Bank Holiday Monday’s best bets, by Chris Cook
It was great to see Pat Smullen up and about at The Curragh yesterday, showing no signs of ill health that I saw, having been battling cancer for the past couple of months. The Derby-winning jockey of 2016 was found to have a pancreatic tumour and is now receiving chemotherapy but said: “I think we’re winning the fight.”
The 41-year-old said his first symptoms were back pain, which he was initially inclined to put down to the sort of wear and tear that all jockeys suffer over time. But he consulted Irish racing’s much-respected medical advisor Dr Adrian McGoldrick, who got him the help he needed.
“It’s a tough regime but thankfully I’m taking it well,” Smullen said. “I’ve got an unbelievable medical team taking care of me. They have a programme for me and I’m getting through it.
“You have to be mentally strong. It’s not easy, as we know. But I’m blessed with a great family that are giving me huge support, standing square behind me. The amount of messages I’ve received from around the world, from racing people, has been nothing short of overwhelming and that has helped me to focus my mind to fighting this and it’s given me great strength.”
I’m sure all Talking Horses readers will join with me in sending our best wishes to Pat and looking forward to the day when he climbs aboard another Dermot Weld good thing.
It’s a bank holiday, so we’re not short of action and I thought I’d come up with a fairly obvious nap in The Wicket Chicken (3.45) at Huntingdon. So it was slightly disconcerting to see her chalked up at 6-1 last night. A modicum of apparent support has taken her down to 5-1, which looks good to me.
She won her only point, a mares race in Ireland a couple of years ago, and the form of that looks respectable, the second having since won a handicap hurdle for Ian Williams off the same mark The Wicket Chicken has today, while the third has won three points since then.
The Wicket Chicken won a couple of modest hurdle events last summer and is not to be judged harshly for a couple of beaten efforts in handicaps that came at intervals over the past year. She’ll be sharper for the latest of those, three weeks ago, and should be a much better proposition over fences.
You can get 7-2 at Redcar about Scottish Summit (4.45), a well-related type who finally looks like getting his act together after a reappearance win at Nottingham.
The other one I like is Lamb Or Cod (3.55), who put up his best effort for ages when second at Newton Abbot a fortnight ago and should be straighter for that run. He’s 5-2 for a veterans’ chase at Cartmel.
Finally, who would be Andrew Cooper this week? Epsom’s clerk of the course has to provide ground that is safe for the best young horses of England and Ireland, who will race there on Saturday, but is facing a forecast that makes that pretty tricky.
High temperatures all week will dry out Epsom pretty quick and I imagine he’d like to put a bit of water down at some point but there might be quite a bit of rain on Thursday, which makes that problematic. Good luck to that man!
Huntingdon 1.30 Fifty Shades 2.00 Competition
2.35 Stuccodor 3.10 Walden Prince 3.45 The Wicket Chicken (nap) 4.20 Salix 4.55 Full Bore
Leicester 1.45 Full Suit 2.20 Miss Mumtaz
2.55 Elnadim Star 3.30 Photographer 4.05 Burgonet 4.40 Jumira Prince 5.15 Southfields
Redcar 1.50 The Great Heir 2.25 Beauden Barrett
3.00 Wrenthorpe 3.35 Machree 4.10 Restorer
4.45 Scottish Summit (nb) 5.20 Exclusive Waters
Chelmsford 2.05 The Last Party 2.40 Ettie Hart
3.15 Liberatum 3.50 Master Of Irony 4.25 Queen Of Dreams 5.00 Naralsaif 5.35 Spot Lite
Cartmel 2.10 Start Seven 2.45 Dothraki Raider
3.20 Morning Royalty 3.55 Lamb Or Cod
4.30 Oliver’s Gold 5.05 Boa Island 5.40 Wizadora
Windsor 2.30 Giveaway Glance 3.05 Seductive Moment 3.40 Quirky Gertie 4.15 How Far 4.50 Koditime
5.25 Mordin 5.55 Stanhope 6.25 Herdwick
