Simon Bennett, fourth official Paul Tierney and reserve assistant referee Dan Cook. Of course we will also have VAR with Chris Kavanagh and Sian Massey-Ellis will be in the video operation room as video assistant referee [VAR] and assistant VAR respectively.

My best bets are for a high scoring game, so back the over 3.5 goals market [@9/4]. Also think a penalty awarded is a good bet [@5/2] as well. Jamie Vardy to score anytime [@5/4] and the pair of Fofana (Yes) / Kanté to be booked [both @3/1].

Latest Odds (from William Hill)

LEICESTER CITY @3/1  /  Draw - @5/2  /  CHELSEA @10/11

AFC WIMBLEDON CONFIRM SQUAD LIST FOR 2021-22 SEASON

AFC Wimbledon's Head Coach Mark Robinson has spoken about the importance of keeping the majority of last season’s squad after he announced the retained list for 2021/22. After guiding The Dons to League One safety with an impressive sequence of results during the final few months of the season, he is determined to push the club forward. Our Head Coach has started that process by announcing players under contract, those leaving the club, and providing an insight into his plans for developing young talent. 

“We want young and hungry players with a point to prove,” said Robbo. “Those players must work hard to be the best that they can be, so that we can progress as the season goes on, but we also need an element of experience in there. I think we’ve got that if you look at the players we’ve retained. We are in discussions with some of our current players about new contracts."

So what will happen with top striker Joe Pigott?
“We’ve made an offer to Joe and I am confident he’s been impressed by what we want to build. If it’s a case of Joe continuing to play League One football then I believe he will stay. I think there’s a big part of him that wants to stay and take us forward as a club, but if offers come in from Championship clubs it understandably may be a different thought process for him.” Alas Joe has confirmed he will be leaving the club, at least giving us plenty of time to find a replacement and will be interested to see which club he signs for and whether it's a Championship one or a League One rival?

Below is the full list of retained players under contract;

Goalkeepers
 Nik Tzanev
 Matthew Cox

Defenders
 Dan Csoka
 Will Nightingale
 Cheye Alexander
 Jack Madelin
 Nesta Guinness-Walker
 Ben Heneghan
 Jack Currie
 Paul Kalambayi
 Huseyin Biler
 Paul Osew

Midfielders
 Elliott Bolton
 Alex Woodyard
 Anthony Hartigan
 Ethan Chislett
 Jack Rudoni
 Ayoub Assal

Forwards
 Ollie Palmer
 Corie Andrews
 Zach Robinson

The club have confirmed that the following three players are leaving;

 Luke O’Neill [defender]
 Callum Reilly [midfield]
 Shane McLoughlin [midfield]
 Joe Pigott [forward]

The following loan players are returning to their parent clubs;

 Sam Walker  [Reading]
 Darnell Johnson  [Leicester City]
 George Dobson  [Sunderland]
 Ryan Longman  [Brighton]
 Jaakko Oksanen  [Brentford]

In addition, Robbo added that further talks are planned with Shayon Harrison about his future and David Fisher has been offered a chance to re-sign for us. After showing rich promise during his Dons academy days, young forward David enjoyed a prolific spell at Hampton & Richmond Borough last season and Robbo believes he has a bright future at Wimbledon. The recruitment committee has also pinpointed several targets to join the squad if players do not take up their new offers, as well as targets to further strengthen the squad. Robbo has also made presentations to Premier League clubs with regards to potential loans.

So I hope we will be able to recruit 2-3 players, certainly if Joe Pigott moves on but if he stays that's a great deal for the club. A few loan's would also help to fill the squad up. It's early days of course but do seem a bit light in midfield and maybe a goalkeeper will be in considered although I've been pleased that Nik Tzanev has been given a run of games and will only improve for that experience. Haven't seen any news on Terell Thomas (our sponsored player from last couple season's) and Ayoub Assal who stepped up from our development squad towards the end of last season and I do hope we can retain him as he seemed to play well without fear and we want to see more of that next season. 
UPDATE - Ayoub has signed till 2024! Good news for the club. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zo2xtkd2Ek