14 April 2008 Pytchley - Guilsborough
Dickie Barrett: had a steady week for a change!
Rescheduled meetings are often less than successful, but although the crowd was much smaller than usual the quality of the racing was well up to standard. As always, the course had been prepared in excellent condition by joint clerks of the course Doug Harkin and Gerald Bailey, although thanks to two heavy hail showers the ground became increasingly testing as the afternoon wore on.
*********
Like every responsible racegoer, Doug made sure that he obeyed the request to keep dogs under control by dispensing with ordinary dog leads and anchoring his Jack Russells with very thick lead ropes, the sight of which had caused a friend to remark "The last time I saw ropes that big they were attached to the Queen Mary!" "They're tethered down the bottom of the hill today," grinned Doug, "waiting to tow the cars out!"
**********
Gerald himself also sent out two winners, the first of which was Persian Hero, who took the Members' race in the hands of Dickie Barrett, deputising for the injured John Russell. "I had to ride at 10.5 at Towcester on Thursday so I haven't been out all week," said Dickie. "I've had a very steady week - maybe I'm growing up at last!"
*********
The second Bailey success came in the Confined with Harapour, whose owner-rider Richard Hunnisett had returned a day early from his godson's stag party, a golfing trip to Estoril. A beaming Richard had no complaints about sacrificing an extra night away, though. "That win was better than any number of lap-dancers," he stressed, "and that's the only thing I'd have been doing if I'd still been out there!"
**********
The Ladies' Open, much of which was run in lashing hail, went to Tash McKim on Five Seven Live, the first horse in the sole ownership of Paul Fullager, who has enjoyed plenty of success with partnership horses. Tash was substituting for the sidelined Jessie Lodge, and was sitting on Five Seven Live for the first time.
"We bought him over the telephone when we were lounging round the pool at Steve Boon's villa in Spain," explained trainer Karen Lawther, "so we didn't see him till he came off the lorry." "He could have been black and white and hairy for all we knew," added Karen's husband Rory, "but he had some decent form in Ireland so we hoped he'd be all right."
**********
Overheard, after the sun had come out again prior to the Men's Open.
Spectator: "Do you think it's going to rain again?"
Official: "I hope not - these men aren't as hardy as the women!"
*********
The eyecatcher of the day was Judy Wilson's six-year-old home-bred debutante Abbey St Bathans, named after a Scottish Borders village north of Duns. The mare was extremely green in the early stages, but rider Stuart Morris gave a masterclass in the education of a young horse, giving her plenty of time to find her feet, and she gradually warmed to the task and finished a very promising third.
**********
Stuart was in cracking form all day, having earlier won the Men's Open on Coolefind, who had pulled some pectoral muscles since his Huntingdon run, and the Restricted on Abbey St Bathans's half-brother Walter's Laddie, whom he brought with a perfectly-timed challenge to overhaul Oscar Buck on the run-in.
Judy was full of praise for both Stuart and for trainer Bill Warner, who has saddled countless winners for her, and whose own record on the day was two firsts, a second and a third from four runners, but in response to her comment "We've been together for over 20 years, haven't we?" Bill was quick to point out "Yes, I've been fed a lot of bullshit for a long time!"
***********
The biggest cheer of the day was reserved for the winner of the Maiden Division Two, Another River, amazingly making his racecourse debut at the age of 11. Sarah Phizacklea bought him as an unbroken four-year-old, but he has had so many problems, including undergoing a knee operation two years ago, that she was advised more than once by the vets to have him put down. "It's a fairy tale," declared an emotional Rosie Phizacklea, Sarah's mother, while Sarah herself admitted to having been reduced to tears by him on several occasions. "I thought I might only get one race out of him so any more will be a bonus," she said.
***********
Division One went to Joe Docker on Thenford Ryde, whose owner Penny Zygmant was enjoying some warmer weather while celebrating her birthday in Marbella. "He had almost too much attitude to start with," said trainer Holly Campbell of the five-year-old. "He was a bit of a cheeky fellow and used to come home on his back legs, but he's much better now."