Xmas Handicap

At the Club Christmas Handicap on Saturday, victory went to Sandy McNeil, but the real triumph lay with the Handicappers (Charlie & Dave) who engineered the race to give the most exciting possible finish. With the first 4 finishing within a 5-second window and the next 9 within a minute, only Isabel and Margaret taking times at the finish had cause to complain!

Twenty souls turned out to compete in fine, if-a-little-windy conditions, with Sandy just edging out Liz at the finish (funny how Liz managed to get a good handicap, eh Charlie?) Close behind was pre-race favourite Steffen who managed to pip Helen at the line, the latter showing her continuing improvement in form which has catapulted her to the top of the Winter League. Further back, John D ran the fastest time of the day, whilst there was an entertaining bit of needle going on between Gibson and his son Rod. Gibson was the faster overall of the two, although Rod managed to keep ahead of his Dad (just) at the finish. Elsewhere, there were good runs by Donald and Maureen, and real howlers by Muffy and Gavin. Gavin started off well, but by the hill was really struggling; so shamed was he with his performance that at the end he toddled off quickly with the excuse that he had a Hamilton Accies football match to attend!! There were also rare appearances by Keith, Jim Hall and Honourable Life Member Al Campbell who managed to complete the trail without any signs of injury( however that was more likely to occur during the cycle home).

In the Women’s League, Helen’s lead is extended and much will depend on the next couple of races; however, the league is still wide open and any one of the top half dozen could still win. Gibson has extended his lead in the Men’s League. Mathematically, by just turning up at the remaining four races, he would be unbeatable, but as he has indicated that he won’t be at the Nigel Barge, the one-time unassailable Mark McColl is still in with a chance, as is Archie, who has closed the gap with Mark to just one point.