Today’s best bets, by Chris Cook
Anyone who truly imagines that racing people are callous about horses may have found their beliefs somewhat shaken had they listened in on Nicky Henderson talking to the media after his Simonsig broke a leg and was put down at Cheltenham yesterday. He was upset and a bit teary, of course, but his first thought was for the horse’s lad, Dave Fehily, who was sobbing onto someone’s shoulder about 20 feet away.
But then came the bit I hadn’t expected at all, when he suddenly thought of the impact on the other horses at his yard, specifically Triolo D’Alene, the 2013 Hennessy winner. “The other horse, he’ll be in bits tonight,” Henderson mused, speaking very softly and seeming to be talking to himself as much as to us.
“They live together. They do, they literally live together. I hadn’t thought about Triolo, what’s he going to say?”
I dare say this anthropomorphising will be too much for lots of non-horsey people but those who work with horses every day commonly come to think of them as individual personalities with recognisable moods and feelings. Among racing trainers, no one does more of that in public than Henderson, who quite often refers to an individual horse as a “person”.
His theory, which I have never heard before, is that bay horses stick together and are not especially tolerant of either chestnuts like Triolo D’Alene or greys like Simonsig. “So they just go off together, two little mates,” he said.
Apparently, the two share one of the larger boxes at Seven Barrows in Lambourn. I would imagine it’s very rare for two burly steeplechasers to be boxed together and I’ve never seen such a thing on my occasional jaunts around racing stables but it would be like Henderson to do something unusual, if he thought it might help the horses involved.
A quick search on Twitter provides evidence for the chumminess of Triolo and Simonsig, like this photo from the summer of 2013. And so, to the various sadnesses of yesterday, we must add one more, that Triolo D’Alene has lost his best mate and will have spent the night alone. It was one of the most upsetting days I’ve had at the races and I hope to move on from it some time soon.
Today’s nap runs in Musselburgh’s opener. Mitcd (12.50) is one of several interesting newcomers at the Borders yard of George Bewley, which can be described as in form after five winners from 26 runners since the start of September.
This five-year-old mare lost her form while with Martin Todhunter and dropped two stone in the weights before running second at Kelso last month on her first start for Bewley. She was beaten just a neck that day by a well-fancied runner that had just joined Ken Slack and has since won again on the Flat. The third horse, beaten three lengths, won by nine lengths off the same mark next time.
I suppose we must mention the bounce factor, since Mitcd is having her second start after a year off. But she’s had a 43-day break since her reappearance and I think the 5-2 is good value.
The betting market likes John Williams in a later handicap chase, he having won last time when Danny Cook rode for the first time. But that was a straightforward opportunity and I’ll give another chance to Boss In Boots (3.20), who was running a big race around here that same day when falling in the back stretch.
On the same mark and with Richard Johnson back aboard, he’s easy to like, though the 11-2 is clearly not the 20-1 I had that day.
There’s been some interest in Jordan Sport (4.00) at Newcastle, where he has his second start for David Simcock, having been gelded before the first one. A full brother to a Hong Kong Cup winner, this three-year-old hasn’t had many chances since winning at Redcar in April and was never nearer than at the line at Kempton on his first start for four months.
I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see a much better effort here, now that he is to be partnered once more by Tony Hamilton, who must have known him well during the horse’s time with Richard Fahey. He’s 5-1.
