As with last years prestigous NAGS awards ceremony Aiden O’Brien, Henry Cecil, Kieren Fallon, Ryan Moore and Sir Michael Stoute were all notable by their absence. Hey ho, I went ahead with the presentations anyway and these were the results….

The Paul Carberry ‘One too Many’ Award.

Nominations were Sirvino, Fame and Glory and  Prince Siegfried

And the winner is…….. Fame and Glory for his performance in the Champion Stakes which was definitely one too many races for the season. Having been on the go since April and contesting some big races it was asking a lot for him to run again 13 days after his Arc run and it certainly showed as he laboured home in 6th as the 6/4 favourite.

The Kelloggs Rice Krispies ‘Morning Glory’ Award.

Nominations were Notice Given (Henry Cecil), Manifest (Henry Cecil) and Native Ruler (Henry Cecil)

And the winner is ALL OF THEM. I’m not sure why but Henry Cecil’s horses always seem to be hyped up more than any other trainer (and I fall for it every time). Racing Post gallops watcher Tony Elves is always highlighting these superstar Cecil horses based on morning workouts but invariably they never seem to do it on the racecourse. One day I’ll learn my lesson…

The John McCrirrick / Derek Thompson / Willie Carson Most Annoying Award.

The nominations are The Ayr Draw Bias, Folkestone Draw Bias, Kempton’s race to music, Ascot and Jamie Spencer. (And special mention to me for picking the wrong one out of two for our Festival Trends guides. Unless you subscribed to the guides you wouldn’t believe how many times it happened this flat season. Most annoying!)

And the winner is…..The Ayr Draw Bias. In the closest fought award of the night it goes to Ayr racecourse executives for producing one of the worst draw biases of recent times (not counting Folkestone). 3 days of racing completely ruined by a very significant advantage to a particular set of horses. I promise this is my last word on the subject!

The Harry Hindsight Best Bet of the Year Award.

Nominations are Ghanaati (1000 Guineas), Sea The Stars (2000 Guineas) and Darley Sun (The Cesarewitch)

And the winner is Sea The Stars. Given his amazing run of Group 1 wins after taking the 2000 Guineas the 8/1 he won at that day looks a very nice bet now!

The Harry Hindsight Worst Bet of the Year Award.

The nominations are Gladiatorus (Queen Anne Stakes), Fantasia (French 1000 Guineas) and Rainbow View (1000 Guineas)

All worthy nominations but the winner is……Gladiatorus who came to Royal Ascot as the world’s highest rated horse and left as an over hyped, one performance wonder horse. The ride he got that day was less than inspiring but, even still, it showed his early season Dubai run was a fluke.

The ‘Fairground Waltzers’ Worst Ride of the Season Award.

The nominations are Jamie Spencer (Father Time in the St Leger), Johhny Murtagh (Frozen Fire at Chester’s May Meeting), Hayley Turner (The Betchworth Kid in the Tote Ebor) and Ahmed Ajtebi (Gladiatorus at Royal Ascot)

And the winner is Jamie Spencer for his ride in the St Leger. Riding a horse without any stamina doubts in a staying race you’d think he’d want to get the horse running evenly over the last half of the race. But no, not ‘Frank’. He’d rather get the horse boxed in, stop and start numerous runs from the horse and then sprint for the finish. One word, idiot! The fact that he doesn’t ride him at the Breeders meeting says it all.

The ‘Nemesis at Alton Towers’ Best Ride of the Season Award.

The Nominations are Tom Queally (Midday / Nassau Stakes), Neil Brown (Sirvino / John Smiths Handicap) and Tony Culhane (Som Tala / Northumberland Plate)

And the winner is……. Tony Culhane. A great ride from the front around Newcastle as he set a slow early pace and then gradually quickened the tempo. He held enough in reserve to repel the late challenge of strong finishing Wells Lyrical for a well deserved victory.

The ‘Blow My Own Trumpet’ Best Blog Tip of the Season Award.

Nominations are Glowing Praise (Ascot), Dubai Dynamo (Kempton) and Cheveton (Haydock)

And the winner is…..Dubai Dynamo. Given his form before (and after) the race this tip gave me the most satisfaction as it was one of those days when everything fell into place nicely. My reasoning for picking him was sound, he was backed from 14’s into 8’s and he won very well indeed. It’s great when a plan comes together!

 The ‘Statement of the Bleeding Obvious’ Horse of the Year Award.

The nominations are Sea The Stars, Rip Van Winkle and Twice Over

And the winner is Twice Over…..Only joking! Of course it’s Sea The Stars. 6 runs in 6 months, 6 wins at Group 1 level. Enough said.

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NOVEMBER HANDICAP

I haven’t done the trends yet for the race but glancing through the entries there was one horse towards the bottom of the weights that really caught my eye. I’ve mentioned him before and said that I’d like to see him in a mile and a half handicap on soft ground. Well, he looks likely to get those conditions on Saturday, he’s 25th in the weights so should get a run and he’s 50/1 with Ladbrokes.

LATERLY is the horse and I’ll be hoping he leads all the way on Saturday.

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I’ll be back tomorrow with a look at this weekends Breeders Cup action.

Good luck,
Gavin.

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