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DAVID CARR |
Weblog: What do you mean the Wi-Fi doesn't work? The life of a Racing Post reporter
Glorious end to York 2012
Good enough for the Queen. Good enough for Frankel. But not good enough for Bearstone Stud, apparently.
York racecourse, that is.
Home of the royal meeting, Her Majesty's high-quality June shindig, when Ascot was closed for redevelopment in 2005.
Scene of the arguably best performance ever seen in Britain when Frankel sluiced up in the Juddmonte International this August.
Yet Terry Holdcroft 'hates the place', according to Richard Fahey, who claimed the owner/breeder reckons he 'never has any luck here' - though that was after his Chapter Seven had ended a 38-year wait for a winner so perhaps his opinion will start to mellow.
Can't see as anyone could really take against the place on a day like this.
Crackingly competitive racing. Sentimental victory for old-timer Regal Parade. Fine crowd - there were probably at least double the number in attendance here as made it to Newmarket for this afternoon's Group 1 card. Glorious autumnal sunshine. Warm enough even in mid-October for some breathtakingly high hemlines.
Though there were plenty of winter coats and anyone venturing onto the turf knew it was not August. Drying sunshine following Thursday night's deluge left ground conditions very much on the sticky side.
Today's closing 1m2f handicap may have been run over the same course and distance as Frankel's summer romp but the surface was so different as to make it almost a different sport - rather as when the rugby league players take over Wembley for the Challenge Cup Final (though that is grossly unfair as supremely talented athletes like Kevin Sinfield and Danny McGuire are actually far more reminiscent of Frankel than John Terry or Ashley Cole).
Winner Bridle Belle is no top-notcher either but her success completed a treble for Richard Fahey and enabled him to be top trainer at York for the seventh year in a row.
"Lazarus came back from the dead and we have done the same," he said.
It was just like old times with Paul Hanagan riding the last three winners to clinch his fourth consecutive jockeys' crown.
Yorkshire cricketer Johnny Bairstow was spotted in the crowd and one of his predecessors was also in attendance as on arrival I found myself parking next to Dickie Bird.
He has clearly not lost his famous habit of turning up nice and early. And the life of a retired cricket umpire is clearly a good one, judged on the smart car that he was driving.
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