Juliette 's Weekly Frolic
Those fighting to save the sport of kings from the ravages of the advertiser and his billboards, would not be at all pleased if the offending firms retreated from the battlefield altogether, taking their many thousand pounds of prize money with them. The traditionalists want the highest international standard of racing, the latter enable the racecourses to provide it and vulgar and garish as hoardings may be, they are a necessary part of the deal.
The William Hill Organisation, with the recently-revealed boost to Newmarket's three two-year-old classics, now reckon to spend an annual £75,000. No one pretends that firms are moved by purely noble and disinterested sentiments when doling out all that cash. All the same it is impossible to justify this mammoth expenditure in terms of business lost and won and when Hills claim a genuine desire to put something back into racing, there is no reason t,) disbelieve them — they have a more than passing interest in its healthy survival after all. Their most famous and established race, the William Hill Gold Cup is due for its fourteenth renewal at Redcar on Saturday.
My vague supposition that the ante-post book opened on a race such as this would go some way towards recouping the outlay is apparently wide of the mark, especially when a handicap good thing' like the three-year-old Dynastic frightens away much of the opposition. The favourite's near-classic form in France together with bottornweight of 7.7 has meant backing as If the other thirteen runners — and luck — didn't come into it. On the face of it he can't possibly be beaten, but 7-4 is a farcical price for a handicap.
Bill Marshall's wonder grey, Polacca, doesn't know how to stop winning however much dead weight is loaded on his back but again 6-1 is not an enticing price about a horse who has to give two stone to the favourite. Noel Murless's Leicester could be the surprise package, but for pretty inexplicable reasons I prefer the chances of Horbury. Fiveyear-olds have the best record in this race, and for what it's worth he is 91b better off with recent conqueror Loudon Gale, defeated Swinging Junior and Golden Tack at Haydock last month and carries only 8 stone.
A heap of familiar names take the field for the following North Yorkshire Stakes, and although it's a conditions race for three-yearolds and upwards, they come in all shapes and sizes. There's the Cambridgeshire winner, King Midas, the horse up front most of the way in the Epsom Derby, Meadow Mint, and even the winner of the Donbros Knitwear ladies' race, Jimsun. All these must have a great chance but will hopefully be left standing by open Season. This ex-Irish colt, on his Derby Day reappearance, ran Sussex Stakes winner Sallust to a length with Roy Bridge and the infamous Crespinall in the rear. A son of Sea Bird, stamina on this, his first venture over 10 furlongs, is unlikely to present any problems.
People tend to get as excited about the opening of the 'nursery' season as they will later over the grouse and pheasants. I will no doubt fare little better with the horses than I would with the birds, but there's a reasonable chance of Hard Blow defying his topweight in the 3.0 at Newmarket on Friday. Last time out he beat Starred over a furlong less of the Bunbury Mile than he tackles here.
Assets: £102.90, Outlay: £2 ew Horbury, £3 to win Open Season and Hard Blow.
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