Friday, September 04, 2009

Thunderbirds are go

This week, according to the Racing Post, is Kieren Fallon week, which means that today must be Kieren Fallon day. It's going to be exciting watching him ride again. In a way his perceived greatness - or 'the perceived greatness of his riding' might be a better way of putting it - has been blown out of all proportion in the excitement preceding his return, because he is only a jockey who, in common with all other jockeys, can't come without the horse; and furthermore, while he is a very good jockey, there are plenty of / several (delete as applicable) other very good jockeys who have been galloping across our TV screens on a daily basis for the past couple of years without attracting a great deal of comment. However, there is no getting away from the fact that he is one of the three dominant jockeys of the current era (the other two being Frankie Dettori and Tony McCoy) so it will be good to have him back. And he is a hugely charismatic character who is as lovable as he is roguish, so that's an extra dimension to his appeal.

In a way I feel slightly awkward about joining in the hysteria which forms his welcome, because he is returning from a drug-related suspension, and drug taking is a very bad thing. In fact it is not far from being the root of a large proportion of modern-day society's problems, and the fact that Kieren previously decided that drug-taking and jockeying could happily co-exist - not to mention his various other misdemeanours - inevitably goes into the debit side of his ledger. However, I think that the principal of crime and punishment is meant to be that, once a person has served his punishment, the slate is wiped clean and the miscreant is welcomed back into the fold - in fact, I am sure that that is the basis on which the whole legal and penal system was set up - so let's now just enjoy watching him ride without agonising too much over another's imperfections.

As we are in the season of rapidly-shortening days and rapidly-dropping temperatures, there's no bad thing in having some little excitements such as this to distract ourselves from the depressing season which is autumn. This week is proving, for me, one of the most depressing of the year, because it is the one which sees me getting accustomed again to the daily habit of getting up in the dark rather than in daylight. I hate that - and when it gets cold, as it will shortly do, that's even worse.

But the changing of the seasons is a fact of life, so there's no point in worrying about it. In any case, autumn comes with some compensations, such as being able to sit next to Natagora (who is visible in the photograph, if you look carefully) by the kitchen window at dawn and watch the occasional spectacular sunrise, such as the one in this photograph a couple of days ago. And of course the other consolation of autumn is that, certainly the way we operate, it means that there might be a few young horses getting ready to start racing, which is always exciting. And a few jumpers getting ready to resume. We have, amazingly, four horses entered next week (on past form it will be a miracle if all four run, but as of today all four are fit, sound, healthy and intended runners) and one of these, Stardust Memories, would be a young first-starter. And where there are untried horses, there is hope.

On the subject of horses, a couple who deserve a pat on the back, along with their trainers, are War Artist and Cadeaux Fax. The former, a lovely and well-travelled professional whom we regularly see doing his warm-up trots on the Severals, won last Sunday the historic Goldene Peitsche (Golden Whip) in Baden-Baden, which was a lovely result. He hasn't been easy for his trainer James Eustace as he's had a few problems along the way, but James, plus the horse's attendant/exercise rider Chloe Madgin, can be very proud of this great victory. And, at a lesser level, I ought to tip my hat to Rod Millman, trainer of a recent Largesse winner, Cadeaux Fax. Before joining Rod's stable, this horse had had three runs for Andy Haynes' stable, which led to the BHA handicapper allotting him a rating of 21 and the Racing Post describing him as "beyond hope". Cadeaux Fax finished a good fifth on his first run for Rod in July at 100/1, which saw his handicap mark raised from 21 to 52, and on Monday the horse broke his maiden, on his 9th start, by winning a handicap at Chepstow off a mark of 54. Which I'd say reflects huge credit on his trainer. Incidentally, I am having to highlight this saga through gritted teeth, because it means that Rod has taken a record off me: previously, I believe, I held the record as the only trainer to have had a horse's rating doubled in one hit (Quakeress' rating was raised from 15 to 30 for winning a seller at Wolverhampton in the depths of winter 8 years ago), but this 21 to 52 hike has blown me out of the water!

6 comments:

problemwalrus said...

Great early morning photo.Couldn't spot Natagora though but was viewing it on a tiny laptop. It is beginning to feel autumnal isn't it.Interesting to see the media genarated by Keiren Fallon's return, hope he does well.I am anticipating the NH season too , particularly the return of Fiveforthree who is a magnificent horse.

John Berry said...

I too am a huge Fiveforthree fan. I had him in my 12-to-follow last winter and he'll be in again this time. Willie Mullins' team looks to get stronger and stronger every season.

Fiddling The Facts said...

But what about the return of Venalmar, PW? Not that's something to get excited about.

Fiddling The Facts said...

Er, I meant NOW that's something to get excited about. Would help if I could type...

Zoë Vicarage said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Zoë Vicarage said...

I love the early morning picture and I definetley saw Natagora in it. I am keeping tabs on how Kieron Fallon does on his return and Niche Market for the NH season.