Her Majesty's Coup Failed (sadly)

Yes it was pretty low grade low grade stuff but there were at least lots of runners at Lingfield today. There was even a sprint handicap which paid e/w terms the first 4 home.
For me though the highlight was an attempt by Her Majesty the Queen to do something I have always dreamed of - stage a betting coup.
Okay I admit I did not see her racing manager - Lord Carnarvon last time I checked - going down the line in the betting jungle having lumps on, but I can't help thinking that a few Palace pounds were somehow invested in the last.
The Queen had two runners at Leafy today. The first was Bonhomie in the 2.50. Trained by Michael Bell, she (the filly, not HM) seemed to me to have a reasonable chance. Bonhemie had run creditably in her 3 maidens, and was weighted about right for her handicap debut. She was favourite in the morning but there was little money in the ring for her, and she duly ran okay, finishing a respectable 3rd, without ever looking like winning. As this pic shows HM was not in the winner's enclosure to collect the place money, which suggests she knew.

It was though wholly different for the 5.35. Trainer Roger Charlton had charted an altogther different course for Final Choice. He (First Choice) had run 3 times as a 2 year old and basically been .... well .... useless. Over the winter however poor old first First Choice had been gelded; something which apparently it is suggested makes male horses concentrate on the task in hand (so to speak).
Word round the track was that Mr Charlton was doing a Sir Mark (as in Prescott) i.e. running a horse 3 times over an inadequate distance in order to obtain a (lowish) handicap mark before then entering the horse in a much more suitable longer race. My golfing friends tell me this is the equivalent of a 'bandit.' The rules have been tightened to stop this but not entirely successfully. As Ron Wood in the Racing Post suggested "Roger Charlton's runner didn't show much last year ...... but it will be a surprise if he does not improve up in trip."
The money certainly came. Even allowing for the tips in the trade papers Final Choice opened 11/2 on course, but was 7/2 (3/1) in places by the off. Some serious investments.
Sadly the cash stayed in the bookies' satchels, rather than heading back up the M23 to Windsor Castle. Final Choice proved to be no better over a middle distance than he had been over shorter trips. Even the unkindest cut of all had not persuaded him to win.
Still at least his connections gave it a go. God Save the Queen.

Those Post National Blues

Is there a name for it? That maudling feeling I experience - whether I've won or lost - on the Sunday morning after the Grand National. The jumps season is effectively over. It's at least 6 months before those heroes, and following this year's Champion Hurdle, heroines are seen again.
Still this year's race provided a heart warming story to cheer us through the summer months. Most importantly all the horses and jockeys were safe and sound. The rain drenched ground probably helped in this respect, although it also did for my tip The Druids Nephew. He could not 'jump out of it' (basically he got stuck in the mud) and ended up being pulled up.
The winning horse, Rule The World, was cheered home by quite a few women, because apparently his name is the title of a Take That song. Remarkably it was the horse's first ever win in a steeplechase, ridden by a 19 year old jockey having his first ride in the National. Who needs to spend hours studying the form and watching the videos when being a woman of a certain age and having a crush on Robbie Williams provides the key to profits?
Whilst I could not have selected Rule the World even with unlimited devoted expert research, I was almost able to join in the cheers because the trainer is Mouse Morris. Son of Lord Killanin, the Irishman nobleman and President of the International Olympic Committee, Mouse has always been an entertaining character. Now in his mid-sixties he still sports an impressive (albeit now grey) mullet, and chainsmokes the gaspers. His training base is in Fethard, a small town in County Tipperary where I once spent a memorable evening with a bunch of local racing fans in the Chinese pub in the centre of the town.
Mouse had a shattering experience last year, when his son Tiffer was killed by carbon monoxide poisoning whilst travelling in Argentina. Most observers also thought Mouse's training career was in decline so the win must have been a real tonic. 
I had watched the National at Lingfield, where they managed to put on a good show* for the largish crowd. They started with shire horse racing. All a bit gimmicky for me as they 'sprint' for 4 furlongs. One jockey, Luke Morris, even managed to fall off which in hindsight is perhaps not all that surprising as he looked very small on these massively impressive steeds.
As usual the handicaps on the Lingfield card were tricky. It is easy to see why the bookmakers sponsor them; indeed calling the 13 runner second race the Bookies' Benefit Stakes would have been an apt title.
The maidens though offer opportunities. Unraced horses from top yards tend to start at short prices. There was money all morning for Musdam in the 4.50. Trained by Sir Michael Stoute, and ridden by Ryan Moore, it was always likely to be over bet. I fancied John Gosden's Dommersen, which had the advantage of the experience of a previous run. I could not believe the 5/1 price it opened at on course and steamed in (err I mean backed it accordingly). Remarkably - for me anyway - there was then a massive gamble on Dommersen which saw its price shrink into 5/4. I like to think it was sparked by my early wager but sadly I suspect not.

Ridden by Frankie Dettori - I knew it was him because he had his name on his socks - Dommersen held on to win, and there was no doubt that the advantage of a previous run made the critical difference. Musdam will win, but needs more time and experience.
Lingfield offers the opportunity to see these great jockeys up close, walking through the spectators on the way to and from the paddock and winners enclosure. Frankie is the most popular, and seemed very happy to stop and chat, sign and be 'selfied' (not by me obviously). The taciturn Ryan Moore gets less attention, but it is still a thrill for me to watch the man who is now widely regarded as the best jockey in the world at one of our local tracks. And even though the morning gamble on Musdam went west, he did the business by winning two of the 'impossible' handicaps.
Brighton's second best ever sportsman, Steve Ovett, was given the freedom of the city. I hope Ryan, undoubtedly Brighton's greatest ever sportsman, is given a similar honour one day.




And the post National blues were lifting by Sunday afternoon  -after all it's the Craven meeting on Wednesday.

*I did though wonder why they put the stalls in front of the big screen, partially obscuring the National for much of the crowd - (see pic below)

Holland do the business; so following up with a tip from Earwig Corner at Lingfield

Name dropping is never clever. I was reminded of this on Sunday at Plumpton when I was stood in the collect queue after the victory of Like Sully, behind the very clever and splendidly red-trousered Lord Baker (former Education Minister, 'star' of Spitting Image and inspiration behind modern Technology Colleges). To see he had only secured 9/4 for his wager, made my successful punt at 5/2 just that little bit more satisfying (he wrote smugly.) 
The run has continued, with a recognition that the bookies had over-reacted to England's comeback against Germany, with their odds for the Holland game. A Dutch team inspired by the death of the truly great Johan Cruyff, and England's frailties in front of the home crowd at Wembley, duly delivered the goods for those who followed the advice on twitter. Gratifying, if a tad over the top, feedback as well, 'shrewd as a shrew from Shrewsbury.'
The cricket is going well, with wins for England and West Indies in the men's 20/20 cricket. I even ventured into the women's game, convinced that Australia's 'ladies' (as the commentators call them) were much better than England's. It was closer than I expected, and the standard of the cricket was in truth not that great, but Australia prevailed in the end. Mark Robinson (new England coach) criticised his team for being unfit, apparently the reason they could not run 2's. Not good enough I am afraid for cricketers on full time and pretty lucrative contracts considering the crowds the game attracts. From what I hear there is considerable justification for the observation of some of those close to the set-up, that it is all a bit too friendly - so much so that that is very hard to get dropped from the team, and difficult for those outside to get picked.
The only setback was a near-miss in the Placepot at Lingfield on Wednesday. It was looking good until the maiden. There was good money for the unraced Bargain Buy, trained by William Haggas. I though had heard a 'whisper' for Dream Voice, also based in Newmarket with the less high profile James Tate.
The favourite was Aldair, one of the prolific Richard Hannon's, and 4th in a maiden at Chepstow in his only race. I surmised that this form was not all that, and that if the murmurings for those making their first appearances were correct then the favourite could even miss out on a place. I therefore chose Dream Voice in the Placepot and stuck him in an exacta with Bargain Buy.
At this point the betting gods struck. Dream Voice reared in the stalls, threw off champion all-weather jockey Luke Morris, and had to be withdrawn. I knew the rules on non-runners in a Placepot so was aware my money went onto the SP favourite, Aldair. No problem as surely Aldair was good enough to finish at least 3rd with Dream Voice now out? 
Adair led all the way until the final furlong (touching 1.37 on the changes in running*) before fading into (you've probably guessed by now) 4th, with Bargain Buy running away an impressive winner. My compensation for missing out on what would have been a fairly impressive Placepot dividend, was the return of my £5 exacta stake (one non-runner on an exit does not go on the favourite).
Will the good run continue on April Fool's Day at Fontwell? Probably not but it should be a good day's racing if there is not too much emphasis on the family fun day elements. My eyes will be on the 2.35 at Lingfield. Gay Kellaway's What A Party will be upped in trip (racing talk for running over longer distance) which my intelligence from 'earwig corner' suggests is just what the horse needs. I expect him to out run his price and at least be placed.

*Basically the observers/arbers on the computers thought he was going to win and bet accordingly

Placepot landed but it's not Barbados

Me smirking, "That was a good day. I even backed the winner of the Gold Cup."
Reply, in that disinterested going though the motions voice, "Oh well done. Who was it?"
Me, proud voice, "Don Cossack. I even gave him as my nap earlier in the week."
"Oh right. Is he a Russian jockey?"

It probably is a good thing to be reminded every now and again that horse racing is a minority sport, and not everyone is transfixed by the drama played out at Cheltenham this week.
Sadly I could not get to Prestbury Park to watch the Festival in person. I prefer viewing with a crowd. One option is to go to a pub which puts the racing on, but from experience I have learnt that betting and beer is not the wisest mix.
Instead I took the opportunity to watch Cheltenham from other racecourses hosting the lessor meetings, wonderfully charming Towcester on Thursday and the 'home of Asian weddings' (as their advertising banner proudly announces), Lingfield, today. Both tracks made the effort to show Cheltenham on their big screens, and the bookies sensibly priced up each of the 'away' races. Not the same as being there, but the next best thing.
Knowing that the placepot* has a history of paying big dividends at this time of year, I duly made my selections for both Lingfield and Cheltenham. I was even praised by the Tote lady for writing 'Chelt' and 'Ling' on my tickets - the little things help!
My Cheltenham placepot crashed at the first hurdle, literally, but as the day wore on the Lingfield punt looked increasingly promising - for more of which read on.
The only other problem was the big clash - Victoria Pendleton v Hattie (aka Expect Nothing).

Our dog was due to run her second race in exalted A3 grade just as VP tackled the Cheltenham fences. I had not heard from Claude, Hattie's trainer, in the morning, which could mean she's got no chance, or (cynical hat on) she's a good chance and no mug is going to lump on and affect the price. The third, and ultimately, accurate explanation, that a message had been left on my home phone which I had not been able to pick up, was far less glamorous.
I will not bore the readers with all the details as the VP effect means that the national media are putting racing on the front pages and you can read all the copy from observers far more skilled than me. Suffice to report my nap of the week, Don Cossack (yes the horse), won the Gold Cup with some ease. 
Victoria Pendleton went round the back during the 'Amateurs' Gold Cup' and finished a fast finishing 5th on Pacha Du Polder. She will receive much, to some extent, deserved praise for this. But I cannot help but be reminded of another lady jockey, one Rosemary Henderson, who rode her horse, Fiddlers Pike, also into 5th place in the 1994 Grand National. In both cases a top jockey on board would certainly have got the horse placed.
After that my day headed towards maximum excitement. My two favourite tipsters, Rob Wright and Paul Kealy, had both put up Ibis Du Rheu, in the 6th race at Cheltenham. This 14/1 shot, under an inspired ride from conditional jockey Jack Sherwood, duly obliged from an unpromising position. 
An already profitable day could only get better if I landed the placepot at Lingfield. Somehow my choice in the final leg, World's Greatest, did not exactly live up to his name in but remarkably he sneaked into third place. Yes...... all that was needed was for me to collect and then it's down the travel agents to join JP in Barbados.
I handed in my winning ticket. 
"Oh dear love only £9.50 I'm afraid." 
Still Bexhill can be nice this time of year.

NB - As for Hattie (Expect Nothing) she got mullered at the first bend and finished last. Expect a good price next time though.

*A bet on the nanny where you have to select a horse to get placed in the first 6 races

Sexist betting strategy backfires at Lingfield

Poor old Fontwell was off again yesterday, taking the abandonment rate to 75% since I bought my season ticket. Still the Fontwell folk sent me a nice letter apologising, enclosing a couple of £5 drink/food vouchers and a complimentary ticket for a friend to the - sadly abandoned - next meeting.
The rainfall overnight and continuing into the morning meant the clerk of the course had little choice, and fair play to him for making the decision early. This gave the chance to divert to Lingfield, where it was even wetter but the all-weather once again saved the day for those of us in need of our racing fix.
The quality of the horses was fairly humdrum, but some of the top jockeys were due to ride, including the underrated champion jockey for 2015, Sylvestre de Sousa. Pele and Ayrton Senna might have been more well-known, but de Sousa is now my favourite Brazilian sportsman.
Unfortunately whilst he made it back from Rio to the UK, he and quite a few of the other jockeys had not bargained for the M25 traffic. Roadworks and an accident in the contra flow meant they were late for the first race, causing confusing last minute jockey changes and some horses to be withdrawn altogether.
Ed Quigley, 'Longshot' in the Racing Post, had tipped up Palace Moon in the first. He (the horse, not the tipster) is 11 years old (veteran plus stage) and had not won for 3 years. Delving a long way back into his form it was just about possible to see where Ed was coming from so I invested a small amount to place on the Tote. Palace Moon duly won at 20/1, paying a win dividend of £28.60. The place dividend felt like a loss in the circumstances, especially as the smiling Tote lady said "Well done but bet you wish you'd had it to win" as she handed over my £62 (as opposed to £286). I grinned grimaced and agreed nicely.
The next race was a claimer, where the weight the horse carries is determined by how much the owner/trainer is prepared to allow the horse to be bought for. Obviously the theory is that no owner will put his horse in at a price which undervalues him. There is though an unwritten rule which considers it slightly not the done thing to claim another trainer's horse (especially an older one to whom connections might have grown attached). Personally I think this is a load of nonsense, and was therefore pleased to see old Majestic Myles claimed for £7k by a Mr L.A. Carter.
Silvestre de Sousa made it in time for the 4th race, but the rushing cannot have helped as he rode the 13/8 favourite trained by Mark 'Always Trying' Johnston into only 3rd place.
Still he must have been ready for the fascinating 5 furlong sprint which followed. There were just 4 horses but on form they seemed very closely matched. The betting bore this out with all of them at one time priced between 5/2 and 7/2. My logic suggested that jockeyship could be the crucial factor. There was the champion jockey up against Adam Kirby (a specialist round the Lingfield bends) and two young women jockeys, Josephine Gordon and Hollie Doyle. That whittled it down by two, with me just favouring Furiant ridden by de Sousa over Illegally Blonde and the course expert Kirby.
I got that bit right, only to see Hollie Doyle on Aguerooo,

come with a perfectly timed run to win going away. The starting prices, 6/4 favourite for Furiant against 15/8 for Aguerooo, suggested I was not the only one who had been undone by a borderline sexist approach to punting.
In the winner's enclosure Hollie Doyle was tiny compared to the horse, but the owners and the trainer, Richard Hannon, obviously had faith in her. She rode an excellent race and I will not be underestimating her again.
My nap of the day, Hot Stuff, came second again, in the (un)lucky last. I will be going in again next time he runs as he keeps finding one too good, but I fear he might be my latest cliff* horse.
Obviously all racing at the moment is dominated by endless debate about next week's Cheltenham festival. The declarations for the Champion Hurdle came out during the meeting and I just had to note that Lil Rockerfeller - winning of the National Spirit at Fontwell last month- had been supplemented. The owners, including bookie Andy Smith, had paid £20k to supplement him, and will only cover their costs if their horse comes in the first 4. I have availed myself at 40/1 in the hope that Lil will emulate Beech Road.
Oh and Expect Nothing is running in A3 grade tonight at Hove. Hattie**, as she is known in the kennel, is running well at the moment but another win will be a surprise ...... but you never know. Owning a greyhound, there really is nothing better.

*As in 'follow off a'
**Named after the former Deputy Leader of Labour Party obviously 

Lingfield is now an old friend

Lingfield Park racecourse is turning into an old friend, both the track and the horses which regularly run there.

When the all weather racing first started it was grudgingly welcomed for providing some action when the rain/frost in the winter months led to the abandonment of the jumps. In the early days there were even hurdle races staged on the plastic at Lingfield, until that was wisely stopped on the grounds of safety.

There were though always suspicions about the integrity of what went on in the early days. I heard many reports of a couple of senior jockeys deciding who would win each race at the start of the day in the weighing room. Gossip it may have been but there was the ring of truth about some of it. The advent of the betting exchange did mean that money could easily be made from actually stopping horses.

Complacency has to be avoided of course but I am confident that those dark days are over, and that the all-weather is now by and large clean. There is the odd incident of a horse running 'conservatively' shall we say, in order to protect or enhance its handicap mark, but no worse than what goes on over jumps or on the turf. The challenge for us punters is to spot when that happens.

Lingfield now races 2, 3 or sometimes 4 times a week throughout the winter. It provides opportunities for some of the lessor lights (trainers, jockeys and horses) to have their day in the (winter) sun, and it gives us fans the chance to get close to the action away from the concert night, family fun day, face painting for the kids, crowds. 

Just occasionally a really top class horse will run. Today we saw Ralph Becket's £200k purchase, Golden Chapter win the maiden fillies stakes.

She almost certainly will not run on the all-weather again. Indeed it is possible her next outing will be in the 1000 Guineas itself.
Just as impressive was the acceleration shown by the previously unraced Mukaabra, seen in the pic with his rider Andrea Atzeni (and yes Andrea is a bloke - it's an Italian thing I'm told). This Jim Tate trained horse will win some very good races this season.

But even better than that in some ways are the lower grade horses which can come back again and again. Just as the course has become an old friend, so these plodders do as well.

There was a great example today in the 4.20 Apprentice Handicap, worth £2.5k to the winner. To describe the runners as modest is to over praise them. The form read for six of the seven runners as follows-

• 'Poor'
• 'Very modest'
• 'Failed to trouble the judge in five outings'
• 'Record is 0-9 but is one of the more solid contenders (!)'
• 'Well beaten and doesn't look entirely solid'
• 'Five race maiden'.

The contest was won by the Gay Kellaway trained New Abbey Angel. He had started at 100/1 in his last race but had run okish. The problem was that his pedigree suggested he would not 'stay' the increased distance of 1mile 2furlong. As it was he lasted home well, and won going away under the jockey Lulu*, and giving the owners probably an even bigger thrill than Sheiki Hamdan gets when winning a classic.

Lingfield has well and truly won me over, even before this sunset.

*Lulu Stanford, a rather impressive young woman rider, whose parents I am guessing are either Scottish or fans of Eurovision, or both.

Baxter Basics brings success at Lingfield, but watch out Rob Wright's cat

When going through a lean time punting-wise, it sometimes helps to return to a method which has proved successful in the past. I would call it 'back to basics', but we all know where that ended up.
My biggest ever win came when I backed Spanish Don to win the Cambridgeshire in 2004. I can hardly believe it was 11 years ago, but I can still clearly recall the odds - 100/1. The reason I had backed this outsider of the large field was that he had been tipped by Tom Segal in the Racing Post on his previous run. When highlighted by Mr Segal, Spanish Don had flopped. My logic though was that if someone as shrewd as the Pricewise tipster had put him up, then there must be something about him. 
Lingfield on Wednesday gave me an opportunity to return to the 'tipped up but lost last time' theory. On Monday Rob Wright of The Times had napped Elysian Prince in a handicap at Wolverhampton. I watched the race and thought Elysian Prince run alright, but sadly for Rob only came 4th. I still think Rob Wright is a good judge but he is going through a terrible time with his naps at the moment. He remains rooted to the bottom of the Racing Post naps table, something I did point out to the Editor of The Times in a letter he inexplicably failed to publish.
Neil King, trainer of Elysian Prince, decided to run his horse again within 2 days, hence my visit to Lingfield. I checked the morning tips again, and noticed that Rob Wright had napped another horse in the same race, the 'lucky last' on the card. Interestingly the current leader of the naps table, Robin Goodfellow of the Daily Mail, had napped Elysian Prince this time.
On course the money was for Brasted, Rob Wright's nap. I backed Elysian Price using the Spanish Don strategy, but thought it wise to have a mini-saver by putting both tipsters' naps in the forecast.
From my punting point of view the race represented a real change of luck, and could not have gone better. Elysian Prince was put into an early lead by Liam Jones and stayed there, winning by a comfortable 2plus lengths from (you've guessed it) Rob Wright's nap, Brasted. His cat will be well-advised to stay with that friendly couple down the road for the next few days.

16:55

1st2 Elysian Prince(Liam Jones, 7/2 2nd-fav) 2nd4 Brasted(Luke Morris, 3/1 fav) 3rd7 Shimba Hills(Mr W Twiston-Davies, 16/1) 10 ran Non-runners: Barren Brook Distances: 2½ lengths, ¾ length, ½ length Winning trainer: N B King.

And the beard has it

I dread to think how many race meetings I have been to in my life. At least 500 and maybe 700 plus. In all that time I have never witnessed what I did today at Lingfield.
The 4.10 race was a maiden (i.e. for horses which had never won before). It was worth just shy of £3k to the winner (so pretty low grade in reality). Victory went to Justice Lady, a previously unraced filly trained by 'grumpy' David Elsworth.
There had been money for her in the morning but on course she drifted a bit (but not like a barge sadly). She won a touch cosily, beating Hot Stuff, a gelding who had run pretty well 5 times previously.
Justice Lady was ridden by Martin Lane, and this is where my new experience comes in, for Mr Lane has a beard. Not a goatee, not a bit of bum fluff, but a proper full set and I do not think that since I first set foot on a racecourse in 1968 (it was Newton Abbott by the way on a family holiday in Torquay) have I ever before today seen a jockey on a British racetrack with a beard.
My other favourite sport, cricket, is full of facial hair. Indeed for the England cricket team it's almost compulsory. Even poor old Joe Root felt obliged to try to grow a beard, although his latest effort did blow off in the somewhat breezy final test on the Highveld.
I must admit that I had supposed that beards were probably not good for streamlining, hence the up till now absence of them on jockeys. It was a stroke of luck that I did not visit the paddock before today's hirsute triumph, as I am pretty sure my beardist prejudices would have stopped me backing Mr Lane's mount. As it was my 'pony' at 6/4 made for my shrewdest investment so far this year.

NB - Going to Lingfield on a quiet winter Friday provides other opportunities as well. I was at 'Earwig Corner' after Justice Lady's victory, and clearly heard the trainer of the runner up (Hot Stuff) say to connections 'we were beaten by a good'un there. Ours runs better at Wolverhampton anyway'. Keep an eye out for Hot Stuff - next time it runs at Wolverhampton it might be worth following.

Scrabbling in the bins at Lingfield Park

It was only in the morning that I noticed the racing at Lingfield Park was over the jumps. Known for years as Leafy Lingfield, maybe it should be renamed 'Lucky for some Lingfield' for reasons which will become clear later.
Making it to the track with only 3 minutes before the first race cost me the chance to back the winner. Galling in itself, but when you are late because you are fulfilling a commitment to go to Haskins Retirement Home Garden Centre (to be subject of a whole separate report) then it is more like despair.
There are meetings at Lingfield over 60 times a year, making a season ticket very good value. The problem is that most of the meetings consist of poor quality horses running on the all-weather track to provide betting shop fodder. Most serious punters gave up wagering there some years ago, when it was suggested (falsely obviously*) that the senior jockeys decided who was going to win in turn.
Jumps meetings at Lingfield are now a rarity, and with these often called off because of water logging, the chance to take one in was too good an opportunity to miss.
The high number of race days has had a noticeable effect. Entry is slick, the gate staff know what they are doing, and there are those bloody fixed odds betting terminals in the on course Ladbrokes. These machines are mini casinos, and it was so dispiriting to see Tobys** sat playing them even during a race.
There is also a certain complacency about the place for what was to ARC (the company which runs Lingfield) presumably a low profile midweek meeting.The bars were understaffed, and most of the food outlets were shut. A small coffee stall sold 6inch greasy sausage rolls (not of the type The New York Times has discovered were made by the aristocracy). The one lonely 'Cornish' pasty was quickly snapped up. My hunger pangs were bad enough to lead me to buy a vegetarian pie. Does all veggie food taste of cardboard? The corporate customers and restaurant diners are obviously preferred by ARC to the ordinary racing enthusiast.
Halfway through proceedings a group of children appeared covered in sheets and (presumably) fake blood and engaged in a 'zombie walk.' It was all for Children in Need, so that's alright then.
The quality of the racing was actually pretty good. I reckon there will be a few future winners coming out of the novice hurdle.
Gary Moore had 3 winners at Sandown on Sunday, although suggestions his horses run at their best when he is in hospital are perhaps unfair. With the stable in such good form I backed his Mr Fickle in the 4th race. Mr Fickle duly lived up to his name by finishing second.

The highlight on the card for many was a hurdle race in which all the horse had to be ridden by flat jockeys. The paddock was a picture beforehand. Lots of jockeys, smaller than normal, smiling (having been able to eat rather than skip breakfast before a race) but now nervously contemplating going over the obstacles at 30mph plus. Since most of them  can do 8 stone 3lb or less, riding a horse carrying 11st 5lb meant the saddles were heavy with lead. 
The flat jockeys hurdle race was won by a punted horse ridden by Tom Queally,

Frankel's jockey. I could not back him at the price (6/4 on) and Tom's win may not not be seared in my  memory as was Frankel's irresistible triumph in the 2000 Guineas . He had been helped (understandably in the circumstances) by a number of normally brave jockey colleagues, who on this occasion 'did not give up the outside the anyone.'  Still at least I can truthfully say this time 'I was there Tom.'
To be honest I would have struggled to report much else from a routine day's racing except for Queally's triumph. The dull day  though was transformed by the drama provided by the little known Clerk of the Scales.
The 6th race was a poorish novice chase contested by 5 runners. The outsider bucked and broncoed on the way to start, threw his jockey off, did 3 circuits of the all weather track and was withdrawn. Already we were therefore down to 4 runners, had a 'rule 4' and no each way betting.
The race itself was nothing special. Arthamint, ridden by David England, crossed the line first and was well backed. Eaton Rock shouldered the burden of my funds and came second, never really looking like winning.
This gave me enough time to study the last in order to save wreck the day, when 'ding-dong' and the klaxon sounded for a 'steward's'. 
The PA announcer said, "Stewards' Enquiry, Stewards' Enquiry. There has been an objection to the winner by ......... (a dramatic pause?)  ..... the Clerk to the Scales.''  This was a  knowledgeable crowd. They knew immediately that the rider of winner had weighed in light. Jockeys are allowed a bit of wriggle room. They can lose up to 1 pound in weight during a race, but jockey David England must have lost more.
There was only one possible  conclusion - disqualification for the horse first past the post and Eaton Rock to be declared the winner..
By pure luck I still had my losing betting slip which was now a winning one. Judging by the  scrum round the bins across the course a lot of other people had already disposed of theirs.
It took a while but Eaton Rock was eventually officially declared the winner. I collected (thank you Bartholomew Barry), 

and then contentedly listened to the conspiracy theories as  to what had happened. The minority view was that the disqualified jockey had dropped a bit of equipment. The cynics suggested a deliberately lost weight cloth. The official explanation was that there no explanation. No equipment was missing. The jockey was fined £300, and said he must have sweated while waiting for the loose horse to be caught. 
Who knows? But what fun and an enjoyable postscript as well. As is normal for what had looked a straight forward race the on track bookies had been paying out out before weighed in was declared. In this case of course to people who had punted on a horse which was not the actual winner. It took someone with a heart of  stone (well most of us punters actually) to not feel a little bit sorry for the well known bookmaker Barry Dennis who shouted, 
"Can all those people who I paid out in error please form an orderly queue to pay me back''
Shockingly for the Romford Foghorn there were no takers.

Lingfield Park marks (out of 10)
Welcome/friendliness 4
Atmosphere 5
Betting ring (size, competitiveness) 5
Racecard (cost, quality) 4
Queues for bar 2
Viewing 7
Standard of racing 5

Total (out of 70) 32
Punting success - small loss (but could have been so much worse)

*libel lawyers please note
** Toby jugs - mugs