In early November, 38 CCL members gathered at the Bluebird restaurant, Chelsea, for our AGM and Sam Vestey memorial dinner, the biggest turnout we have had for this event.

It was the first time we had been to the King’s Road venue but it will not be the last. The food, wines and service were excellent, providing a step up in style and comfort from previous meetings.

Before dinner, there were three main items of business:
*CCL finances (in good shape)
*CCL website (soon to be launched)
*CCL racing syndicates (a work in progress)

Our guest speaker was Mike Cattermole, one of British horse racing’s most distinguished broadcasters. He was on top form, bringing the house down with tales of what can go wrong on live television.

In keeping with tradition, Jim “the Croc” McGrath provided us with his phantom call for the next day’s Melbourne Cup. As usual, it was a masterpiece of artifice, though this year he failed to pick the winner.

All in all, the event was a terrific way to wind up a successful year