I SWAPPED my jockey’s cap for a sojourn as a trainer last week and returned a winner.
Well, sort of. I’m hamming up my contribution but as well as steering a 20-1 shot home, I’d like to think I played an extra role in the victory.
The horse is called Pindar. It’s a name even regular readers of this column would not be familiar with. Pindar has been around a few different yards but I first rode him some years ago for the mercurial Barney Curly.
There was no coup that day, Pindar finished third of five horses but showed something despite defeat. I came upon him again some weeks ago when riding work for Joanne Foster.
I asked could she jock me up on him the next time he ran and suggested that it might be worth a try to take him off the walker in the yard, get him out hunting and try and keep him fresh.
When we spoke last week she told me she has entered Pindar in a race at Sedgefield, describing it as a “last chance saloon.” Like I said at the top he won by four lengths. And the luck kept on coming, riding Calton Entry to win for Ian Semple in Kelso before returning Kodicil for Mark Walford.
There is a story behind this fella too because some time ago I’d heard the horse was for sale so I encouraged some friends of mine to buy it. It was like Cheltenham in the winner’s enclosure at Uttoxeter on Sunday. Amid those wins, and the usual quota of losses, talk of Joseph O’Brien’s ride on Australia – when beaten by The Grey Gatsby – lingers on. I’ve heard all sorts of theories and much criticism of Joseph O’Brien. It’s no secret that this column is a fan and that view hasn’t changed. He lost. Good jockeys do lose, like good horses, and you just have to take it on the chin.
Something has been made of his weight. The suggestion that being 1lb over costs a length in distance is not a reasonable explanation in my eyes. Sure, he was beaten by a head, but having great knowledge and understanding of a horse, which he does, counts for much more than 1lb.
The best explanation is the obvious one – he got it wrong.
