It's jubilation galore as Ireland, Portugal and Czechoslovakia justified the confidence placed in them in these playoffs. While the Irish and Czechs had virtually booked their tickets to the finals in the first leg, the Portuguese were left with all to do to overcome the Bosnians and they did not disappoint after another brilliant display from Christiano Ronaldo.
At this moment, it's obviously too early to have any kind of inkling as to how all the qualified teams will fare at Euro 2012. Injuries, team form, suspensions, fatigue etc are bound to be major factors and it will be speculative to have a punt on any one of them now.
In racing, the Cartier awards were held yesterday and I pretty much am agreeable with the outcome in all the categories. Invincible Frankel winning the top honours is stating the obvious. Cirrus des Aigles beating So You Think for the older male category is fine too since he beat the Ballydoyle horse in the Champion Stakes. Danedream's stupendous win in the Arc was voted best filly over Blue Bunting. The manner of her victory was certainly decisive there. Dabirsim was unbeaten in 5 races as a juvenile and won the category deservedly. It will be interesting how he fares next year. Being by young Japanese stallion Hat Trick, there is not much history or guidance as to the route of his development. Fame and Glory was best stayer but you feel he can't be categorized in the same class as Yeats, yet!
The American version of the Cartier, the Eclipse awards, is on the other hand, spurring lots of debate mainly as regards crowning Horse of the Year. Basically there is no clear front runner as a few of the top contenders flopped at the recent Breeders Cup. The debate is sure to rage on until January when the winners will be announced.
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