The Steeple Times asks Olympian swimmer Amini Fonua: “What’s on your mantelpiece?”   The Steeple Times shares “wit and wisdom”. What’s your guiding force? “Don’t judge, be open-minded and approach everything you do with love” – You can never go wrong.   “Don’t get even, get medieval” is, in our humble opinion, a great motto. What’s yours? “Never underestimate the power of forgiveness”.  

The sale of a Purdey gun engraved with a portrait of Baroness Thatcher   Margaret Thatcher had many devoted followers and fans in her time as Prime Minister. Coal miners, in general, were not amongst them but some like Jimi Heselden OBE (1948 – 2010) used their redundancy payouts to make vast fortunes.  

The Steeple Times asks Welsh National winning racehorse trainer Michael Scudamore: “What’s on your mantelpiece?”   The Steeple Times shares “wit and wisdom”. What’s your guiding force? Grandad Scu, a tough man when he was riding and an absolute gentleman. He is the person that dad, Tom and I look up to the most.   “Don’t get even, get medieval” is, in our humble opinion, a great motto. What’s yours? “Keep a leg either side and his head off the floor” – Michael Scudamore Snr.

Three out of four for our man, The Tout   The first day of Cheltenham has been kind to our mysterious friend, The Tout.   His predictions of Hurricane Fly to win the Champion Hurdle, Quevega in the David Nicholson Mares’ Hurdle and Simonsig in the Racing Post Arkle Challenge Trophy Chase all paid off and no doubt a few of you will be celebrating tonight.   Be sure to check The Tout’s tips for tomorrow. His form will hopefully be just as good.   The Tout’s tips for the week: http://thesteepletimes.com/today/the-theatre-of-dreams-and-the-home-to-real-men-and-horses   For more information on the Cheltenham Festival 2013, go to: http://www.cheltenham-festival.co.uk

The Tout’s tips for the Cheltenham Festival 2013   Finally, after a long and harsh winter we have arrived at the greatest show on earth for National Hunt fans. The Tout feels his blood pressure rise and a keen sense of anticipation as this week looms and now that it is upon us we are about to be presented with four of the greatest days of sport imaginable.  

A dream toy for any Le Mans fan   The 106-minute long 1971 film Le Mans starring Steve McQueen is rightly considered one of the classic motoring films.   Now, fans can play out their own version of it in their own homes by purchasing a replica fibreglass Porsche 917 that has been converted into a 1:32 scale, wooden slot car racetrack complete with 12 limited edition slot cars.     At 13½ foot long, 7½ foot wide and 3 foot tall, this is an indulgence that will require a fair amount of space but one that could make a great centerpiece in any the games room of any bachelor pad.   The raceway itself features realistic landscaping, period signage…

The tragic story of Oscar Pistorius and the death of Reeva Steenkamp   Oscar Pistorius was a man many rightly came to admire. He achieved the unthinkable on the track and was, as his father, Henke, pointed out “a man strong beyond his years”. In an advert for Nike, he himself is quoted as saying:   “I was born without bones below the knee. I only stand 5ft 2. But this is the body I have been given. This is my weapon. How I conquer. How I wage my war. This is how I have broken the world record 49 times. How I became the fastest thing on legs. This is my weapon. This is how I fight”.    …

The Steeple Times backs Frankie Dettori to win Celebrity Big Brother 2013   Though Frankie Dettori split from Sheikh Mohammed and Godolphin in October and was banned from racing for six months in December 2012, he began his comeback last night by entering the Celebrity Big Brother house.  

Get set for a Boxing Day extravaganza at Kempton Park   Kempton Park is the closest racecourse to London at Sunbury upon Thames and with the weather the way it has been please take note of its proximity to London’s main drain. The track is not necessarily as known for testing underfoot conditions as its close neighbour Sandown but please beware all the same as after the past two weeks weather the track will be very testing and we will need to find a horse that is able to cope with the heavy ground.   It is an oft quoted phrase in racing that a good horse will go on any ground but when the going is as testing as…

The Tout gives his take on this weekend’s racing at Newbury   Winter has officially arrived and traditionally The Hennessy is the first of the major National Hunt events for the purists who love this sport. Sadly the race is a handicap and generally The Tout despises a contest such as this because those greedy bookies already have the upper hand. Without some inside information, we are playing with fire here but there are two prospects at both short and long prices.   The Tout recommends the longer priced horse for a small wager but if you really must have a go at a favourite, Tidal Bay is an obvious choice at 4/1 for the in form Nicholls yard but…

The ultimate souvenir of the 2012 Olympics?   On Friday 27th July, a boat sped up the Thames that was watched by an estimated 900 million people across the globe. That craft, a Bladerunner BR RIB 35, was piloted by David Beckham and also carried Bladerunner’s managing director Jeremy Watts and the Olympic torch.   The boat’s journey under Tower Bridge was accompanied by a crescendo of pyrotechnics and complete with gadgets that numbered four smoke emitting dummy rockets, a high pressure waterjet bar and dozens of LED lights, it formed a significant part of the Danny Boyle orchestrated display that opened the London 2012 Olympic Games.   Now, the very same “heavily customised” boat is available for sale and…

The Tout says a fond farewell to Frankel   It must have taken some restraint from Sir Henry Cecil, the trainer of many of the greatest horses of the last 40 years, to wait until after Frankel’s last race on Saturday to state: “Frankel is the best I have trained, the best I have seen and the best horse ever.” Frankel was simply incredible in his final race and gave the huge crowd a real reason to be glad, proud and happy to be at Ascot for his swansong performance.   In hardcore racing terms, Frankel is officially rated by The Jockey Club handicapper as the highest rated of all time but for the memory it was the sheer style…

Richard Hughes achieves a “Magnificent Seven”   On the 28th September 1996, Frankie Dettori, at odds of 20,095-1 rode seven winners on seven horses in the seven races of the day at Ascot. His achievement cost the betting industry some £40 million and became known as the “Magnificent Seven.” Dettori even named his Chelsea restaurant, Sette, after it. One punter, a plumber from Morecambe named Darren Yates won £550,000 on a stake of £67.58 and forever more this will be recalled as a moment in racing history.   Yesterday, another jockey, Richard Hughes, at odds of 10,168-1, rode seven winners in eight races at Windsor.   Of his success, Hughes, who has ridden 161 winners this season, commented:   “I’m…

The Tout’s predictions for the 2012 Ryder Cup   We never miss an opportunity to pat ourselves on the back here and our last foray into golf tipping resulted in Ernie Els winning The Open at the rewarding odds of 40/1. We are not going to be offered such generous terms by our good friends the bookies on The Ryder Cup in Chicago but The Tout does see a chance for the punter to come out on top and pull the bookmakers trousers down in great style.   With this renewal being stateside, the US team are favourites at around 8/11 as outright winners and they deserve this position at the head of the market but the Europeans are in…

Former Emmerdale bad boy Lyndon Ogbourne updates readers of The Steeple Times on his cycle expedition for Once Upon a Smile   Part One: I begin this section of my travel journal, sat Bear Gryls style, next to a campfire I’ve successfully made, cooking a fish I’ve caught (with much difficulty) that I plan to serve with some bread from a boulangerie about 110km from where I’ve set up camp.   I’m exhausted but exhilarated. The journey I set out on 5 days ago has taken me through some of the most beautiful but challenging sections of country I’ve ever experienced. I’m a novice cyclist but with the help of the Cadence Performance Centre I trained for the distances I…

Actor Lyndon Ogbourne introduces his latest charitable endeavour   Inspired by the excitement of the success of Bradley Wiggins in the Tour de France and spurred on by the 2012 Olympic buzz, I set myself the challenge at the beginning of June to start training for a cycling expedition of well over 600 miles travelling from Bordeaux to Nice. It’s not quite the Tour de France but as a cycling novice, this journey feels like it will be a long, long trip.   I’ve always been a keen sportsman and have successfully tackled the London Marathon. I felt like a broken man for a fortnight afterwards. I’ve also completed the London Triathlon and nearly drowned in the Thames, but after…

An internet sensation involving the anatomy of an Olympic rower   When some athletes win an Olympic gold medal, they cry. Others raise a cheery smile. Henrik Rummel, instead, got rather overexcited and let something in his lycra express his feeling for what he’d just achieved.   For this very reason, here we display The Steeple Times picture of the week.

The Tout’s predictions for the US PGA Championship   One of the world’s most beautiful golf courses hosts one of the top four competitions of the year this weekend at Kiawah Island in South Carolina on The Eastern Seaboard. Notorious for it’s tendency to swirling winds, which assimilates to some of our links courses, and there is also plenty of sand and long grass to punish any wild driving.   It was interesting at our Open Championship that Tiger chose not to pull out his driver and instead relied on his long irons. Despite this he was always in the van and it is more likely at Kiawah, a course he knows well, that he will reach for the big…

The Tout’s tips for The King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes   The second most prestigious race for three year olds and upwards is run at Ascot on Saturday and it is known as The King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes over a mile and a half. It sounds harsh to say that it is the secondary race as this is a very high class field containing multiple Group One winners, a Melbourne Cup winner and the winner of last year’s Prix de L’Arc de Triomphe which is the premier race over a mile and a half run at Longchamps in Paris in October.   Two weeks, ago we selected Nathaniel for The Eclipse and were fortunate to…

The Tout’s tips for The Open Golf at Royal Lytham and St Annes   In this column there is no room for self congratulatory style comments, vanity or hindsight as there is surely a bad run around the corner but following on from our triumph in The Eclipse we went on to nominate Mayson in The July Cup at Newmarket who duly obliged at the terrifying price of 25/1. Later this week I will analyse The King George at Ascot on Saturday but for the moment we are going to try to find the winner of The Open Golf at Royal Lytham and St Annes.   Big golf competitions such as this and The Masters are almost impossible as players…