Too late, too late
Robin Oakley
When the G8 summit of the leading industrial democracies was held in London one year recently, some Russian officials were quartered temporarily in No. 10 Downing Street. They were much intrigued by a map on the wall with a number of coloured pins stuck into it. Puzzled that anybody should leave in their presence what they took to be the sites of underground bunkers for regional government come a nuclear catastrophe they eventually asked what the significance of the markers might be. It turned out that they had been given the office of the Patronage Secretary and the pins indicated the bishoprics of the Church of England. But perhaps if it was the public advice of the bishops which finally persuaded Tony Blair to delay the Election we should not underestimate the strategic significance of the Church after all. Having advised the Epsom Race Committee that they could count on the Election being on 3 May and not the day before the Derby meeting, I was not best pleased by the semi-divine intervention. But at least all the General Election kerfuffle will be over now by the big day. Perhaps Derby Day can be the start of a new national mood after all the doom and gloom which has made us all feel guilty about enjoying anything.
The Prime Minister, naturally, told the Sun first about his plans. I was having a week of learning things just a little too late. At Ascot on Saturday I told my table at the Weatherbys lunch to punt confidently on the Queen Mother's Bella Macrae, having been much impressed by her previous run at Sandown. In the Tote queue I bumped into a friend who was hotfoot from lunch with the great lady and who informed me that Her Maj didn't think Bella Macrae would handle the really tacky ground. My
blushes were spared when poor Bella Macrae was brought down early in the race. An even more important lady in my life, namely Mrs Oakley, had told me on a rare racecourse visit that she fancied John Akehurst's Pietro Bembo. I told her patronisingly that Pietro Bembo had some ability but would be let down by his jumping and left him unbacked. In the unsaddling enclosure as John Akehurst greeted his 14-1 winner he revealed that, on Graham Bradley's advice, he had sent Pietro Bembo to jumping coach Yogi Breisner, who had really improved him. It was the first time he had sent a horse to the famed jumping guru. When I revealed more knowledge gained too late Mrs Oakley's face had that 'You're now at the bottom of the class and you're likely to be there some time' look.
But fortunately I did tell her to back Eau de Cologne in the next and Lydia Richards's charge did the business at 5-1, despite it being the wrong distance and the wrong kind of ground. Clerks of the Course come in for plenty of stick. It was good to hear the elegant Mrs Richards pay tribute to how helpful Nick Cheyne, the Ascot Clerk, had been in telling her that he expected it to be soft rather than heavy on the chase course and reminding her that it would be the first race on the ground. But then as one of my fellow hacks said, 'With a voice like hers on the phone, anybody would want to be helpful.'
I have rather a soft spot for long-distance hurdlers and the feature race of the day, the Grade II Weatherbys Hurdle over three miles, looked just the kind of race for my old favourite Anzum, once in David Nicholson's hands, now trained by Richard Phillips. Although he was running on at the end, Anzum could not catch Martin Pipe's Maid Equal, on whom the young amateur Tom Scudamore showed excellent pace judgment. He and Ben Hitchcott are both deserving of the amateur's title but it sounds as though Tom might turn professional before it is decided. He wants to make the change, he said, at a time when things are going well, and they could hardly be going better for the talented son of the former champion Peter Scudamore. As for Anzum, Richard Phillips said he had never really been travelling in the tacky ground. At ten, the old horse has had a lot of little injuries over the years and he was probably looking after himself a bit. It is a case of Anzum is as Anzum wants to do these days. As Richard joked, 'He tends to like a year between his races.' But there is at least one more good race in him yet, I feel.
As for this week's big race at Aintree I was assured by Richard, who trains Noble Lord, and by Charlie Mann, trainer of Moral Support, that both their charges have been working well. Along with Brian Meehan, Mick Channon and Paul Nicholls Charlie is about to set up a new Trainers In Touch service information line. I am not sure about the title — Tits could be an unfortunate acronym and they'll have to tone down Mick's adjectives for female respondents — but the entertainment content with that quartet can be guaranteed. Charlie's wife Susannah was otherwise occupied while he was musing about the dimensions of the bikini-clad lady they were thinking of having on display at Aintree as a walking advertisement. Anyway, whatever she wears, I am going for Moral Support in the Grand National with Noble Lord and Smarty for the places. Addington Boy, my fancy in previous years, has twice run well in the race and looks like a good bet to get round but at 13 he is bound to find one or two faster. May they all come back safely.
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