Nostalgia, part two

I've just got back from Lingfield where we had our first runner of the year, Pantomime Prince (of whom more later) and a note of sadness has been added to a rather pleasant day by reading on thoroughbredinternet.com of the death of Brigid Payne at the age of 36. People die every day, and if you don't know them, you don't know them - yes, we know that, and I never met Brigid, but to hear of the death of heart failure of any 36-year-old is sad, particularly when it is a member of a family whom the entire racing community holds in the highest respect and affection, a family which has already suffered its share of heart-ache. Paddy senior had to bury his wife at an early age and raise his family himself - and haven't they all been a credit to him, with no fewer than eight becoming talented and respected jockeys? - and it is so sad to hear that he's now having to bury one of his children. For anyone unfamiliar with the Paynes, I strongly recommend Tony Kneebone's book of that name; I'd be prepared to lend my copy, but I'll definitely want it back.

Which leads me back to my ongoing reminicences of 2006, because one thought which has been haunting me since Emma and I went to the meet (on foot) of the Thurlow Hunt (where the riders included our vet David Dugdale and his wife Clodagh, Richard Perham, and a doctor called Roddy O'Donnell with whom I went to school and with whom I have recently regained contact - we haven't yet met up, but I hope to put that right before too long) on Boxing Day has been the fate of Anthony Gillam. You will probably recall that Anthony, one of the senior stipendiary stewards in the north, had a fall out hunting with, I think, the Middleton early last year which left him in a coma, in which I believe he remains. So very sad. He would be a candidate for the title of the most decent man I know, a true gentleman who is the perfect example of how racecourse stewarding should operate. A former amateur rider and then trainer for a few years - I believe he trained Red Rum briefly, but the only horse I really remember him training was Rambling Artist, who used to run against Red Rum in races such as the Greenall Whitley at Haydock - he is thoroughly versed in all aspects of racing horses, but oversees fair play in the kindest, most courteous manner - to everyone - you could imagine. He commands respect just by being himself, and I so wish that I could have the opportunity to tell him how much I respect him and how much poorer the racecourses are for his absence. Happier stories with which to begin the new year are Chris Kinane and J P McNamara, although neither is out of the woods by any means, and these stories are only happier in relative terms. It does, though, sound promising for J P, an excellent jockey and very decent man, as he struggles to regain mobility. As regards Chris, I spoke to Keith Cosby, the man who has worked wonders in organising the fund to raise money to help ease the torment for Chris and Tessa, a few days before Christmas and at least the update is that the struggle continues. He's been through a living hell and is still in it, but if there is any justice in the world, and if collective good will can have any effect, he'll be able to enjoy life again eventually.

In the absence of J P, who excelled on every horse he rode for this stable, the role of undervalued jockey we like to use for our few jumpers if we need someone has been taken on by Andrew Tinkler, an excellent young man who rode Bilkie a couple of times last year and who I think will have a very big future in the game. I was delighted when he rode a winner at the Cheltenham Festival and it is my prediction for 2007 that, with the retirement of Mick Fitzgerald scheduled for the end of the current season (both are attached to Nicky Henderson's stable), Andrew will be established as a major league jockey by the end of the year. Otherwise, Matthew Smith is our preferred option when he can do the weights. He is a thoroughly accomplished horseman, an outstanding schooling rider and outstanding value for his claim. Sadly, he hasn't been able to use that claim since having a very bad fall when representing GB in a FEGENTRI race in Germany in, I'd guess, September, and I think will be out for a few more months, but there'll always be horses for him to ride here.

The main reason I wanted to return to my end-of-year nostalgia (now that we've left the old year behind by a full ten days I think we can start being nostalgic) was that I realised that I hadn't mentioned stallions. And, having said that I would commend Largesse in my review, I must do so. So, here it is - Largesse had a cracking year, genuinely appears to upgrade his mares and using him would give anyone an opportunity of breeding a nice horse. And I'm putting my money where my mouth is. Otherwise, I'd say that stallion honours could be shared between Danehill Dancer and Dansili. The former couldn't go wrong, and produced grand horse after grand horse from, in general, pretty ordinary backgrounds, the money-factory (courtesy of the skill of Kevin Prendergast) Miss Beatrix being a prime example. Dansili had a summer and autumn to dream about. Emma and I had the pleasure of seeing him, and his brother Cacique, at Banstead Manor a few days ago, which was lovely. Cacique isn't at the moment a particularly imposing horse - and Dansili, for what appears to be a sire of middle-distance horses / stayers, is surprisingly compact - but that wouldn't bother me, as he actually reminds me of how Banstead's patriarch Rainbow Quest (we saw him too, in his stable) looked in his racing days. Mind you, I didn't pass on that opinion to anyone there, in case they told me to stop being stupid. But, think back - wasn't Rainbow Quest a fairly lanky, almost weedy, animal as a youngster? And look at him now! (So there's hope for me yet).

As regards trainers, I hailed a few of the more obvious achievers, but I feel it would be remiss of me not to mention the outstanding years enjoyed by Paul Midgley and Ron Harris. Both have really put their operations to the fore in the past year, and both are people who thoroughly deserve their success. John Quinn, too, has been one of the main achievers, and he too really deserves any credit or success he gets; so it is a real tribute to Ron that possibly his most successful horse has been Graze On, whom he bought out of John Quinn's yard after a selling race. Closer to home, Micky Quinn enjoyed an excellent year, and he too is a man I'm always glad to see in the winner's enclosure. Of our immediate neighbours, Jonathan Jay (mainly courtesy of the excellent jumper Tidal Fury) and Willie Musson both had good years, and it was great yesterday to see that Dave Morris has got off the mark so promptly 2007. Charlie McBride is another battler from Newmarket who enjoyed a great year (ten wins from a handful of horses), and his 2007 tally is already at two.

Our tally for the year, as I mentioned earlier, is no wins from one run, but that run, by Pantomime Prince, was promising enough today. The dear little horse seems to be thriving, and it was no disgrace to finish fifth, only a few lengths adrift of the winner, in the mile maiden today. The winner was a mighty horse - if you were drunk, you could have confused him for Dansili - which one would expect from a four-year-old colt, a half-brother to a Classic winner, who had cost 180,000 gns as a yearling and was now making a belated debut for Sir Michael Stoute. He's owned by Sean Woods, so I hope he did enough today to justify being taken to Hong Kong, because presumably Sean has a big investment tied up in him so it would be nice to see him getting a return. Pantomime Prince is, as eagle-eyed readers of this site might have picked up, a lovely little horse who is just a delight in every way. Martha has ridden him the past couple of days, and her verdict was that he "doesn't have a bad bone in his body". Mind you, the last person I heard a woman say that about was Richard Sims, so I'm not sure where that leaves us. Apart from Panto, two other horses have particularly contributed to the pleasantness of my day, because I seem to be the regular rider of Mattie Stokes and Belle Annie, and both gave me lovely rides this morning. Mattie is a real character, but seems to be learning to focus his energies on his work. Belle Annie will be a new name to you, because I see she isn't even up on the site yet. She's an unraced US-bred three-year-old daughter of a very distinguished stallion, Aptitude, from a US Stakes-winning GB-bred mare (who is a relative of the Mark Rimmer-ridden Cesarewitch winner Sir Michael, funnily enough). She's owned principally by Dave Huelin. We bought her out of Philip Mitchell's stable at the horses in training sale - and don't ask me if she's any good, because I really don't know. But I hope that we'll be a bit wiser in a few months' time.

But what I can say is that she seems a sweet filly. She returned from Kerry 's farm on Monday, along with Brief, Jill and the Diktat filly (pictured at top following Jill) and, as always, they've come back from there in great nick. We're so lucky to be able to send horses to relax there under Kerry's kind eye, and Anis Etoile and our naughty teenager Ben Bhraggie (pictured right) are currently the two enjoying the plentiful Norfolk grass.

Lastly, prompted by our best correspondent Problemwalrus, I should add a few Cheltenham Festival thoughts to the review. So sad it was that the death toll reached ten, of which that dear old rogue Holy Orders particularly sticks in my mind, but as always the downside of the Festival was balanced by its upside. My feeling after the Champion Hurdle was that that had to be the race of the season - but then two days later My Way De Solzen and Golden Cross (and the admirable Johnny Murtagh) treated us to a duel which was at least as good. War Of Attrition was majestic and Black Jack Ketchum was superb. Voy Por Ustedes v. Monet's Garden was a real treat... And so on to 2007, when Kauto Star will be ... (fill in the blank yourself).