England could make history this summer by winning seven successive Test matches at home, but just how good are they? England could make history this summer by winning seven successive Test matches at home, but just how good are they? John Emburey (former England off-spinner, now coach of Middlesex): They are obviously good because they are beating what is put in front of them. The good news is that there will be quite a lot of wind as the remnants of the low-pressure weather system that was Hurricane Alex sweep across the United Kingdom. The bad news is that the Bermuda shorts and Hawaiian shirts will soon be replaced by oilskins and welly boots.. He found just enough time, however, to enjoy being told that his boat had won the first major trophy of the week, the Queen's Cup.Every local Michael Fish or Sian Lloyd is warning that today will be altogether different. All of the entries, and the latest count was 980, bent to the business of hoisting sails and besting the opposition.None more effectively than a youth team on the 52-foot Chernikeeff 2.
They had been lent the boat at the last minute by Peter Harrison, whose mind is principally engaged on finding a £20m partner to continue his America's Cup campaign. Success! The problem seemed to be that you could not send the fleets very far, so the courses had to be short, and then what had earlier looked so lacking in promise suddenly turned into a perfect racing breeze. The central Solent is a notorious stretch of water which acts as something of a buffer zone. So, as so often happens, there was a light breeze in the west, down towards the Needles, and a light breeze in the east, towards Portsmouth - and precious little in between.Eventually, the brass cannon lined up in front of the Royal Yacht Squadron roared out the warning that an attempt at starting some races was imminent. The weather, which was perfect for beach balls and ice creams, was reluctant to support the opening day of Skandia Cowes Week. All dressed up and nowhere to go, nearly 7,000 competitors in almost 1,000 yachts were left drifting around in the central Solent yesterday. She's in good order, though." Last year's winner, One Cool Cat, is now better-known for his defeats than his victories.
The colt who was expected to be a Ballydoyle flagbearer this term has one last chance to redeem himself as he drops in class and distance in the six-furlong Phoenix Stakes.. "Meeting colts is a huge challenge," said Wachman, "but if she is beaten we can always go back to running against fillies. Three from Ballydoyle - Oratorio, Carnegie Hall and Russian Blue - are among her six rivals.With her regular rider, Jamie Spencer, on Russian Blue, Damson will be partnered by Kieren Fallon. At Deauville, July Cup heroine Frizzante leads a powerful British challenge for the seaside meeting's sprint feature, the Prix Maurice de Gheest, one of nine cross-channel raiders in a field of 19.The Queen Mary Stakes winner Damson, the best of her age and perhaps of either sex, faces colts for the first time in the year's first juvenile top-level contest, the Phoenix Stakes at the Curragh. The daughter of Entrepreneur, unbeaten in three outings, carries the familiar dark- blue colours of Coolmore boss John Magnier but is trained by his son-in-law, David Wachman, rather than Aidan O'Brien. One of the motifs of the season has been girl power, in the shape of a series of top-class fillies, and this afternoon two of them step out against the boys. More than 22,000 came though the gates, happily sizzled in the sun and enjoyed the day for what it was.So, the bread (the purses totalled more than £310,000) and a circus was yesterday; today is for the purists, with Group One contests in France and Ireland, featuring the sport's own sugababes.