Peaks and troughs
Robin Oakley
Ionce bought a house from a chap who insisted that Shakepeare’s entire output had in fact been penned by Francis Bacon. Be that as it may, Bacon did come up with the odd pithy insight, as when he argued, ‘Wives are young men’s mistresses, companions for middle age and old men’s nurses.’ Lately, I have been putting Mrs Oakley’s companionship qualities to the test with a trapped sciatic nerve, which has made me about as much fun to live with as John McEnroe at two sets down and serving to save the match.
Fortunately, the saintly Mrs O is blessed with a realism that deserts her only when faced with a decision on which dress or shoes to wear for major social occasions, a decision which is rarely completed until the hour most others are actually arriving at the event. When I am seized by the urge, for example, to attempt home repairs she insists, ‘For God’s sake, go away and write another article while I employ a professional.’ This time it was the reminder that a limping man who skipped up the stairs as fast as I did after his third large consolation whisky was unlikely to be suffering from anything terminal which brought things back into perspective.
Realism is a quality you look for in trainers, too, and there was plenty of it on display at Newbury last Saturday. With three consecutive victories under his belt, though not at enticing prices, Thurloe Thoroughbreds’ Corrybrough has so far been the star of our Ten to Follow this season. But in the Group Three Uplands Racing Hackwood Stakes Corrybrough could only finish second. It was a case of ‘the operation was a success, but the patient died’. Or as trainer Henry Candy wryly put it, ‘It was a very valuable exercise. Apart from the fact he got stuffed, I’m perfectly happy.’ The son of Kyllachy coped with the good to firm ground, the six furlongs and the step up in class. But the trainer confessed to having given Ryan Moore the wrong instructions. He had told him not to let rival sprinter Strike The Deal get too far ahead of him. ‘But I should have kept my trap shut. Ryan said he ran much too freely. He needs to be out at the back and go to sleep. If he runs at six furlongs again he will have to be held up.’ At least I had the consolation of having a Tote swinger bet coupling Corrybrough with the horse who beat him, Hughie Morrison’s Intrepid Jack. His jockey George Baker had been told to hold up his mount and he did so to perfection, leading only inside the final furlong. I had seen Hughie queuing at the Tote window before the race and so I assumed he had been taking advantage of the 12–1. ‘Oh, no. I wasn’t remotely hopeful. He had a slightly crusty nose this morning and I nearly didn’t run him. I was collecting my winnings on the first race.’ What was noteworthy was Hughie’s insistence that his six-year-old had made a decent field look moderate, without even having had a very hard race. And with that sort of victory under his belt he was clear about future plans. ‘He needs a flat track and decent ground. Soft doesn’t suit him.’ So now Intrepid Jack, a £20,000 guineas sales purchase who collected £36,000 for his Newbury effort, will now be aimed at some Continental prizes. And I shall make a point of joining the Tote queue in future when I see Hughie betting. He was collecting again after a later race.
Another man in the money was Newmarket trainer William Haggas. Always one of the friendliest faces on the racecourse, he was swift to give praise to bloodstock agent Gill Richardson after his Jargelle had pipped Richard Hannon’s Infamous Angel to win the Weatherbys Super Sprint for two-year-olds. One of the richest races for the age group in Europe, the five-furlong contest is restricted to horses bought at auction for £48,000 or less, and Richardson, he pointed out, had secured the filly, whose prize was £79,500, for a good value £28,000.
He used to buy all the yearlings for the winning syndicate himself, joked the trainer, but they had wanted someone better on the job. A typically generous response. But then William is sitting 12th in the trainers’ list with 40 winners already this season. He was humorously bemoaning the fact that his keen Newmarket rival Michael Bell, who has 44, seems to pull one out every Saturday. But Jargelle’s handsome prize has put William two places ahead in the trainers’ table, which is determined by stakes won.
One of the first to come and congratulate the winning trainer was Mrs Georgina Bell. It is the very best kind of sporting rivalry between two yards, which manage in a highly competitive business to put across the sheer enjoyment that comes with racing, too.
It was good too to see the smile back on Mark Johnston’s face after his Hunting Country had run out a convincing fourlength winner of the ten-furlong handicap. Few people think as intensively about training, and about racing administration, as the Middleham trainer, who is a qualified vet. After a low-key Ascot he was reflecting that you sometimes get troughs in performance, usually when the horses are underweight and not looking their best. ‘We analyse a lot but rarely come to positive conclusions. As usual, you’re out of it before you really know what’s causing it.’ I only hope the same proves true with my sciatic nerve. So, I suspect, does Mrs Oakley.
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