Juliette's Weekly Frolic
The majority of the press corps gathered at the Jockey Club last Tuesday were expecting a pronouncement on the future of the Grand National — with or without a live performance from Mrs Topham. Instead they received the startling news that by 1975 women could — given the necessary ability — earn their living in the saddle. Considering that not even the committee members of the Lady Jockeys' Association Were in on the secret, the person who scheduled publication of Caroline Ramsden's Ladies' in Racing (Stanley Paul £2.25) for the following Monday must have a psychic sense of timing. This book covers all manner of racing ladies from Lily Langtry to 'Old Kate,' the racecard-seller, and is surprisingly good on Dorothy Paget, who is frequently a tedious subject. Ironically it only devotes three pages to the lady riders of today., but luckily these contain nothing contradicted by last week's turn of events and it is only on the question of lady members of the Jockey Club that Miss Ramsden may have come a little unstuck. "1 doubt if it will be in my time " is her comment: I suspect she would like to revise that opinion now.
The authoress's father was Chairman of Manchester Racecourse and one of the greatest sufferers of that course's closure 'has been the Manchester (November) Handicap, now moved to Doncaster, where it plays a shadowy role as second fiddle to the Observer Gold Cup. Logically Robert Armstrong's Funny Man hasn't a hope or winning this race since not only has he yet to tackle Saturday's distance of twelve furlongs, but with 8.6 has an appalling amount of weight for a three-year-old. However, there are a number of points in his favour: his mum could manage the distance, he has scored three tenfurlong wins this season and only a long layoff put me off his chances in the Cambridgeshire. Presuming he flexed his muscles sufficiently at Newmarket the colt could make me very happy this Saturday.
If I were betting on El-in-thepool-winner-takes-all basis, Vincent O'Brien'S Apalachee Would be the automatic choice for the preceding Observer Gold Cup. As it is, it only needs a brief glance at his current odds to convince me that Snow Knight will beat him hollow. And who is Snow Knight? You are entitled to ask considering his name figures in neither the ante-post betting nor the pre-race reports. But this is very strange considering he scored impressively at Newbury in July and would have beaten Giacometti in another stride of the seven-furlong Champagne Stakes.
Personally I'm going to Newbury but have resigned myself to an afternoon in the bar, glued to the televised action at Doncaster. The 4.0 is unlikely to be shown but that should not prevent Be My Guest, who won first time out at Wetherby when not fully tuned up, from repeating the performance.
Assets: E81.62. Outlay In to win• Funny Man, Snow Knight and Be My Guest.
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