‘A ‘daay’ to ‘Remember’ it certainly was when our ‘headline’ horse romped home unchallenged at Lingfield to kick off this week in grand style and later Tom Marquand took Windsor by storm with a devastating hat-trick in an hour locals will never forget; his rides on all-the-way winners Sea Sylph and Devil’s Club brought back wonderful memories of a bygone age!
Several years ago I spotted Marquand as a unique talent and stated ‘this lad is the best since Pat Eddery…!’
I’ve been proved right and these latest triumphs were so poignant given the late, great eleven-times champion jockey was an absolute wizard around the picturesque Thames-side venue with judgement of pace which rivalled anything Lester Piggott or other ‘greats’ achieved on the unique ‘figure-of-eight’ circuit.
William Haggas must have been similarly impressed, he ‘grabbed’ Tom as stable jockey last year and the Newmarket trainer, a great admirer of Eddery, was doubtless ‘out of his chair’ cheering home Sea Sylph, a superbly-bred Sea The Stars filly which became embroiled in a titanic struggle with Godolphin-owned Long Tradition down the long straight.
Marquand and Eoin Walsh gave no quarter in a titanic battle and only a length separated them when the weight-for-age disadvantage finally took its toll on the latter’s mount in the very last strides; Sir Gordon Richards would have been proud of the ride!
We move on, to another Metropolitan venue, Kempton, where the obligatory ‘Wednesday-nighter’ includes a ‘special’, Moshaawer, in the Novice Stakes over eleven furlongs of ‘standard to slow’ polytrack; on his only outing, over a mile of ‘soft’ Newbury 229 days ago, this Frankel colt finished three-quarters of a length behind Scope and Mojo Star, second last Saturday, in the Epsom Derby!
‘All the world (and his wife!)’, as they say, is bound to have noticed this oustanding form and trainer Roger Varian will, hopefully, instruct Shadwell contract jockey Jim Crowley to be positive; on my time-handicap selection. Moshaawer has at least 7lbs in hand and is massively-fancied.
Earlier both recent ‘beaten favourites’, Mellow Magic and Moliwood, will be on retrieving missions in a six-runner Novices Stakes over a mile of ‘good to firm (watered)’ Haydock but neither can be fancied on the TH which has Brian Meehan-trained Shadwell debut winner Mandoob clear ‘best-in.’
William Buick rides, none better!
Meehan could be in better form.
On ‘good’ Yarmouth ground what beats twice-raced Newmarket second, Danni California, in a sixteen-runner Maiden Fillies’ Stakes over seven furlongs will win; don’t oppose!
Selections, Haydock, 1.25 Mandoob (e.w); Yarmouth, 4.05 Danni California (e.w); Kempton, 6.00 Moshaawer.
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