Those ante-post punters are at it again. Despite the probability of tearing up vouchers for Stravinsky Dance in the totesport Trophy at Newbury on Saturday, they remain undeterred.
That horse may not run because his amateur jockey, Sam Waley-Cohen, may not be available to take the ride, leaving some punters nursing an under-nourished wallet. However, like Samuel Johnson’s view that remarriage was a “triumph of hope over experience”, the ante-post punters simply stiffen the sinew, summon up the bank manager and return to the fray. The Cheltenham Festival may be on the horizon but the race which seems to be catching the attention of some is more than two months away and does not even have any entries yet.
The 2000 Guineas market might still be expected to reside in its winter hibernation but, even though spring has clearly not yet sprung just yet, St Nicholas Abbey is being backed.
Trying to follow on from the Classic act of 2009 that was Sea The Stars was never going to be easy but St Nicholas Abbey did his best when he won the Racing Post Trophy in October. It was a performance that caught the imagination, not least of the official handicapper, who rated the colt the top two-year-old in Europe, by which time the Classic debate had already started.
St Nicholas Abbey clearly has the make and shape of a Derby contender but could he match Sea The Stars by winning the 2000 Guineas as well? At the time Aidan O’Brien, who trains St Nicholas Abbey, kept it simple. “He wouldn't have any problem with the Guineas trip depending on what his owners want to do,” he said. “He’s a very classy horse as he showed at Doncaster and all the options will be open to him next year. When the spring comes we will have the Classics in mind for the better horses and that’s when the decisions will be made.”
However, some punters have already made their decision – but are they right?
History does not appear to be on their side. Apart from the fact that Sea The Stars was the first colt since Nashwan, in 1989, to complete the Guineas-Derby double, the Racing Post Trophy has not proved a very good trial for the Guineas with only one colt, High Top, achieving in both races in 1971-72.
St Nicholas Abbey used his telling turn of foot to win at Doncaster but was this beating a field of tyro middle-distance runners rather the next generation of milers? His pedigree strongly suggests he will need middle distances this season. His sire, Montjeu, has yet to sire a top-class miler, which is partly because his success has been as the progenitor of Derby winners attracts breeders looking to produce that type of stamina-imbued progeny.
St Nicholas Abbey became the third son of Montjeu – from what was then only six crops of racing age – to win the Racing Post Trophy. The other two were Motivator and Authorized, who both went on to win the Derby in the following season, but never raced over a mile as a three-year-old.
If the messages about St Nicholas Abbey are somewhat mixed then the one for the BHA to jockeys yesterday was simple. Beware the joy of text.
The BHA handed out fines to three jockeys who broke the Rules about using their mobile phones. Eddie Ahern was hit with a £600 fine because the BHA took into account his failure to provide his mobile phone accounts until written to on two separate occasions.
Those bills showed he had breached Rule 140B by sending a text from his mobile during a “restricted period” while at Bath last July. Richard Hughes’ mistake was to send two texts while at Kempton on September 23rd. He was, in mitigation, attempting to contact his wife, who was having a hospital check-up, but should have sought permission from the clerk of the scales, which set him back £500.
The same amount goes into the BHA coffers from Nick Scholfield, who sent a message from his mobile during the restricted period at Fontwell on June 11th. Although it was in response to a congratulatory message from an owner, the moral for Schofield was that courtesy may be priceless bit it can cost something.
The restriction on the access to mobile phones has a serious side, as the racing authorities attempt to prevent their use for potential criminal activities but the early days of the restrictions did bring their own black humour - as Paddy Brennan found out to his cost.
The jockey was fined £250 by the Haydock stewards in 2004. It was not a hard case for the officials to prosecute because when Brennan’s phone rang he was already in the middle of a stewards’ inquiry.
If only ante-post punters had such easy clues.
Tags: