The turf
(Nearly) Heaven on earth
Robin Oakley
There is nothing quite like that tingle of anticipation as you slalom (slowly, of course, officer) through Six Mile Bottom and catch your first glimpse of Newmar- ket's high hedges on a racing morning. When the October sun reflects brightly off well-burnished chestnut and bay coats on the first day of the Houghton meeting, and you get 20-1 about a 16-1 winner, it is diffi- cult not to feel you are as close to Heaven as the flat racing scene provides.
When I chided Jimmy Goldsmith, once a racing man himself, for holding his first (and probably last) Referendum Party con- ference last Saturday, thus confining us all to Brighton on Cesarewitch day, he responded that it was a mark of how far he had come in 15 years. But by forcing me to snatch the chance of some racing two days earlier he did me a favour. 110. When the cheerful crowd made River of Fortune favourite for the Equity Financial Collections Selling Stakes it was a collec- tive triumph of hope over experience. The apprentice-ridden filly had finished second in five of her previous six races. But this time she held on to a win by a fast-dimin- ishing short head in the photo-finish. Trainer Mark Tompkins observed to con- nections afterwards, 'I told you to shout. They were blowing her home.'
The unlucky trainer there was Lam- bourn's Brian Meehan, handler of the sec- ond, Princess of Hearts. And if it hasn't been her would-be namesake's year, then it has certainly been one to help put this ambitious young Irishman on the map. After six years as assistant to Richard Han- non, Brian Meehan has held a licence of his own since 1992. The 14 winners in his first season were doubled to 29 in the sec- ond. Last season he increased his tally to 47 and he is on target to exceed that num- ber this year with 42 under his belt already by the time we met at Newmarket's fish bar caravan last Thursday.
Last year he won the first group race with Tumbleweed Ridge. This year he has won more Group races with the resilient Easycall, including the Richmond Stakes and Goodwood and the Cornwallis Stakes at Ascot. Easycall will be aimed at some of the top sprints next year including the King's Stand Stakes and the Prix de L'Abbaye and others he reckons as good prospects to train on include Royal Amaretto, Tumbleweed Pearl, Tycoon Girl and Mr Magica.
Brian Meehan pays tribute to Hannon as a serious man with whom to work. 'He's really hands on. He was more in touch with individual horses than any of us.' But he is clearly a man with the capacity to attract and keep good people himself. He regrets that so little of the money in racing finds its way into the hands of dedicated stable staff. 'Huge money is spent on these ani- mals and those who look after them are skilled people. It is hard to pay them as much as they are worth when you are try- ing to stay competitive.'
He denied, incidentally, reports that Michael Tebbutt was to be stable jockey at Newlands Stables next season. He will con- tinue to use on a regular basis both Teb- butt and Brett Doyle.
His biggest criticism of the racing set-up is that handicapping tends to work against the progressive horse. 'You get some that are top handicappers but they are not quite Group horses. They get handicapped to the point where the only thing to do with them is to sell them abroad. Some lovely horses are being exported.'
A friend had told me that Brian Meehan is fanatical about the feed he gives his hors- es. He is certainly keen to see that they get the best, and his particular mix includes honey and seaweed along with the best oats and a high protein conditioner. They have more sophisticated equipment now, but in the early days a thoughtful owner provided a small concrete mixer for preparing the Meehan mash.
He has done particularly well with two- year-olds but he has no preferences for the kind of animals he trains: 'Anything I can win races with.' But what he and wife Kim would not mind is another jumper or two to give the yard a greater interest in the winter game. On his progressive flat results, Newlands is surely worth a try if you happen to have a nice hurdler without a home.
The Meehan yard is now too well estab- lished to come into the category. But what
you need either as a first-time owner or as a punter seeking value for money is a keen young trainer on the way up who has not yet caught the public imagination. And that is where I struck lucky at Newmarket. Cry- havoc, trained by another Upper Lam- bourn resident, Rupert Arnold, had won nicely at Epsom on 11 September. Three of the horses who finished close behind him that day had won since. And yet, because J.R. Arnold is not yet a household name along with the Stoutes and Cecils and Han- nons, Cryhavoc was available in opening prices for the Birdcage Nursery at 20-1. Gratefully, I helped myself, and watched Seb Sanders bring him home a one-and-a- half-length winner, by then four points shorter on the books.
Sprinting should be Cryhavoc's game next season. But make a note too of Arnold R.J. Formerly an assistant to the prolific Paul Cole, and the trainer of nine winners so far this season, he has clearly demonstrated that, if the horse is good enough, then so is he.
Robin Oakley is political editor of the BBC.
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