Racing
Park Top
Jeffrey Bernard
The defeat of J. 0. Tobin at Longchamp was a depressing start to the week. The French are certainly getting some of their own back this year for the likes of Agincourt. Not only is J. 0. Tobin off to the States, but we won't be seeing Noel Murless on the racecourse next year since there's nothing for him not to retire for now. If anyone had asked me, four weeks ago, whether I'd rather see the 'Arc' or the Grand Criterium, I would have plumped for the latter. How wrong can you be? The Arc turned out to be a crack ing race—leaving aside the fact that Bruni wasn't placed, whereas last Sunday's contest sounds as thought it was almost too easy for Blushing Groom to cause much excitement. If it goes on like this next season the French will reach their highest peak ofarrogance since the days of Bonaparte.
What we need is another Park Top or Mill Reef and it's a fact that was driven home even more so with the publication this week of Andrew Devonshire's book Park Top. The first thing that surprised me about the book was that a duke should have written it at all. 1 supposed, until I read it, that dukes only wrote cheques and wills, but this is a much better book than the run of the mill racing stuff written by racing correspondents. What makes it better and different is Devonshire's emotional involvement with his famous horse. The man cares.
Park Top was winning races on the English and French turf from 1967 to 1970. The jacket blurb says she was conceivably the best English-bred race mare of this century. I wouldn't want to argue about that, but Lester Piggott himself wrote in a letter to the Duke, reprinted in the book, that she was, 'The best of her sex I've ever ridden'.
She was certainly the greatest bargain of all time. I always think of Park Top when the sales are on at Newmarket. Watching Lady Beaverbrook and Ravi Tikoo last year, somewhat childishly I thought, going up to £201,000 for a yearling made me think about the paltry 500 guineas paid for Park Top. Trained by Bernard van Cutsem, she won the Ribblesdale Stakes, the Coronation Cup, the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes, the Hardwicke Stakes and she finished second in the Arc de Triomphe, the Champion Stakes and the Eclipse Stakes. In all, she ran twenty-four times, won thirteen, was second six times and third twice and she won £136,922 in prize money. As well as the racing record of the horse in the back of the
book, there's the added bonus of the pages from Raceform that concern her.
Aside from the horse, Andrew Devonshire is very interesting about his friend and the trainer, the late van Cutsem. I wish I'd known more about the man when he was alive. I met him only twice and briefly and I was very wrong about him, thinking him to be incredibly stuck up and aloof which he wasn't. The bravery he showed from the moment he knew he had cancer until the time of his death was inspiring. I only wish Andrew Devonshire had written something about van Cutsem's punting which I gather was legendary just after the war.
As for the controversial three-quarterlength beating Levmoss handed her in the Arc, Devonshire makes a very good point when he says that Levmoss was full of running and not tiring at the end of the race. He looked to be marking time since Park Top was gaining on him all the time but Bill Williamson was making full use of Levmoss's stamina. He goes on to say that he doesn't and didn't blame Lester for her defeat, but he's honest enough to have a go at Geoff Lewis for her defeat in the Eclipse. Quite simply, this is one of the few good books about racing on a level with Hislop's Brigadier Gerard, Lord Oaksey's The Story of Mill Reef and Roger Mortimer's History of the Derby Stakes and all because his Grace loves the horse.
Unfortunately, there are still hundreds of people and I seem fated to know them all, who care nothing and who regard horse racing as a sort of animated roulette. My bookmaker is such a one and so I continue my efforts to put him in Carey Street, a dole queue and, with luck, eventually a dosshouse. I suppose it's pushing my luck, after four winning weeks, to continue to tip in this column, but here goes. How can you not have an interest anyway at such a fascinating weekend ? When I tipped Rose Bowl three weeks ago I thought Wollow would run against her. I still think she would have won even if he had run—fruitless speculation— and I think she'll prove it in the Champion Stakes on Saturday. I couldn't back the French horse Malacate in the race and it must be between Rose Bowl and Wollow with the lady preferred. The Cesarewitch is a dodgy race to try and pick the winner of. I've heard experts whispering that Belfalas can't be beaten and no one who saw John Cherry win at Chester will forget the way he did it in a hurry. I shall back Grinling Gibbons though. Trainer Guy Harwood is having a terrific season and he's good at laying out horses for these mad betting handicap contests. In the Dewhurst Stakes on Friday Peter Walwyn's Saros looks to be a good thing, but an each way bet on Bruce Hobbs's Conifer might, I said might, pay handsomely. After that, we will turn our attention to chasing and hurdling until the spring. Then, armed with hope and optimism, we will lose our heads and try to come up with the Spring Double. I've a hunch that my bookie is going nowhere near Carey Street.
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