The turf
Paternal duties
Robin Oakley
Taking my son racing with me at Sandown on Saturday was a double risk. Eight days into his first serious attempt to give up smoking since the bicycle shed days, Alex warned me that he might be in a state to commit violence against any man, woman or animal who crossed him. In the event that proved no problem. His natural- ly equable temperament, a phone call offering him a job on a new film as we entered the racecourse and a liberal supply of Guinness saw to that.
The bigger problem was how to over- come his scepticism about my tipping. John Prescott's belief in fairies is stronger than my son's faith in my ability to forecast win- ners. No sooner do I mention a horse's prospects to him than it puts its foot in a pothole between hurdles or the jockey describes a graceful arc over the next fence while his mount fails to accompany him. But this was going to be different. The first, I assured him, was likely to be won at tight odds by Lord Brex so we might go for Zahari as the best value chance of beating him. Not bad. Lord Brex won and Zahari, who crossed the last in front, did bring us our money back each way coming second at 5-1.
In the next I urged support for Simon Dow's Chief's Song, on the basis that hors- es which have won at Sandown before tend to do so again, even if the going didn't suit him. Chief's Song looked beaten three out but under Adrian Maguire's urging he came again to win by a neck at 11-2. Was that a tinge of regard for father's sagacity that I sensed? Probably just the glow of the third Guinness.
P: The next two races went to Tiutchev and .2 Monsignor as I predicted. But then most > t other people on the racecourse had made .4 the same prediction and both started as short odds favourites. Since I had suggest- ed a 1-2 forecast on Tiutchev and Good Vibes, who finished second at 7-1, I was definitely still there in the filial respect stakes. But having lost my son in the crowd before the next I was just emerging from the Gents on the way to back Andy Thorn- ton's mount Lancastrian Jet when I was accosted by a genial Irishman who wished to tell me the political importance of the Ladbroke Hurdle, which had just been run at Leopardstown. Suspecting that he might have a story worth retailing in The Specta- tor, I listened. Such are the sacrifices I make for you, dear readers. But not only was I wrong. I was then too late reaching my son to be able to get on my bet. Lancas- trian Jet duly won at 4-1, but Alex was underwhelmed.
I should have realised my luck was start- ing to turn. But foolishly I decided to rec- ommend a double stake on Sir Valentine, for whom I had had half a tip, at 10-1 in the last. Coming round the first circuit he was going nicely but, as his owner Adrian Pratt told me afterwards, he couldn't act in the holding, tacky ground and came home walking among the also-rans.
Fathers were back in the same category but I decided to go for broke. After Chiefs Song's victory I had hoped to chat to train- er Simon Dow, but found him dashing off to the all-weather at Lingfield to see his Madame Jo run in the last. Since Simon quite fancied her chances I informed my son that this was the getting out stakes. I doubled my usual bet. With the impetuosi- ty of youth, he trebled his. But as we watched on the course-to-course TV Madame Jo never showed. It was a rather quiet journey home. Perhaps my daughter will come next time . . .
But if it was a less profitable day than it might have been it still had some high- lights, notably the sight of Mark Pitman's Monsignor coming home such a convincing winner of the Sun 'King of The Punters' Hurdle to retain his unbeaten record over hurdles. Any regular reader of this column knows how high a regard I have for Mark Pitman's dedication and ability and this was the perfect answer to a cruel blow he had had earlier in the week when 85-year-old Robert Hitchins, a long-time patron of Jenny Pitman's, decided to withdraw his 17 horses from Mark's Weathercock House stables.
He has split them instead between Ron Hodges, who has had just four winners this season, and Mandy Bowlby, who hasn't had any. Since Jenny Pitman (who was not given prior notice of the move) is supposed to be Mr Hitchins's racing adviser and since Mrs Bowlby is her sister and Mark's aunt, this was doubly embarrassing.
His mother had faxed Mark a copy of Kipling's 'If and he certainly proved that he can keep his head when all about him are losing theirs. Showing considerable dig- nity, he refused to say anything about the Hitchins affair and concentrated on Mon- signor, insisting that the real target was the Gold Cup in 2002 for the big chestnut horse who won the Cheltenham Festival bumper this year. 'He was not bought to be champion bumper or champion hurdler.'
The horse, he said, had lived up to every- thing they had hoped for. Norman Williamson had given him a blow on the bottom corner but when he had given the horse a kick two out he had all the others (including the useful Best Mate, the only one to make a race of it) in trouble. Mon- signor, he said, seemed fitter and more mentally attuned than on his previous wins. 'He has size and scope, he has gears and he stays. But of course we need some good luck and the horse staying in one piece.'
That always takes luck as Mr Hitchins, whose two best horses have both been injured, ought to remember. He has com- plained about his horses not running often enough but the racecourse view was that his action was that of an old man in a hurry. Monsignor's owner Malcolm Den- mark is Mark Pitman's business partner at Weathercock House and he insisted that their operation goes ahead unaffected. They had to think of the long term, and what people were forgetting, he said, was that Mark Pitman won't compromise his strong views about training. This is a train- er who won't run unfit horses. Amen to that.
Robin Oakley is political editor of the BBC.
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