Duncan Lillywhite

56 mares have run in the national since 1970, with 9 finishing in the first 5. (Limerick Lace was the only one to start favourite in 2024)

@nickluck Jim collotty rode bindaree in 2002 but wasn’t allowed in 2003?

Jockeys to have declined the mount on a returning Grand National winner... I'll start... Leighton Aspell, 2015, had to ride Many Clouds over previous year's winner Pineau de Re. Turned out ok.

@nickluck Carl Llewelyn chose young hustler rather than part politics , admittedly 3 years before!

@pn_neil_allen One hell of a kick from Schmid if it went out for a throw in to Ipswich!

Well where on earth did that second-half performance come from?! Spirited #Pompey fightback secures priceless point at Norwich. Here are my player ratings. portsmouth.co.uk/sport/football…

@OllieHolt22 At least one Arsenal player bothered to turn up!

Ben White's name booed again when it is read out at Wembley

@davidjohnsonTF @LydiaHislop 7lb allowance helps!

Yes, the mares' race sometimes takes horses away from the Champion, but it's a fact that since the race's inception, more mares are winning the Champion than before it existed. The expanded mares programme is working well.

@MCYeeehaaa @CheltenhamRaces @paddypower @SunRacing @ITV @AtTheRaces Enjoy the placepot !

Wow! What a a Day 1 @CheltenhamRaces 🙏 7 selections: 1-3-1-1-2-2-5 Old Park Star Nap ✅ 15-8 Lulamba 3rd Saratoga ✅ 10-1 Johnnywho ✅ 18-1 Brighterdaysahead 2nd Will the Wise 2nd Iceberg Theory 5th. @paddypower @SunRacing @itv Opening Show @AtTheRaces Unbridled 💣💣💣🏇

@geoffbanksbet Plus epatante

x.com/i/status/20314… Since the time of Quevega, and that infamous argument with Ruby Walsh about her entirely modest campaign, I have absolutely consistently maintained the Mares Hurdle to be either subject to a maximum rating or shelved Now we have seen Honeysuckle, Annie Power, and Lossiemouth win Champion Hurdles by impressive distances Lossiemouth could well have gone back to the Mares this year. A decision only made at the weekend as to her participation It is well overdue for jockey club to end this annual farce

@itvracing x.com/lillywhited/st…

Give us your thoughts on THAT Champion Hurdle 🐎 GO! 👇

Congratulations @lossiemouth on winning the champion hurdle but SURELY it’s time to remove the mares allowance? Annie Power – 2016 Epatante – 2020 Honeysuckle – 2021 & 2022 Golden Ace – 2025 Lossiemouth - 2026

@markbutcher72 Agreed, so why wasn’t he man of a match?

@lillywhited Bumrah’s bowling was literally the difference between the two sides. 🤣

Lots of bat v ball “fair contest” chat around yesterday’s SF. As long as you get a tight game in T20, it matters not whether the most valuable currency is 6s or dot balls. Yesterday, dots (& catches) were king, thus making Bumrah & Axar MVPs. Let’s hope the Final is as much fun!

@danbrown1507 @Ste_Smith81 @markbutcher72 Doesn’t explain why Samson was man of the match and not Bumrah. I’d rather watch a match where all the bowlers are trying to get batsmen out rather than celebrating ‘only going for 10’

@Ste_Smith81 @lillywhited @markbutcher72 Exactly it, this reinforced by the fact the game wasn’t won by the player who scored the most, but by the player who kept leaked the least runs!

@henrymoeranBBC Your right @henrymoeranBBC it is utter nonsense. To coin a phrase, ‘it’s not cricket’. I’d rather watch a rerun of the Ashes or the India test series than this ‘baseball’. What kids will watch that and want to be a bowler? And half the county season will be lost to the’100’ tripe

If you score 247 in a semi-final and still lose, you can probably hold your hands up and say it wasn’t your day. The dropped catch was big, of course, but England gave it a fine go and Bethell was exceptional. 499 runs in 40 overs is frankly outrageous, and well played to India

@TheMiddleStump Agree, nonsense game win or lose, and the ‘100’ is worse

To me cricket is a contest between bat and ball. Watching people swing through the line and hitting sixes over 50 yard boundaries is not the game I love.

@stevebone1 True, BUT had it not been for injuries and suspensions Mousinho wouldn’t have picked them either. Some managers are lucky and solutions fall in their lap

A quick PFC thought ... Pack would have been retired after the title win by some of our less patient fans, Swift would have been moved on in Jan, and the manager would not have still been manager fo the past 13 league games (W6 D4 L3).

@nickluck Is that the ‘News of the World’, ‘Seagram’, ‘Sun’ or ‘Martell’ Grand National @nickluck ?

Imagine winning the Mackeson and Hennessy on the bridle and having 10st 5 in the National

@pn_neil_allen Newport have scored 15 away from home though, POMPEY only 9, the lowest in any league!

#Pompey have fewer goals than Newport County - the Football League’s bottom club. Saturday was no hard-luck story, it was of their own doing. My verdict on the 1-0 loss to Sheffield United. portsmouth.co.uk/sport/football…

@pn_neil_allen When in your in a fight , you need fighters

I agree with this. Looked a completely different player in a more attacking role for #Pompey, which represents a better fit for what he offers.

@MCYeeehaaa Why didn’t they just ‘fiddle’ the ballot ?

Only in British racing could you tell the world you are organising a race for one horse, pump in masses of prize money so others turn up and then have a system where the star name could be banished from running 🙈🏇 Yeeehaaa! thesun.co.uk/sport/38240835…