THE famous blue and white halves of Blackburn Rovers could soon be heading for glory in another sporting field - the world of National Hunt racing! Old Money, an ex-Irish gelding owned by a small syndicate of regulars in Uncle Jack's pub-restaurant in Lower Darwen, has been "knocking on the door" this season after a disappointing start and the group are confident the horse will win a hurdle race before the end of the season.

Says landlord Jimmy Hughes, former head lad with Bolton wizard Willie Carr: "We've had a couple of thirds and now we think the horse is reaching something like his old form. It's just a case of being patient."

Old Money was bought from Ireland where it had good form a few seasons back. But the horse missed the whole of last season with floating bones in a hind leg. And this season the horse fell and was then pulled up. There have been a couple of poor races since but a 50-1 third at Bangor and a good third, running on well, at 33-1 in a long-distance race at Ludlow a few days ago have hinted at better things to come.

The horse, trained by Chris Broad, goes to Nottingham next Tuesday and then is being aimed at a good race at Haydock at the end of February.

Jimmy explained: "All the syndicate are Rovers' fans and we were lucky to be able to register blue and white halves as our racing colours. We all have our fingers crossed for the rest of the season."

It will be quite a night at Uncle Jack's when the horse does manage to get his head in front. Jimmy has spent a small fortune in renovating the former Swan pub and he is expecting his new-look restaurant to really take off.

He has a new chef, the experienced Sean Mitchell, and he is planning theme nights offering Indian, Chinese and other exotic dishes.

Says Mr Hughes: "We'll be able to offer just about anything from around the world. It's going to be a great night when Old Money finally does the trick."

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