Macca

So true JD ... we are competitive beasts at heart aren't we? However, I do think that France will prevail even though I would prefer Belgium to win - so head rules the heart there. But ... I want Croatia to win even though I reckon England will probably win ... so heart wins over the head there. My ideal final would be Belgium vs Croatia but I doubt we'll see it.

The race itself has gained a fair bit of interest ... and we may get a glimpse of a few future stars. Certainly racenet.com have the race featured - Experience the key for Outback Warrior at Sandown ... anyway, good luck with the bookies DZ! In other news the grey flash is back in the news. Fingers crossed that the horse gets back on track out of the barriers ... Friday jumpout for Chautauqua And here's the field for the Darley July Cup to be run on Saturday (featuring Redkirk Warrior) ... I reckon I've just about figured out their rating system over there - and a very good system it is too. They've still got Redkirk Warrior (10-1) rated on top and I've a feeling the horse will run well at Newmarket. Main dangers being 'Blue Point (3-1), Brando (14-1), Sands of Mail (8-1) & Invincible Army (25-1)

'Outback Warrior' looks like one the main threats to El-Mag but there are a lot of lightly raced 3yo's in the race so you're right DZ, the race is a lottery. I'll do a 2-4-6 trifecta though ... the dividend is highly likely to be quite healthy so it's worth a small wager. There's a few decent races at Grafton midweek as well - The Ramornie Hcp Sprint ($160k) on Wednesday and the Grafton Cup ($160k) on Thursday ... some quite familiar horses running around in both races.

A few short articles from racenet.com that are worth a read ... Nature Strip wins but Everest question lingers Royal Ascot winner (Benbatl) accepts Cox Plate invite Sunlight delighting Tony McEvoy and may return to racing early (July 28)

Leaderboard in the comp 14 @Dee Zephyr 11 @John Demonic 9 @Macca 3 points for each winner of the semi-finals whilst the final carries 5 points for the correct winner. My tips for the semi-finals - winners in dark italics ... France vs Belgium Croatia vs England

The Tour de France started last night and for the first week all the stages are flat and mostly suitable for the sprinters ... but the 2nd week sees the riders venture into the Alps whilst in the 3rd week we're in the Pyrenees. In fact, from stage 10 (Tuesday July 17), 8 of the 10 stages involves 19 Category 1 climbs & 6 Category 2 climbs .. it's relentless. I'll post up some stage profiles when we get closer to the mountain stages. There is only 1 individual time-trial and that isn't flat either - and that time-trial isn't being held until the penultimate stage (Stage 20) The team time-trial will be held tomorrow night (Stage 3) Official Site CyclingNews.com Tour Tracker And here's a profile of stage 12 ... Robbie McEwan has put this stage in amongst his top 5 for relevant importance ...

A few replays of the Group 1's raced overnight - The Coral-Eclipse Stakes, The Belmont Derby & The Belmont Oaks ...

Craig Williams rides 6 winners - what an amazing feat. Anyone know what the record books tell us about such a performance? Should win the jockey premiership now you'd reckon.

Ha ha! ... it's whatever works hey DZ My favourite way of landing a trifecta is when I identify a long shot that should ordinarily get into the finish if the odds on the horse are ignored. And when those long shots win the actual race, even better (as long as I land the trifecta of course) 'Cliffs Of Moher' is one such horse in the (UK) Coral-Eclipse Stakes 2000m Group 1 $1.3Million that is run later tonight. It is giving away a bit of weight to the 3Y0's but it's a decent racehorse.

The good thing about our treble is that we can win big with a very small outlay ... the price of a cup of coffee was returning $650 if successful. It's tough trying to find a winner at this time of year but well done on your good start DZ ... I got the trifecta in the 2nd at Randwick but with only a moderate return - needed the 3rd placegetter at odds to win. Still, a win is a win.

Miles of Krishan never threatened And Craig Williams has ridden the first 3 winners

Lively opening in the Uruguay/France game - stars on show. The winner goes on to play Brazil or Belgium. A daunting prospect.

Been there and done that but loved every minute of it DZ. Parenting has it's own rewards and is one of life's great learning lessons. Being a great parent means great relationships with your children later on when they become adults. As for the Winter Championships Final ... 7 or 8 realistic chances? Chamois Road never runs a bad race whilst Ozi Choice, Morton's Fork, Magic Consol, Moss 'n' Dale, Silentz, Cool Chap & Lite 'n' In My Veins all have claims ... and I reckon Dan Zephyr ran against a lot of the runners too!

El Magnificence in its last 2 starts has effectively run 57.1 for the 1000m & 1:03.6 for the 1100m so we know the horse has got some toe. It's just racing against some handy types and a probable future Group 1 performer. I reckon the horse can get into the placings given a good run in the good going. I got on at $127 (boosted) for our treble too ... sooner or later we will snag it Wadda and this week we've got some value runners. Here's hoping. Sleep could be on the backburner as well DZ? 2 hours here, 3 hours there ... I'll be exhausted Monday morning just in time for a full week at work! Anyway, another decent race is the Winter Championship Final (Flem Race 8 ) ... a couple of scratchings means that Lite 'n' My Veins gets a berth. A good field assembled with any number of familiar names. I'll be having a trifecta in the race - 'Cool Chap' is all the rage with the pundits but $10 is still available. Overs?

Best bet .. Flemington Race 3 No.2 Miles of Krishan $3.90 In terrific form in a small field and at Flemington, that suits the horse well. Trained by the Hayes clan and has gone down in the weights for this race. Gator from the 'Get On' crew likes its chances as well.

The quarter finals haven't lost that much even with the absence of Spain, Germany, Argentina, Italy & The Netherlands. Seeing different teams in there is quite refreshing. It's going to be a busy weekend sport wise what with the Demons playing Saturday night, the horses on Sat arvo and the 4 quarter finals of the World cup as well as Wimbledon getting into full gear and all the rest of it. Plus, the Tour de France kicks off. Bliss. When too much sport is never enough!

Leaderboard in the comp 6 @Dee Zephyr 5 @John Demonic 5 @Macca 2 points up for grabs for each winner in the next round (the quarter finals) My tips - winners in dark italics ... Uruguay vs France Brazil vs Belgium Russia vs Croatia Sweden vs England

Well El Magnificence is going into my F4 to add some value DZ ... 1-5-5-5 Multi F4 with Nature Strip winning (it is hard to see the horse losing) I often do the same type of combo when Winx races - with mixed results of course. There's a few good betting races on the weekend especially at Flemington and I'll try my luck there as well as the big Group 1 race at Sandown Park (UK) ... and a listed race for 3YO's over in WA has appeal. Here's a sample for the weekend ... Flemington A.R. Creswick Stakes 1200m Listed $120k Flemngton Vic Sprint Series Final 1200m Listed $150k Belmont (WA) Aquanita Stakes 2000m Listed $100k (UK) Coral-Eclipse Stakes 2000m Group 1 $1.3Million

What odds Nature Strip with that field DZ? I had the race down as a trifecta race but will probably do a F4 instead with Nature Strip as the winner. I will of course be including El Magificence in that F4.

At this rate good old 'Perty' might be having 2nd thoughts! ? Not sure if you've got access to the game over there in the land of the rising sun but we've stunk it up today Col. We'll need a major turnaround to win this game.

And I am looking at things dispassionately as well. By the way, whilst many here questioned the PJ appointment, I never did. And Pert could end up being a step up from PJ too ... in sport; there's always someone better. Unless you're Floyd Mayweather ?

Why are you so convinced that Pert has lessons to learn? You make it look like he mucked up in a major way. What major poor decisions did he make? Minor ones don't count or matter. No one is perfect. There's a time to be pessimistic or optimistic. Right now I believe I'm looking at this appointment as a realist would. Zero MFCSS involved ? Right up there with the Jason Taylor appointment ... also from Collingwood.

It wouldn't have mattered who was the CEO at Collingwood ... the ego's involved were always going to lead to finger pointing. The changover from Malthouse to Buckley was always going to cause fall-out and whilst Eddie knows how to manouevor his way around these things , Pert became a casualty of sorts. You don't suddenly become a poor CEO after spending so much time being a successful one ... and if you and others recall Col, the same questions surrounded Jackson when he was first appointed at our club. That turned out alright.

Irish Derby from overnight ... The odds on favourite (Saxon Warrior) was always a good chance to not win especially after finishing 4th in the Epsom Derby so the $850 trifecta was there for the taking. Apparently 'Latrobe' is owned by Lloyd Williams and I wonder whether he might bring the horse down to Australia for the cups?

Highlights and the goals from last night's games ...