Rio de la Plata back on top for Frankie Dettori
Relationships between jockeys and horses can often be short and frenetic affairs but occasionally they can run deeper.
Away from the glare of the grandstands there was the sight of Jamie Spencer, after Sariska had refused to leave the starting stalls for the Yorkshire Oaks, quietly soothing the mare and leading her back to the stables. And there are also moments when winning a race means more because of the horse who won it.
Frankie Dettori won his third race of York’s Ebor meeting when Rio de la Plata won the Group Three Sky Bet Strensall Stakes, but the smile on the Italian’s face could not have been any wider if he had won the Derby.
Rio de la Plata could only manage seventh behind New Approach when he ran in that race three years ago, and since then has been punctuated by spells on the sidelines with various problems, but he proved that he is no back number when he beat hot favourite Rainbow Peak by a neck for a third win of the season and proof of the powers of patience of his trainer, Saeed bin Suroor.
“He’s one of my favourite horses in the stable,” Dettori said. He’s been about a long time, been everywhere in the world and he’s had a tremendous amount of injuries. To get him back to win a Group race is a great achievement for Saeed and all the staff in the yard. He’s been a good old servant so it’s a great joy when they come back.
“It took a year to get him going. Usually horses don’t but he’s got tremendous character and everybody loves him dearly. He knows where the winning post is so he was saving himself a bit in front but it was a good effort.”
“He has had a lot of problems in the past but he seems very happy this year and he always tries his best in his races,” Bin Suroor said. "There are no real plans for him at the moment, but we will probably try and find another Group race for him."
The defeat for Rainbow Peak was a rare one for Michael Jarvis, who has a 36% strike-rate for the month, and normal service was resumed when Yaa Wayl won the Listed Sky Bet City of York Stakes for Philip Robinson, a jockey who may be the elder statesman of the weighing room these days but yields to no-one in a finish.
Franny Norton’s grey hair suggests that he is slightly closer to the end of his career that the start but he still knows where the winning post is, even if Mount Athos took the scenic route to victory in the Sky Bet Melrose Handicap. A strong early pace thinned and put the field to the point where only three were left in with a chance hitting the furlong pole.
Mount Athos looked to have the measure of both Christopher Wren and Tactician but then Norton seemed to make a tactical error on Mount Athos. Feeling that the colt was idling he pulled his whip through to his right hand. However, one crack brought an immediate but adverse reaction as his horse swerved from centre course to the stands’ rail, forfeiting at least two lengths to Tactician.
However, Mount Athos is clearly progressive type – having gone up 20lbs so far this season – and he still managed to reel in Tactician to win by a half-length leaving Norton to say: “I nearly blew it didn’t I?
“He took me into the race real solid and then he was just idling a little bit do I thought ‘just give you a little smack here, just to keep you on your job’ and he went across the track and nearly gave it away.”
Next stop could be the Mallard Handicap at Doncaster in four weeks’ time.
http://www.senore.com/Sole-Power-hits-top-speed-Nunthorpe-Stakes-a22623
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