Juliette's weekly frolic
II it's any consolation to devotees of this column, Saturday was as disastrous for my private pocket as my public one, and it was just as well the car received a large drink of petrol on the journey to Newbury or I'd have been thumbing my way home. Still, it takes more than a minor setback like that to deter us starry-eyed optimists and I at least had the dubious satisfaction of correctly opposing Lunchtime, even if it was with the three wrong outsiders.
Strictly speaking we still have two weeks to go to the first birthday of female racing in Britain, but the late arrival of Easter has meant a considerable reshuffling of Kempton's fixtures and several events from their ' Jubilee ' meeting — the Goya Stakes for lady riders among them — have been pushed forward to ' Rosebery ' day this Saturday. For last year's christening the British climate was at its watery best and as few girls, however hale and hearty, can honestly claim to share the male sex's nonchalant indifference to a drenching, it would be nice if the current drought held until after the holiday.
With twenty races this year, a 7Ib raising of the basic weight for comfort and a 5Ib stable-girl allowance for fairness (though Mrs Joy Gibson who rides Tudormead forfeited this by riding a winner last year) ladies' racing is really getting itself together and in Meriei:Tufnell the press have found a tailor-made Lester Piggott. Her Saturday mount, Dynamic Dan, has been hotly recommended on the strength of his rider's achievements rather than his own, but while his name may be unfamiliar to the British racegoer his performances in Ireland, from the time he ran second to King's Company as a two-year-old debutant right up to a couple of handicap successes last August, give him an almost equal claim to fame. However, as ' Dynamic ' appears to be slightly less on the bull in the spring it's worth considering some others. Mrs David Barons fully intended to retire at the end of last season but has clearly reseen the light for her husband originally entered no less than five horses in the race. Jenifer is marked down for Lavenanne (though Kelly's Four has been left in as a precaution against the dreaded balloting out) while Tam Rating, who, like the mare, won and narrowly lost a ladies' race last year, will be ridden by his owner's daughter,Mrs Beryl Smith — a lady who manages to combine running a West Country hotel with her new career in the saddle. • An hour before the season's first ladies' race, Kempton racegoers hope to derive some comfort for Lunchtime's defeat from the last of the classic trials. Star turn Noble Decree is being clung to us out last hope of containing the Franco-Irish .attack on the 2000 Guineas, but there must surely be other dark horses lurking in the bushes? On Saturday anyway, I prefer the chances of Perdu, who won the handy sum of £10,807.60 in England last year.
Richest race of the day is that old favourite, the Rosebery Stakes. Last year the topweights swept the board and this time King Midas is expected to win. But apart from a fine effort at :Goodwood, he never got on top of his handicapping in '72 and Stubb's Gazette, who had two splendid wins last April, seems a better proposition at this time of year.
Assets: 70.08 (five to tallow, E13.52). Outlay e3 to win La venanne, Perdu and Stubb's Gazette.
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