Victoria Grove is a confident call to make it third time lucky in the nine-runner Fillies’ Novice Stakes over a mile of ‘good to soft’ Thirsk, one of my absolute ‘favourite’ North Yorkshire racecourses which represented tremendous ambiance when attending more than two-hundred and fifty meetings annually..
They were wonderful times, driving lovely cars on open rural roads which were nothing like as clogged as they became from 1980 onwards, a time when TV televised racing was introduced with Racing Channel, in ’85.
Racetrack reporting exclusively became so different when everyone could see the ‘telly’ action in local betting shops but I’d enjoyed a marvellous run working venues for the new defunct Sporting Chronicle and Sporting Life; I’ve never been offered work for Racing Post!
Travelling caught up with my mind and body, a more relaxed life-style was the perfect tonic; my ownership days blossomed, Southwell’s new all-weather course became a ‘second home’ and a unique relationship with the excellent Grantham-based veteran trainer, Norma Macauley, led to both of us enjoying the incredible ’90’s and Elton Ledger, winner of eighteen races!
In life when one door closes another opens and more hours spent studying, researching, with a view to utilising my time-handicap, result of hand-clocking, began to pay off; readers of this column enjoyed a bonanza period and confidence reached a zenith with so many newspapers throughout the world benefitting from a dedicated racing service. So satisfying.
Nowadays it’s the supreme situation, getting up ‘early doors’ and scrutinising racecards in a quiet environment before watching racing on massive screens, seeing everything unfold, due to excellent camera coverage, and picking winners on a tremendously consistent basis; 38-year-old, extremely experienced Hayley Turner rides Victoria Grove, none better.
‘Daily Earner’ is definitely better than ever, hopefully she will ‘drop in’ behind from a wide draw and pounce down the long straight aboard the Henry Spiller-trained Siyouni filly, which improved considerably, despite finishing eighth in a group three race over seven furlongs of the Newmarket July course three weeks ago.
Hamilton also stages a seven-race card which includes an attempt by Thunder Legend to retrieve recent Beverley losses in the Maiden Stakes over an extended mile of a ‘good’ surface; don’t oppose because Hugo Palmer’s charge, on a round trip of several hundred miles from HQ, represents a ‘special!’
The next two months are superb for betting purposes and this column is ‘penned’ with one thing in mind, profit!
Selections, Thirsk, 1.30 Victoria Grove (e.w);Ffos Las, 1.55 Out From Under (e.w); Hamilton, 5.10 Thunder Legend.
Jeffrey Ross, horse-racing correspondent for WMN since 1983 when winning the most prestigious racing journalist award, Sporting Life Naps Table, before winning it a record number of six times collectively in the Racing Post, the current ‘trade’ paper, including 2019