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DAVID CARR |
Weblog: What do you mean the Wi-Fi doesn't work? The life of a Racing Post reporter
Good things don't always come to those who wait
Finally the chance to pay for the turkey, the presents and the tree - that was my first thought on seeing today's Southwell card.
Back in early-December, the manager of our local Indian restaurant adopted a conspiratorial whisper and told me of a horse named after a famous 19th century Irish nationalist that was primed to land a touch and pay for its yard's Christmas expenses.
(He did not reveal where he got the information from and I would no more ask him to reveal the truth about his sources than I would ask him to reveal the truth about his sauces - very, very sorry for that but few journalists can resist an awful pun).
So I kept my eyes peeled and waited. And waited. And waited.
Perhaps word had got around that the cat was well and truly out of the bag and that the clientele of every curry house in West Yorkshire was poised to pile in and ruin the price, so they decided to wait and land a gamble to pay for the Easter eggs instead.
Or perhaps the horse had suffered a setback. Which looks the more plausible explanation, judged on the way he ran whenhe finally reappeared this afternoon, slowly away, always behind and last to cross the line.
Though for much of the day we promised to have a much bigger story than a belated gamble being landed as women jockeys threatened to go through the card, winning each of the first four races thanks to Amy Ryan, Cathy Gannon and Hayley Turner (who grabbed a couple).
It's happened once before but only on last year's all-girls card at Carlisle, which wasn't really fair competition. And even in these days of female emancipation, sexual equality and political correctness it would have been quite something to nab all seven.
But all speculation was rendered irrelevant when the decidedly non-feminine Kieren Fallon took the fifth race.
Though man of the day was undoubtedly the stalls handler who took a nasty blow to the arm as the giant three-year-old Kingscombe proved reluctant to load - he was not badly hurt and his efforts and those of his colleagues paid off as not only did the gelding eventually go in but he also came home a half-length winner.
Quote of the day was "Madness" from PJ McDonald - not an answer to a question about the fixture listor his favourite 1980s band but his view of the suicidal early pace in the 2m handicap which he came from behind to win on Boss's Destination.
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