Simply Gorgeous made an eye-catching debut over six furlongs at Redcar only nine days ago and, if fully recovered, should be good enough to land an eight-runner Maiden Fillies’ Stakes over an extra distance on Newcastle tapeta tonight; I’m always keen to side with two-year-olds trained by Richard ‘winning machine’ Fahey and his Malton yard is definitely now firing following an uncharacteristic fallow spell in mid-summer.
Strangely and ironically this column wasn’t producing the goods in July, a month I prefer to forget.
‘The harder you work, the luckier you become’ was my obvious motivation and last month proved absolutely wonderful; it included a 300/1 trixie/daily patent and tremendous profit, my main objective at all times.
Racing is tough but ultimately immensely satisfying when reward of dedication surfaces; this season has been extremely ubiquitous with weather influencing nature to a colossal degree. Blue-tits were almost extinct in Spring as reported on Springwatch but are back now, with a vengeance as my feed bill confirms!
So many put it down to ‘climate change’ and I’d be foolish to dismiss the prognostications of Sir David Attenborough and future monarch, Prince Charles, but I’m able to pinpoint freak conditions in 1975/76 when it was almost too hot and a few years earlier when racing was set aside for several weeks during winter of 1963 due to desperately cold weather. Incidentally that was a year I’ll never forget!
The first day of the flat season began, as usual, at Lincoln and I was there, having travelled by bus from Leicester; it signalled my passion for the ‘Sport of Kings’ among a massive crowd and a determination to be involved, the rest is history and I’m still fascinated.
Today is the beginning of ‘race week’ in Doncaster where, on Saturday, the culmination will be our fifth and final classic of the season, the St Leger Stakes, over about fifteen furlongs of the famous South Yorkshire track which just about spans the full circuit of Town Moor.
Will Epsom Derby third Hurricane Lane stay and reverse placings with runner-up Mojo Star? that is the ‘64000 question’ but in the meantime I’m looking forward to a ‘Gorgeous’ time-handicap outcome at the best and fairest all-weather track on this planet, one of my absolute favourites for serious punting.
Another question, will it pay to engage with consistent hitherto extremely unlucky Spiritofthenorth in a desperately weak-looking eight-runner Median Auction Maiden Stakes over six furlongs?
With stable jockey Kevin Stott replacing Tom Eaves aboard Kevin Ryan’s charge, racing for the fifteenth time(!), the answer is obvious ‘Sprit’ will be the second leg of an each-way double.
Stott is outstanding, a former computer champion!
Selections, Perth, 1.45 Brief Ambition; Newcastle, 6.25 Simply Gorgeous; 7.25 Spiritofthenorth (e.w).
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