If you agree with me that it's much more fun reading about a punter's losing day, then for once on this blog you best stop reading now (oh how lovely it was to write that sentence). Normal service will of course be resumed soon but Fontwell yesterday was almost as good as it gets.
My new theory with the Placepot - multiple 10p perms leaving out the obvious favourites - gave me a run for my money but met its demise in the 5th with Keppel Isle and Distant Sound failing to make the frame.
By then it did not matter though. The sun was out and the going had that mysterious term 'good' in the title. All set therefore for Fontwell specialist Venetian Lad. It was his weather, his going and his time of year. I'd watched him labour in the mud all winter, but had been convinced by the determination he had showed in coming second last time that once the sun was out he would do the business.
The only problem was getting the bet on. The queue for the face painting was lengthy,
giving a clue to the make up of the crowd. I'd spotted 9/1 available with one bookie on the end in the ring but 2 women (yes it's always women I'm afraid) were wanting 50p eachway bets on De Blacksmith (because one of them had a granddad who once was a smithy apparently) and couldn't understand why such a bet cost a £1. Inevitably by the time they had finished the 9's had been wiped off (electronically these days) and I had to settle for 8/1 with the 'best odds guaranteed' man. I normally avoid Goodwin Racing because of their annoying catch phrase 'you'll get it' (said in a sing-song voice), but with only 20 seconds to the off there was no choice.
Marc Goldstein, Venetian Lad's jockey, was pushing away for most of the last circuit but to my eye the horse seemed to be responding. Admittedly doubts were creeping in between the second and last fence, as Venetian Lad was still in third place, but as the Racing Post reported he 'stayed on gamely to lead final 100 yards.'
Going to winners enclosure to see one you've backed come in is always a good feeling. It was great to see Mrs Richards, Venetian Lad's trainer, give a Judy Murray style fist pump as she greeted her winner. I loved her comment afterwards in the post race interview to the race day announcer, Lee Mackenzie, that "he (Venetian Lad) likes it here because he can get back quickly for his tea."
Incidentally it struck me again just how good Mackenzie is on the loudspeaker at Fontwell. He might use the same product on his suspiciously black hair as Ronnie Wood, but he is knowledgeable, amusing and most importantly does not drone on as if 'he loves the sound of his own voice' as some others do - Plumpton please note.
Venetian Lad was the big one, but with victories for Colin Tizzard's Sartorial Elegance (presumably named after someone with dress sense like mine) and a promising third at 20/1 for Nick Gifford's The Mighty Don in the bumper it was the best day since the start of this blog.
With that new punting confidence I headed down to Ladbrokes this morning to back Lord of the Land for the Lincoln at 6/1. "Sorry Sir you can only have £25. The rest will have to be SP". Maybe the Magic Sign had heard of the Fontwell exploits!
Plumpton and it is almost Spring. Not only did Leap Year give me an extra day to go racing (the chances of someone proposing to me were limited) but the sun was out, there was a hint of warmth in the air and the going included the description 'good'. The hammering the course has taken over this wet winter did mean there was an awful lot of sand on the track, but it would be harsh to be too critical when all climate change factors are considered.
My chance to study the form had been somewhat hampered by a surprise personal appearance on LatestTV, giving my views on the EU referendum. There were perhaps too many 'you knows' (channelling my inner Frank Bruno) and the fence is still aggravating my Nobbies*, but I am told that the last 2 Conservative leaning voters in the Left Wing capital of England (Brighton and Hove) quite enjoyed my chat with the legendary broadcaster Mike Mendoza.
As usual I took the coach from Brighton Station to the course. Me and 4 other paying customers got aboard (including an elderly gentleman wearing some rather fetching desert boots of the type now worn by the younger generation) and set out via Pyecombe. We reached Clayton when a diversion led to the driver doing a rather alarming 'u-ey', and we retraced our journey back to the newly savaged Patcham roundabout, before eventually arriving 30 minutes late via Prison Crossroads and the Offham Filling Station.
It meant the old friend I was meeting (you know who you are) had already consumed a burger (large) and spilt the sauce down his fetching Timberland (or was it White Stuff?) coat.
As for the racing it was in all honesty so, so.
The Tizzards are my favourite racing family. Colin Tizzard trains Cue Card (most likely English winner of the Gold Cup) from his farm in Dorset. He - rumour has it - was born in a caravan and once bowled out Ian Botham. Fact is he speaks in a lovely west country burr and - despite his lack of a silver spoon background - does really know what he is doing when it comes to both dairy farming and training traditional old-fashioned staying chasers. Personally I could not support his horse The Cider Maker (appropriate name of course) in the 4th race at odds/on but it duly obliged. Colin was not there but his son smokin'* Joe Tizzard took charge and the horse ran out an easy winner.
Rather than the normal 'getting in deeper stakes', for once the 'lucky last' did prove to be my 'getting out stakes'. I backed the David Bridgewater trained Jot'em Down, who stayed on well under my new favourite jockey Tom Scudamore, to deny the locally trained (Suzy Smith at Lewes) favourite Clondaw Bisto. Yet again we all saw how difficult it is for a bumper winner to come first again under a penalty.
On the way back there were 6 people on the coach (somebody sneaked on?). The Ditchling diversion was still in place but no alarming u-turns from the driver this time. It simply took two hours to complete the journey as we waited at the Hassocks traffic lights. It might be easier to go the whole way by train in future.
NB By the way, stay tuned for my next post. I am off to London on Thursday for a Cheltenham Preview Evening in which arch villain, Rich Ricci #Fatcatinahat, is the star turn. My trilby and tweeds will be making an appearance at The Temple Walkabout to hear whether he thinks Annie Power will win the Champion Hurdle.
* Nobby Styles, piles etc
**Joe puffs a packet of Rothmans whenever one of the stable's fancied runners are competing. Come the Gold Cup in a fortnight he might spontaneously combust if Cue Card gets anywhere delivering.
Boxing day on a Saturday afternoon and a prime spot on terrestrial Channel 4 television. Fantastic exposure for the minority sport of horse racing.
Any casual viewer, channel surfing whilst waiting for the turkey left overs to warm up, who alighted on the coverage of Kempton Park's Christmas meeting would have seen the very best of my sport, and unfortunately a bit of the worst side as well.
As an hors d'oeuvres to the main 'King George' event, there was the glorious sight of Lizzie Kelly riding Tea for Two to victory in the Kauto Star Chase. Named after the horse with the top record ever at Kempton, this race is for the best novice horses (those in their first season jumping over the bigger fences) and has been won by many horses who have gone on to even better things - not least last year by subsequent Gold Cup winner Coneygree.
Lizzie became the first 'girl', as the male presenters on Channel 4 insist on calling female jockeys, to win a Grade 1 (basically the highest grade) steeplechase in Europe. Of course she has the advantage of riding a horse trained by her step-dad, but to the uneducated eye she rode a sensible race on what was the best horse. She did stick to the outside throughout but she got Tea for Two jumping really well, timed her challenge perfectly, and almost caressed her horse to the line without resorting to the whip.
The King George itself is the mid season championship for the best long distance steeplechasers in training. This year was a superb renewal. Apart form the temporarily incapacitated Coneygree, all the best horses in England and Ireland had turned up to contest the race. The quality of the contenders was clearly shown by the price of Sylviniaco Conti. This horse had won the previous two runnings but could be backed at a remarkable 10/1 to get the treble up.
The finish was dramatic. Vautour, owned by the dastardly Rich Ricci, looked certain to win for the final mile. Mr Ricci is an American - boo - who made his fortune in the excess days of Barclay's Capital. There is even something of the pantomime villain about his appearance on the racecourses of Ireland and England - all tweed, trilby and sunglasses. But despite myself I cannot help but like him. His enthusiasm for the sport is infectious and he is unfailingly generous and polite in victory and defeat.
But Ricci was denied victory in fairy tale fashion by Cue Card, fast becoming the favourite horse in the country. Cue Card started out by winning a lowly bumper at Fontwell of all places, but then went on to also win the bumper at the Cheltenham Festival at odds of 66/1. As well as foiling the usual coveted Irish victory in this race, it also put his unfashionable trainer Colin Tizzard firmly on the racing map.
Tizzard is a ruddy faced dairy farmer, born in a caravan, and speaks in a wonderful Dorset burr. Cue Card has done well in all the top races since his initial bumper upset, winning fans from across the country, but never quite removing the suspicion that he was unable to last out the blue riband distance of 3 miles plus.
This season, trained in Tizzard's newly built barn, and after an operation on 'his wind'*, he has been a revelation. He trounced Silviniaco in a race at Haydock and was expected to put in his best performance in what was his 4th appearance in the King George.
Coming to the last it looked like Cue Card was destined for second place. He jumped the fence poorly but gained on Vautour all the way to the line.
A photograph confirmed he had won by a head. Cue (Card!) joyous celebrations in the winner's enclosure, tearful interviews with the owners, Colin Tizzard himself and the jockey Paddy Brennan.
Fantastic drama and excitement yes, but also a massive own goal scored by racing on a day when it is as close as it ever is going to be, to being the centre of sporting attention. It was obvious, even to a casual observer, that Cue Card had been hit with the whip by his jockey a lot of times in the closing stages of the race. Whips are made of a 'soft' material these days but clearly Brennan had hit his horse more times than the rules allow. Cue Card would almost certainly not have won if the jockey had not done this.
For reasons best known to themselves the army of pundits employed by Channel 4 Racing failed to comment on the issue at all. But the stewards had spotted it, and after Channel 4 went off air it was announced that Brennan had been fined £4,200 and banned for 11 days for 'using the whip above the appropriate level' - i.e. hitting Cue Card too often.
The reality of this is that Cue Card won this race only because his jockey broke the rules about use of the whip. In what other sport can you win by breaking the rules, be fined and banned for doing so, but still be allowed to win?
It's hard to blame Paddy Brennan for this - indeed the rules as they stand encourage him to act in this way. I am pretty sure any jockey would accept a short ban and fine in return for winning a race of this stature.
Racing needs to wake up and realise how bad the use of the whip on a horse in this way looks. By allowing this to continue the British Horseracing Board are playing directly into the hands of extremists who would like to see horse racing banned altogether.
If Cue Card wins the Gold Cup in March his owners will collect a £1million bonus for winning the new jumping 'triple crown.' I truly hope that he does it, but not - for racing's sake - as a result of excessive use of the whip
*This is strange racing phrase used by trainers which has nothing to do with 'wind' in the human sense - rather it is a simple veterinary procedure which helps a horse breathe better when running fast at the end of a race
