Somewhere in my mum’s loft is a box of old racecards.
There’s also a rocking horse, which in her more sombre moments, she reminds me will have to come down when she’s gone and, as she also reminds me, better people than me have tried and failed to achieve the feat over the years.
I‘m not worried about that right now. But the 1978 William Hill Sprint Championship card. I’d like that. My dad wrote "David’s first raceday” on it.
It was won by Solinus. The winning trophy is currently available on eBay for $2,899.99 with the warning the vendor may not ship to the United Kingdom.
Fear not, vendor. If I couldn’t afford one of Frankie Dettori’s HWPA gongs at his auction, I won’t be digging deep for this one. But it’s got me reminiscing.
I don’t think I’ve missed an Ebor Festival, or at least part of one, since that first visit. So that makes this week’s my 47th trip down the A64 – no 46th, Damn you the waterlogging of 2008.
