Monday’s best bets, by Chris Cook
The most amazing success at the last Cheltenham Festival has now led to an equally amazing comeback story. Harriet Tucker pushed out Pacha Du Polder to win the Foxhunters Chase despite dislocating her troublesome right shoulder on the run-in, an achievement for which she was celebrated at the time; unknown to all but those close to her, she was then told that her shoulder was in such a bad way that one more fall might lead to her losing the use of her right arm.
Tucker spent months waiting for corrective surgery, hoping she would then be cleared to ride again and not have to give up her career in the saddle. A physiotherapist at Oaksey House in Lambourn, one of the first to examine Tucker after Cheltenham, “could not believe how bad the shoulder was”, the amateur jockey recalls.
“My consultant was saying to me, you’ve got to prepare, you might not be able to ride again. I was praying and hoping. He booked the whole day off to do my operation.”
Mercifully, the latarjet procedure was a success. As I understand it, a piece of bone has been grafted onto the joint to prevent her shoulder from popping out, as it has been wont to do since a nasty fall she took in April 2017.
Tucker made her return to action on Sunday aboard Monsieur Gibraltar at Larkhill point to point and pulled off a thoroughly earned, somewhat unexpected victory. “It was the best feeling ever, so good to be back in the saddle and he jumped amazingly.
Since Harriet Tucker last rode competitively in April she has endured a shoulder operation to save her arm & worked tirelessly to get back in the saddle. She’s back today with a bang winning on Monsieur Gibraltar at Larkhill. Well done H, your hard work has paid off! #goTuck pic.twitter.com/AdwO7ZaE3P
— Harry Derham (@Harry05Derham) January 6, 2019
“I can’t describe how much it means. He’s a complete aeroplane, flies over everything, makes it look easy and it’s just an absolute pleasure to be back. Coming over the hill, I thought, Jesus, we’ve got this in the bag. Then I thought, don’t be confident, you’ll only go getting unseated. So I sat quiet, jumped the last and thought, oh my God, I’ve got this.”
Tucker will be back riding in hunter chases in the coming weeks, building towards another ride on Pacha Du Polder at Cheltenham, where the horse will be seeking a third straight Foxhunter, having won it under Bryony Frost in 2017. They are likely to have a prep race together at some point in February.
In the meantime, Tucker wants to thank Paul Nicholls and Andy Stewart, owner of Pacha Du Polder, who both helped pay for the cost of her operation. And her message to other jockeys as stoic as her is to get your injuries examined immediately; she waited six months to get her initial shoulder injury looked at, a delay she now regrets, for all that it has contributed to the heroism of her story.
Hard-working, tough, talented and cheerful in the face of adversity, Tucker represents everything I admire in jump racing people. I wish her well.
I’m hoping to be at Chepstow for an interesting card with good-size fields today but I can’t find a bet there, partly because two obvious Venetia Williams runners have given the last two races an uncompetitive look.
But there’s some appeal in 6-1 about Benny’s Secret (1.55) at Musselburgh, where he has his second run over fences. I liked the look of him on his chasing debut at Wetherby, where he jumped pretty well until his effort expired quickly at the turn for home. A drier surface should really help him and he comes from the Nick Alexander yard that now seems in peak form.
The nap goes at Wolves, where Zafaranah (7.45) is 11-4 to get her third course win from five visits. She’s had a useful break since scoring here in November and is only 4lb higher.
Earlier, Kodi Koh (6.15) could be overpriced at 11-1 for the in-form David Evans, having shown promise on Boxing Day, her first outing since July, when she was with Ger Lyons.
Musselburgh
12.50 Ontopoftheworld 1.25 Nefyn Point 1.55 Benny's Secret 2.25 Dance Of Fire 3.00 Ballycrystal Court 3.35 Alright Sunshine
Chepstow
1.05 Love Lane 1.40 Sevarano 2.10 Sutter's Mill 2.40 Dickie Diver 3.15 Air De Rock 3.50 Cloudy Glen
Wolverhampton
4.15 Piper Bomb 4.45 Followthesteps 5.15 Alaskan Bay 5.45 Given Choice 6.15 Kodi Koh (nb) 6.45 Goring 7.15 Peters Pudding 7.45 Zafaranah (nap)
