Mike Cattermole: Go the Distance! | Reflections on Doncaster and more
Mike Cattermole reflects on the St Leger in his latest column, with Rekindling fancied to step up in the Long Distance Cup at Ascot on Champions Day.
Leger reflections
Doncaster comes alive on Leger day and it was great to be there.
After the dramas of the last two years (controversial stewards’ enquiries and unseated rider etc), it was great to have a “clean” St Leger. And what a race it was with the front five all enhancing their reputations.
Capri showed once again what a tough cookie he is when the chips are down. He had shown great tenacity to win the Irish Derby and was equal to the task again as Crystal Ocean and Stradivarius attacked him on both sides.
Now a dual Classic winner, Capri may have a crack at the Arc, although the worry is that the race may come too soon on Sunday week. However, given that the grey had been absent since his Irish Derby success, there could be more to come from him this season and who knows whether the likes of the Japan Cup or Hong Kong Vase could be on the agenda later.
Crystal Ocean travelled like the best horse in the race and looked set to take Capri any time Jim Crowley wished, only to be outstayed. It was a fine effort nonetheless and he is going to be a force to be reckoned with in the top events like the King George next summer.
Stradivarius never flinched and probably put up a career best in third while none finished better than Rekindling and the pair of them could face up again in the Long Distance Cup at Ascot next month where they are 6-1 and 16-1 respectively with Sky Bet.
However, given that Stradivarius appears to need a sound surface and Rekindling is probably the opposite, that 16-1 for Joseph O’Brien’s colt is not bad value. The trip should suit him.
Meanwhile, Coronet ran as well as could be expected without probably quite getting home. Her fifth place, beaten just over three lengths, paid yet another compliment to Enable who has beaten her easily three times this season.
Only Defoe failed to show up on Saturday and there was clearly something not right with him as it was just too bad to be true.
Doncaster let down by Leger prelims
While the race itself was everything we had hoped for, the St Leger preliminaries, sadly, left much to be desired.
Crystal Ocean was first into the parade ring and remained there on his own for at least ten minutes. Even after the jockeys were introduced, there was still no sign of any other horse – and this was just a few minutes before the off time of a Classic.
When the others finally emerged, they had done less than a circuit before jockeys were asked to mount. It was a fleeting glimpse. Surely connections have a duty to at least give the paying public a chance to see the contenders before they race, especially in a Classic?
Normally, for a top race and as outlined in the racecard, the horses were expected to parade in front of the grandstand in racecard number order. But there seemed to be no effort to get them organised and they left the parade ring randomly in dribs and drabs. The first two came out and turned left as if parading but that was it. It was unbecoming of a fine event.
I am not sure why this happened or was allowed to happen. Why was it that the protocol for such an important race was blatantly ignored? The Doncaster team must have been furious and I wonder what the sponsors thought of it.
Speaking of sponsors, it is obviously to be welcomed that William Hill have picked up the Leger baton from Ladbrokes but the deal last week involved just a race a day – a 7f handicap on Wednesday, the May Hill on Thursday, the Mallard on Friday - up to Leger day when the Portland Handicap also received their backing.
It was a pity that the Doncaster Cup went without a sponsor and I was surprised that Hills didn’t include this in their portfolio.
Other prestigious races, such as the Park Stakes and the Champagne Stakes had lesser known sponsors but at least were backed, in these cases by Alan Wood Plumbing and Heating and Howcroft Industrial Supplies – hardly household names but both based locally in South Yorkshire.
Great to have Ryan this year, but next?
With Irish Champions Weekend happening the week before, it was great to have Ryan Moore free to ride in the St Leger on Saturday. And he seemed to really enjoy winning it and completing his UK Classic full set.
Ryan made his debut in the Leger back in 2004 when he was last on Frank Sonata and went on to make four more appearances in the next six runnings. Since 2010, he had only ridden in the race twice until Saturday and his scarce appearances have of course been down to the clash with the Irish Champion Stakes fixture at Leopardstown.
So, it was with dismay that I read that the two big meetings are set to go head-to-head once again in 2018 on September 15.
This year, both meetings benefited by being on different weekends, although it was still a struggle at the Curragh, given its redevelopment issues. It would seem that the obvious thing to do would be to keep them apart.
Indeed surely it can’t be beyond the wit of man to get the top brass of the BHA and the Irish Turf Club to sit down and make sure that they never clash again.
Geoff Wragg - such a classy gent
I was saddened to hear of Geoffrey Wragg’s passing this week at the age of 87. He really was such a lovely man.
When I first got into racing professionally, Geoffrey had not long taken over from his father Harry, a true racing legend who had made it to greatness both as a jockey and trainer. Just to remind you, Harry had won all of the Classics as a jockey and all of them, except the Oaks, as a trainer.
I recall feeling a little sorry for his already white-haired son (more about the hair in a moment) who had waited almost 30 years to take over the reins at Abingdon Place.
But it took no time at all for Geoffrey to make his own piece of history. Teenoso won the 1983 Derby on soft ground and there were many who assumed him to be nothing but a mud-loving stayer. But as a four-year-old, Teenoso trounced a top-class field in the King George - on quick ground - and would have been very hard to beat in the Arc had he not been ruled out by injury.
A decade on, Pentire became a personal favourite as he possessed a formidable turn of foot and it was good to see him win the 1996 King George at Ascot, the year after just being beaten by Lammtarra.
In later years, I so enjoyed chatting to Geoffrey and his wife Trish at the races. He was charmness personified, quietly spoken but possessing a twinkle in his eye that reflected a real sense of gentle fun.
Perhaps he and Trish sympathised that I too was challenged by a lack of colour up top. He would say to me: ”Where do you get your hair cut? Trish wants me to get a cut like yours. Says it would make me look more trendy.”
I don’t know about that Geoffrey, I would reply!
I was honoured just to chat to a special couple.
Ivor Brimblecombe
Ivor passed away this week at the age of 85. I saw him in the broadcast office at Newton Abbot just a few weeks ago. What a pro, right until the end.
He certainly was one of the best-known voices in racing at the west-country tracks and simply loved his job, both co-ordinating the sound output and making the announcements.
Ivor was the patriarch of a long-running family business and his son Jeremy will assume that mantle now. Ivor will be much missed by many.
Related Links
Next Off
Most Followed
MOST READ RACING
