Sport

EXCITING THINGS ARE AFOOT

3 September 2007

First and foremost an apology to all my readers who have followed me for the last twelve years and who are not members of the Southwark News Racing Club.  

I realize that club matters have dominated these pages for several weeks and I have to crave your indulgence for one more week because exciting things are afoot for our filly Southwark Newsflash.  

We have got her into a stiffish 7f race at Wolverhampton this Thursday. I recommend that you have a couple of quid each way on her and get the 66-1 which is on offer because it will not last long.  She will go off at a good price but nowhere near 66-1.

To recap on her first race at Yarmouth she completely missed the break and dwellt in the stalls. She set about catching the field and was only touched off by a short head for fifth place. All last week and most of this week we have been jumping her out of the stalls and I am reasonably confident she has got the hang of things.  

She is not as intelligent as Newsboy but I think she has got the message. What none us know is what will happen when she is in the posse. Some hosses do not like other hosses around them and hang back, other hosses like the company of  others so much they never want to lead and the very best hosses want to be the leader of the pack. The reason I can tell you to put a small amount on her each way is because she showed such a turn of foot at Yarmouth that she can easily hold her own off levels. I have a gut feeling that like the stalls she does not know what being in front is all about but she will learn. Those of you who have Sky should go on the Attheraces archive service and view her race at Yarmouth, the 2.50 on August 15th. She puts in a burst of speed between the four furlong pole and the two furlong pole which made my hair stand on end and still does every time I watch it. If she can reproduce that turn of foot this Thursday we need fear nothing in the race.

As for the upcoming race and the race she had at Yarmouth, the eagle eyed amongst you will have spotted that she ran in Mrs Dunnett’s colours and will run in them again on Thursday. She was also listed as the owner. This is simply an admin cock up by the British Horse Racing Authority. I personally paid three lots of fees for the registration of our colours, the registration of the names of Boy and Flash and the joint ownership registration last March. We have had delays with the colours, delays with the names and now delays over the transfer of ownership from Mrs Dunnett to us. I can only assume our documents have fallen down the back of somebody’s desk somewhere. Rest assured it is being sorted.

The other thing I need to cover about the up coming race is that I said I wanted a jockey other than Dimitri Mylonas who piloted Newsboy in his first two races. I make no secret of my dissatisfaction of the way he rode on both occasions.   However, Mrs Dunnett has asked me to give him another chance and I have agreed. One thing which influenced me was that our gelding Newsboy needed a visit from the dentist this week. He had to have two teeth removed.   These are what they call wolf teeth. They are small but very sharp little teeth bedded in the gums between the front biting teeth and the back molars. Newsboy’s were just coming through and were very sore and inflamed.   This makes the bit very uncomfortable in the animal’s mouth. If the hoss cannot travel on the bit – under the full control of the jockey, it makes it harder to ride the hoss. That may account in some part for Newsboy’s two strange races.

My bets for you on Saturday are both at Sandown. Spring City in the 15.10 Totesport Handicap and Cape Royal in the 15.45 Variety Club Handicap, each way double.

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