Well another Derby weekend comes
and goes and I have to admit I’ve come away from the 2013 renewal feeling
slightly flat and deflated.
It wasn’t all bad, of course, the
horrible weather of the previous few days finally relented and the sun shone on the
Downs. The crowds were healthy, 120,000 on the big day itself but those large
crowds bring inherent problems as an annoying minority seem to be unable to
control themselves after a few drinks.
Friday didn’t get off to a good
start as it finally saw the return of Frankie Dettori after serving a six month
ban after being caught with traces of cocaine in his system after a drug test
in France last September.
With the delays in the returning of
his licence I was beginning to find the whole affair more than tiresome.
Of course when he finally did
return the frenzy in certain parts of the media was frankly nauseating and one
of the worse offenders was Channel Four.
You would think we were
witnessing the return of some long lost hero – we weren’t.
Let’s get this straight Dettori
was banned after taking a drug which it is a criminal offence to both possess
and use. This is not the action of some immature youngster this is the action
of a supposedly mature and responsible 42 year old man, father to five children
– what a wonderful example to set to them.
He then moves the Dettori PR
machine into overdrive claiming it was a moment of madness, a one of mistake.
Towards the end of a ban he agrees to the softest of soft interviews with Clare
Balding, who by her own admission has been a friend of his for years – so no danger of a Paxmanesque interrogation there
then?
Also, let's not forget Dettori has previous when it comes to cocaine .... he must be a very unlucky person to have only had the drug twice and to have been caught both times.
Remember Dettori is a shrewd PR
operator – switch on the TV cameras and he is the jolly chirpy Italian jockey,
away from the cameras and the big meetings the story is different.
I have witnessed, first hand, the
other side of Dettori and frankly I think he is an objectionable, obnoxious
individual.
For me, after all the fuss about
his return, I was actually two of his three mounts came home last.
One of the biggest smiles about
his overblown return actually came courtesy of Channel Four.
Emma Spencer, clearly employed
for her supposed good looks rather than her racing knowledge, interviewed Neil
Callan the winner of Resurgent and then
proceeded to ask him about his “ride” in the next race on Sri Putra – a ride
where he had been jocked off by one L Dettori.
He soon put Ms Spencer in her
place but how ironic that one of the star presenters of Channel Four was
unaware of the jockey change, when the broadcaster she is employed by were
having the broadcasting version of an orgasm over Dettori’s return.
Racing in Friday was good with
the aptly named Talent winning The Oaks giving trainer Ralph Beckett an amazing
1-2 in the race, although not in the order expected and it gave Richard Hughes
a second classic win in a few weeks.
Saturday dawned and the two
feature races were starkly different.
In the Coronation Cup we had St
Nicholas Abbey looking for an unprecedented third consecutive win.
With around £9.5k on offer for
finishing fifth it was disappointing to see only five runners, especially when
two of the five were simply in the race as pacemakers. With trainers
complaining about the lack of prize money you would have thought more would
have had a pop, even if it were for the decent place purse.
In the end the script worked out
as planned with St Nicholas Abbey coming home, barely breaking sweat, followed
home by Dunaden.
He can only beat what is put in
front of him but with almost £5m in winnings he has been a credit to
connections.
Before I turn to The Derby I must
mention The Dash over the fastest five furlong course in the country.
Ryan Moore gave Duke of Firenze a
sublime ride. I 9th place and behind wall of horses a half-a-furlong
from home, he weaved through rivals to go on and record a neck victory.
Even more impressive was the run
of the runner-up, Smoothtalkinrascal, under
Daniel Tudhope, who was as far back as 14th at the half furlong
pole.
Well in the big race itself we
had a well touted favourite in Dawn Approach. I have to admit he is a horse I
have long admired and I really wanted him to do well in The Derby – as we now know
it wasn’t to be.
I think it's the worse Derby I
can remember, a very messy race and I can't recall the last time there were six
stewards inquiries into a single race.
Poor Kevin Manning didn't stand a
chance in the race - Dawn Approach ran as if a pot of mustard had been shoved
up his backside, he took off like a horse possessed and it would have been no
surprise if Manning had not returned with arms six inches longer than when he
had set out.
Full credit to Ballydoyle who
employed perfect tactics, in not employing a pacesetter they played on the perceived weaknesses of
the favourite. Although looking at Dawn Approach I think he would probably have
blown up whatever tactics had been employed.
French raider Ocovango probably
would not have won but would have been possibly been placed were it not for him
getting mullered twice. I wonder would a
jockey with more experience of Epsom have done better on him?
Mars, fancied in some areas,
didn't get the best of runs either.
OK The Derby is always a rough
race but this one just didn't seem right at all.
Did the "best" horse
win - possibly but even that is open to debate.
It was a fantastic day for Ryan
Moore though.
Moore often gets slated for “not
having a personality” but I would rather have him ride a horse of mine than the
coke snorting showman Dettori.
