SONNING businessman Max McNeill was left fuming as his eagerly-awaited trip to Royal Ascot last Thursday turned into a nightmare.

One of the best horses he part owns, Aweedram, had been entered into the Britannia Stakes which offered nearly £75,000 to the winner.

All the preliminaries went well with McNeill, along with family and friends, looking on from a packed parade ring.

But when he got out onto the course the Alan King-trained three-year-old got rid of jockey Andrea Atzeni and galloped loose to the mile start by himself.

Atzeni expected to get a lift to the stalls, but was stopped when it was announced the horse, at 14/1, had been withdrawn by the Ascot stewards.

It was a decision which angered McNeill, who told the Racing Post: "As an owner, you build up for this race for weeks.

"If we want to try to encourage owners into this sport we need to try a bit harder.

"I'm not like some big owners as I'm never going to have a runner here with such a good chance on Ladies' Day again. I think racing needs to wake up. It really mattered and they've (stewards) upset a lot of people."

READING City's Rivermoor Stadium won the best ground category at the Football in Bracknell awards, getting the nod ahead of Bedfont Sports, Ascot United and Windsor.

It was a decision which probably raised a few eyebrows, but organiser Tom Canning explained the judges had looked specifically at the improvements the club had made with the playing surface, used by City and Woodley United, still looking impressive at the end of a long season.

Reading City also won the best website and social media category, where Woodley United made the short-list.

NOT Reading's biggest story of the week, but certainly worth a mention is the sad news of the Curzon Club team pulling out of the Reading Cribbage League.

Player Dick Pedder, 84, explained: "Four male members are in the mid-eighties and a couple of us in poor health, so we have decided to call it a day."