Aggressive?

Aggressive? Moi?says Jasper.Moi?says Sam.

“Aggressive coxing” said the horde of BBC pundits was the key factor as CAMBRIDGE won their fifth women’s Boat Race in a row. Oxford had won the toss and chose the southern Surrey station, the usual choice. The strategy is to hold steady on the small bend round Craven Cottage before taking advantage of a much bigger bend. Cambridge set off much faster and crossed over. Intriguing that both coxes in the women’s race were men for that testosterone fuelled moment when the leading boat moves over is often the key moment of the race.

Were Cambridge too close before the cross? The umpire may have thought so as he shrieked and waved his white flag like the supply teacher faced with 9Z on a Friday afternoon. Did Jasper cox too aggressively? The Oxford cox put in his querulous protest at the end. It was aggressive coxing agreed the umpire but not enough to earn Cambridge the first disqualification since 1849.

Jasper shrugged.”I didn’t hit anybody, did I?”

Later on in the afternoon, Oxford’s men won their first race since 2017 with much less controversy but the vast majority of quizzers who predicted the Cambridge women’s triumph went home happy. Wonder what the 2022 stats were for drunks rescued from the river. In 2019 it was an incredible 88.

Quiz Tip never tires of telling its spellbound readers that a SEVEN YEAR OLD could never win the National; too inexperienced, not yet at their steeplechasing prime. And owners seemed to agree with only two seven year olds in the field(fifteen 10 year olds, eleven 9 year olds).One, Noble Yeats, had a string of 0s and Ps behind him and was being ridden by an amateur, Sam Waley-Cohen, No ordinary amateur this; Sam had ridden a Gold Cup winner, two King Georges and several Aintree winners with matchmaking for Will and Kate also on his CV. To spice up the fairytale element, Sam had announced this would be his last ride. Noble Yates at 50/1 crossed the last fence alongside the hot favourite but there was only one winner in the last 300 yards. Every fairytale needs a twist in the tail. The stewards thought that Sam had been too aggressive in his use of the whip. More gloom too for English stables; Sam’s horse like the next two home had been trained in Ireland.

There was a trial run for another fairy tale at the Masters as Tiger returned from life threatening injuries. One under par in the first round,Tiger makes the cut. Surely not??And the answer was NOT as the strain of walking Augusta Hills finally told. Next episode at St Andrews this July.

Fairy tales in sport abound. The winner Scottie Scheffler had not won any tournament in 70 attempts before this year. Finally he made the grade in Phoenix, which opened the floodgates for his Masters win was his fourth in six tournaments, virtually unheard of in pro golf. His winning margin was THREE shots and this despite four putting the last.(I feel very sorry for quizzers who had chosen 4 or 5.)For one moment, Scottie would have been no match for seven year old granddaughter Ruby who has discovered the delights of mini golf this holiday.

Three tricky questions? Not for the Famous Five of Roo Daley, Paul Firth, George Fleet, David Huish and David Irvine who nailed the lot. At the head of the table, gnarled old veteran Nick Bunclark finally knocked the novices off top spot. Pleased to report that everyone is finally off the mark wirh Rains matriarch Lou the proud contender for the Atlas Trophy.