Today’s best bets, by Chris Cook
How will you feel the next time Philip Fenton trains the winner of a major race, perhaps at the Cheltenham Festival, perhaps even in the Gold Cup itself? That, for me, is a key question in considering whether it’s a good idea to let him have his trainer’s licence back.
My answers are that I’ll feel heartily sick and that it’s a terrible idea. For those of you who don’t recall, Fenton was found to have two kinds of anabolic steroid at his stable when it was raided by government vets in 2012, leading to him being fined by a court and banned from racing for three years, but he’s a trainer once more and will have a runner today.
Has Fenton uttered one word of contrition? If so, I haven’t seen it reported. Apparently, he told Ireland’s licensing committee that he had “learned his lesson” but we are left to guess what lesson that might be. Don’t leave banned substances kicking around the yard, perhaps.
Racing has stepped up its fight against steroid use in recent years but it would be naive to imagine that every sinner gets caught. Anabolics flush quickly through a horse’s system and, although they would still show up in a hair test a long time later, that form of testing remains in its infancy.
In those circumstances, it is utterly mad to allow someone with Fenton’s history to come back as a trainer. Ruling bodies on both sides of the Irish Sea should be making it clear that anyone caught in possession of anabolic steroids will never again be seen as a fit and proper person to hold a licence. I’m thoroughly disappointed that racing hasn’t yet taken that approach. We are allowing cheats to think that it wouldn’t be the end of the world, even if they were caught.
Setting such hideous thoughts to one side, I turn to today’s racing. The one that catches my eye this afternoon is Vera Drake (3.30) at Hamilton, where she is the only three-year-old in a staying handicap and is therefore given every chance by the way the weight-for-age scale works; half of the last 10 runnings of this race have been won by three-year-olds.
This chestnut is still a maiden and has a row of ‘2’s next to her name but she’s been steadily progressive against her own age-group and was only beaten a head last time. This extra furlong and the addition of Paul Hanagan seem like positives and 9-2 is available.
Highland Acclaim (7.05) is the 3-1 nap at Epsom tonight. His course figures are 171131 and, although he was beaten on his only attempt at today’s seven furlongs there, I think that had a lot to do with forcing tactics. He remains on a very reasonable mark and Handytalk, the rival I was most worried about, has been withdrawn.
There seems to be plenty of support around for Player’s Luck (9.05) at Doncaster. A Roger Varian three-year-old, he went close on his handicap debut just five days ago and now has Andrea Atzeni aboard for the first time, with the extra distance likely to suit.
Hamilton 2.00 Space Traveller 2.30 Our Place In Loule 3.00 Gullane One 3.30 Vera Drake 4.00 Where’s Jeff 4.30 Warmhearted 5.05 Ana Lichious
Chepstow 2.10 Ravenhoe 2.40 Imbucato 3.10 Rockin Roy 3.40 Gold Hunter 4.10 Molly Jones 4.40 Delirium 5.15 Takiah
Leicester 2.20 Desert Fire 2.50 Johni Boxit 3.20 Sioux Frontier 3.50 Silca Mistress 4.20 Early Edition 4.50 Sexy Secret 5.25 Sir Domino
Doncaster 5.45 Jeany 6.20 Penarth Pier 6.55 Porcelain Girl 7.30 James Street 8.00 Georgian Manor 8.35 Scottish Summit 9.05 Player’s Luck (nb)
Epsom 5.55 Dose 6.30 Light Heart 7.05 Highland Acclaim (nap) 7.40 Akvavera 8.10 Flere Imsaho 8.45 Hyanna
Tips by Chris Cook
