Juliette's Weekly Frolic
On Tuesday afternoon in a record 2 mins 7.1 secs Roberto stood the current flat season on its head. For Brigadier Gerard, with Ribot's record there for the equalling, the result was tragic; for the most maligned Derby winner of all time and his supposedly sub-standard contemporaries it was a just revenge making nonsense of the second voting in the Racehorse ot the Year Award issued the day before. Trailing in seventh place, 178 points behind ' The Brigadier ', the Epsom winner with 18 was even deemed inferior to York disappointments Rheingold (43), Ginevra (32) and Falkland (22). It now remains to be seen what this unsung hero, so nearly re-routed to an ,easier task in the Great Voltigeur, makes of Mill Reef in the ' Arc '.
After York anything would be an anti-climax, but the bookmakers, A. Williams, keep the money north of the Trent with their Saturday prize at Haydock. The second running of this seven-furlong handicap attracts a strong field headed by Bill Marshall's grey Polacca, who had appeared as invincible as Brigadier Gerard until bringing up the rear in the William Hill Gold Cup. Red Mask, Bright Fire and last year's winner Gaykart should figure prominently but with only 7st 12Ib Golden Tack has a good opportunity to score his first victory for two years. It has been said that this five-yearold has fallen out of love with racing, but his record this year hardly justifies such a view. Failing by a neck under topweight at Salisbury he earlier ran the race of his life in a blanket finish at Lingfield — a short head behind Jan Ekels who on Sunday ran third to Lyphard and High Top in France.
An hour later, Cherry Pip heads the weights for the Wigan Sprint. The filly proved her wellbeing with two wins in under forty-eight hours earlier in the month, but will be pushed to give 7Ib to Downstream. After two minor victories the colt hit the big time when a (subsequently disqualified) neck second to Some Hand in the Northumberland Sprint Trophy.
Whether he turns out for the 3.0 handicap on Friday or 1.30 ' maiden ' on Saturday, Hama' dan should make the winning enclosure at Lingfield. An easy winner of a three-horse affair at Ascot, he had been in close attendance on both Dynastic and Brigade Major 10 maidens earlier in the season.
Assets: £87.90. Outlay: £3 to win Golden Tack, Downstream and Hamadan.
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