Welcome back dear reader, for another jaunt around the sporting vista.
The main action this week centres on football and horse racing, with cricket pulling off its Springtime raincoat for the (rain delayed, I suspect) start of the Test series.
I have to concede that I’m not much of a cricket fan, so I won’t attempt to offer any advice there. It seems to me though that the England team should have the Timeform Squiggle against their name and, as such, any wager is probably riskier than the odds might suggest. Of course I sincerely hope they win, and entertain the fans along the way, but its just not a game for me. (Unless we’re spanking the Aussies, in which case I’m a fan of any competitive medium available!)
Enough already. To the horses, and with haste…
This week sees the three day meeting on the Knavesmire in York. I went once: to see Pasternak win the Magnet Cup. Beautiful town, brilliant course, great fun. And I was hoping to go again today, to watch Rapid City win the last race. But alas, he has an injury and my viewing of the day’s racing is confined to a comfy sofa here at Hackney Mansions (right next to Hackney Marshes, as it happens!).
Today’s big race is the Musidora Stakes, a recognised Oaks trial. The last filly to win this before going on to Epsom glory was Henry Cecil’s Reams Of Verse, back in 1997.
Sir Henry (a travesty that the knighthood prefix is not official, in this scribe’s opinion) is represented today with the exciting filly, Passage Of Time, and - as James Willoughby recounts in his excellent piece in today’s Racing Post - it would truly be an appropriately named winner for Cecil. This season he seems to have recaptured the zest which made him champion trainer and punters’ pal for more than two decades.
Perhaps released finally from the personal problems, which have sadly been played out so publicly. First there was the divorce from Julie, then the besotted affair with the stable lass (later his wife, Natalie) which breached class barriers. Ultimately, that ended in disaster when she was caught in the showers with an unnamed paramour (alleged to be a very high profile jockey, who remains my favourite despite not riding currently… you do the math!).
As if all that wasn’t enough, H R A Smith (no doubt) was caught with a call girl in a Brighton hotel at the same time.
Natalie and Henry’s nanny was quoted at the time as saying: “Natalie was given everything by Henry. She had money, power, a fantastic house and a beautiful son.
“But I knew their marriage was not going to last. She has such a temper and is so selfish the split was inevitable.
“I just wish there was something I could have done to help, for Henry and Jake’s [their son] sake. He is a loyal man, even today he still loves Natalie and cannot turn off his feelings for her like a tap.
“Henry is devastated that another marriage has failed and that he now faces the prospect of losing his son.”
And then, in 2000, Henry’s twin brother David, died of pancreatic cancer after a painful and protracted struggle.
Its hard not to feel for a man who has had so much brown stuff hit his personal fan. And so it is that I hope and prey that he has a filly to go to war with once more: first around the Knavesmire, and then on the rollercoaster undulations at Epsom.
The above of course is all predicated on sentiment, and I hope you will forgive me my little self-indulgence for one of the true racing greats - and true gentlemen to boot - of our era.
On a more factual note, Passage Of Time clearly has the best form in the race. In beating colts in the Group 1 Grand Criterium on her last two year old start, she set a very high benchmark for the fillies to aim at this season.
However, the vibes around the young lady are not great. First, she had a small abscess on her epiglottis, and now she is rumoured to be coming into season. Having traded as low as 1/2 on betfair, she is around the 8/11 mark currently and on the skid. I certainly won’t be backing her today, but I will be cheering her - and Henry - for all I’m worth.
Against her is another smart young thing in Shorthand. She is a full sister to last year’s winner Short Skirt, and is trained by the only other trainer to challenge Cecil’s grip on this race, Sir Michael Stoute. On form, its a two horse race and, with the complete no-hoper Bobansheil excluded from the realistic line up, there are only four runners numerically.
Shorthand may win today, but I’d certainly want to be on Passage of Time to roll back the years come the first Friday in June. That would - as Willoughby wrote - leave a lump in all our throats.
Elsewhere on the card, there are some highly competitive looking handicaps. One thing to bear in mind at York in big field races over a mile and further, is that there is a strong low draw bias. The reason is that there are a couple of turns, the final one into the straight being quite marked. If you’re trapped out wide here, expect to concede eight to ten lengths.
On the straight course, middle draws are favoured often.
So, with that in mind, here are my fancies for the handicaps today:
1.45 Blue Spinnaker (ew) / Spell Casting (ew) / lay Emirates Skyline for a place (bad draw)
2.15 Shmookh (nap)
2.45 Passage of Time (though no bet)
3.15 Fayr Jag (ew) / Quito (ew)
3.50 Tcherina (ew) / lay Forroger for a place (bad draw)
4.25 No idea!!!!
5.00 Spice Route (ew) / Woodcraft (ew)
Lots more football playoff action this week, and the away win rule seems to be getting stronger. To remind you, last year, there was only one home win from the 12 semi-final ties. So far this season (including last night’s away win for Southampton in 90 minutes), there has been only one home win from seven matches.
There might just be some value to be had here.
There is also the small matter of the Uefa Cup Final tonight in Glasgow, between Espanyol and Sevilla. Having vanquished Spurs with a degree of panache (though my mostly Tottenham-supporting mates wouldn’t agree!), I fancy Sevilla to finish the job tonight.
Its an all Spanish affair and interestingly I didn’t hear Michel Platini (head of UEFA: great footballer, lousy politician / administrator) making any of the “I’m glad its not an all English affair” type noises he did when Milan beat Man Utd. He’s already marked himself down in my card. I just don’t understand how so many imbeciles are allowed to run our beautiful game. Johannsson, Blatter, and now Platini: a triumvirate of invertebrates! (That’s a trio of spineless creatures, in case you were wondering!)
Good luck as ever if you’re playing at York today, and let’s hear it for Sir Henry!!!
Matt