GEORGE SCOTT OUR ASSISTANT TRAINER
SARISKA
There is a buzz back in and around Fitzroy that arguably has been missing over the last few weeks. We went through a very quiet spell as many of the handicappers had run to their marks earlier in the year, the stable stars were on well deserved breaks and the two- year-olds were being primed for August/September introductions. But we have been firing in the winners over the last 10 days and those that have not gone and won have not been far away. An exciting week lies ahead with of course Sariska and Margot Did all being well heading to York. Coming from a farming back ground my father and I have not quite seen eye to eye as to what the weather should do. I have been doing the rain dance and he has been ducking and diving trying to get the harvest in. As far as I am concerned he can wait till the 20th with every drop of rain falling on the York Race course as important as the next one. Sariska I am informed by the Dave Murray is in rude health and her gleaming coat and bright alert eye would only back that up. Hopefully Midday will turn up for a FORTH time to take us on [you d have thought she d have learnt her lesson by now] and not forgetting this years golden duel Oaks winner Snow Fairy. It's going to be explosive.
WIGMORE HALL
Wigmore Hall booked his plane ticket to Chicago with a smooth beating of once classic prospect Chabal the other night. We were informed that Chabal would come on at least six or seven pounds for his run, he would have needed a few more than that as Wigmore sat last of the Indian file on the July course. Jamie leased an inch or two of reign, the looks over Ted Durcans shoulder became more frequent and Ted s confidence turned to panic as Wigmore breezed passed to an easy victory. The boss wanted to get a blow into him before the 21st and that was exactly all it was. Wigmore has been a real star for us this year landing a big Handicap at York just as the yard needed a boost. He deserves his shot and you can bet your bottom dollar he is not going there to make up the numbers. He will love the turning mile and a quarter and the strong pace and providing he gets a clean passage through he will not be to far away.
Coming shortly I will run through a few of the later 2 year olds to keep an eye out for.....
MARGOT DID
Hats off to your Majesty we have a full box off to Ascot tomorrow [today] and it really doesn't get much more exciting. Its 7 30pm and I am sitting in bed trying to justify to myself that I should be allowed to go to sleep. The only reasonable argument I can think of is the sooner I hit the pillow the sooner tomorrow will come. You better believe that it comes allot faster than most in this game, with the only people silly enough to be up at the ungodly hour of feeding time are the burglars returning with their nightly hauls!
Hypnotized kicks off the Fitzroy assault in the Britannia. At the start of the season like many other trainers we had half the yard aiming for this race. I remember on at least two occasions sitting in the pub of an evening telling some of the other assistants to back a certain horse as he was our 'Britannia' horse to then watch it trail home very disappointing and whittled of the potential list. However Hypnotized has blossomed as the year has gone on. A tall handsome horse with bags of scope and speed, he will love the guaranteed high tempo and will hopefully be able to quicken off such a pace. Unlucky at Goodwood last time when he struggled for a gap he flashed home to be beaten by a very good ride from the front. Every cloud and all that meant he didn't get thumped by the handicapper and therefore has a reasonable racing weight and a very solid chance.
Hampton Court next stop and we have a double attack. Wigmore Hall looked like Pegasus first time out this year. A Spencer special saw him delivered with a devastating turn of foot two furlongs from home, rains tightened one from home followed by bit rings grabbed 300 yards from the line and that was that. Two subsequent small field defeats were not really run to suit and we are very hopeful with conditions to suit he can be right there in the mix, however his conqueror at Doncaster Afsare will be very tough to beat. Mont Agel is a lovely big Danehill Dancer colt with all the credentials to make into a proper horse. He will out run his odds I have no doubt. The Craven was a complete non event. He fooled around down at the stalls and when eventually lifted in smacked his head. Since then we have worked hard in that department and much of his work as been exceptional although generally on his favoured softer ground.
Tactician stands walled eye to walled eye next to Coordinated Cut on millionaire’s row. I'm sure he was the only one of us to be upset with the sight of the new arrival stepping off the box over the winter, having chased home last year in a Doncaster maiden. The Newbury maiden victory was exceptionally special for the team with the Queen in attendance. He looked a stayer all over that day as Hayley cranked him up some way from home, so the step up in trip looks fully within reach. It is a privilege to be sending a royal runner to her Majesty's meeting and fingers crossed he can do himself justice.
On Friday we are represented by the unbeaten Margot Did in the Albany. This little filly is very special to me as I have saddled her on both her starts. I could not have been more wrong before she bolted up at Newbury. She is the prime example of why money can’t always buy you success. She cost 10 grand from the breeze up and looked more like a wintered child s pony than a race horse when she arrived. Barely being able to get her pretty little head over the door in the filly’s passage she must be all heart and of course from what we have seen has speed and stamina in abundance. You could not get a more genuine little professional. It has been a long wait for her owners who have been among the Bells most long serving and generous owners. I've managed to blag an afternoon off and win lose or draw she has already paid her way and given us lots of fun.
So deep into Ascot week and we get ready to play our hand. We have had a great start to the year due to what look like a really nice bunch of horses. However it goes without saying the lads have all worked exceptionally hard for the results. We will all be in the rug room come kick off and you can bet if one of the horses hits the front we ll take the roof off!!
5000 or so horses enter into training every year with a dream very much alive, to win at Epsom on June the 4th or 5th. Now, as we role through Derby week at Fitzroy a dream could become reality. Don't get me wrong we are a 20 to 1 shot for a reason. Beaten four lengths in the Dante, no horse has ever gone onto Epsom glory but the old cliché could ring true, trends are there to beaten. Unlike Sariska, Coordinated Cut and I arrived at Fitzroy at much the same time. However the similarities must stop there. He arrived a talking horse yet to prove himself worthy of his lofty reputation. Arrogant, self confident and with his four feet dipped in white paint he is a very handsome horse. He stands on 'millionaires' row commanding the colt’s yard. His beady walled eyes always alert and always watching. But Coordinated Cut despite all this does not look after himself. Martin Gleeson has seen it all before. Like a small child at Christmas full of hope and anticipation he has hunted through his 30 year long stocking un-wrapping present after present and finding coal. Until now. Martin the greatest enthusiast and undoubtedly the boss’s favourite is one of the good guys. He lives to work with horses (and the odd pint) and is a 'huge' cog in the Fitzroy team wheel. Due to that odd pint Martin indulges in, it is not down to him to ride the horse in the mornings. He does however sneak in early. claiming to get a head start on the yard work, but he spends most of the early hours creating quarter marks that not even the great Salvador Dali could lay claims to. The responsibility of riding him falls to Pappu Deora. Undoubtedly one of the best riders on the yard Pappu works in England to support his young family back in India. He assures me that being involved with such a horse, numbs what for me can only be an unimaginable pain being away from the his two small daughters and wife. Despite this you could not meet a more positive man always working hard and a wonderful horseman. So on to Epsom we roll. He ll be fitter stronger and will get every yard of the trip. The Derby is everything and more, a dream to everyone in this great game. We will be cheering here at Fitzroy, the Inman’s will be cheering at Epsom and if you stop and listen very carefully you might just hear two little girls cheering in Pune, India. So hold onto your top hats as they rattle round Tattenham corner and watch for that splash of white paint staying on at the end.
With the Coronation cup now only a few days away we are on the verge of arguably one of the first mouth watering clashes of the turf season. Of course it would be madness to dismiss the rest of the field, but the betting suggests and seemingly for good reason that it boils down to Sariska and last Sundays Tattersalls Gold Cup winner Fame and Glory.
Having been at Fitzroy for only a few months I can of course take no credit for any past performances. However I want to try and give an insight into a few of the people that are helping propel Lady Bamford’s very special daughter of Pivotal deeper into the record books.
Ian 'Baldy' Smith has the pleasure of looking after her. Ian notorious for being the 'happiest' member of our team at Fitzroy knows her better than all of us put together. He understands what she likes, what she doesn't like, how she likes to be brushed how much food she eats. If there is a problem, he will be the first to spot it. However equal to his love for Sariska is his allotment, so if he's not tending to the filly, Ian can be found on his hands and knees tidying up the vegetable patch or collecting eggs for the Guvnors breakfast, which he hastily delivers every morning to the kitchen with a big smile on his face!!
Dave Murray has been at Fitzroy since day one! He therefore has been working on the yard long before I even knew what a racehorse was. Murray has the job that sends the whole of Newmarket green with envy and that is to ride Sariska everyday. Each morning as we wind our way through the town towards Warren Hill they are met with shouts from the other strings asking how she is. 'Morning Murray how is the big girl!' or ' looking good ' or ' has she grown again Murray?!' The string has its very only celebrity first lot and she sits at the back of a small group of the yards older horses. However she is certainly no arm chair ride especially in the winter. When seemingly bored of the routine trotting that the other 100 horses are perfectly content with doing, she will stop and shoot backwards normally heading for the nearest tree. Thirty seconds later she will come out of her little world rejoin reality, shake herself off, Murray will give her a pat and on they go!
Richard Simpson, Tyrone Lloyd Jones [first and second head lads] and myself are responsible for the checking and reporting of any problems that may occur during exercise. Richard is the key to the running of the yard and has also been with the Boss for 20 years. He s seen it all before and dealt with some top horses over the years. Unlike myself he is practically unflappable and when a potential problem may be bought to him by Tyrone for a second opinion, the rolly [cigarette] usually clasped between thumb and finger will be put out and an ice cool assessment will be made. Tyrone tells us he knows every shape and grove in Sariska's legs so well he could do it blind folded.... and for once I would not bet against it.
Of course she is not the only horse in the yard and the people I have mentioned are part of a far greater team that each play there own roles in Sariska and all the other horses’ success. I can certainly speak for the whole team at Fitzroy that it is a true pleasure to have such a star amongst us. Fingers crossed from us all, we will be doing the rain dance next week and if she wins it wont be the only dancing that goes on at Fitzroy House!!!
