Let's be Frank: Nothing Comes Close

Sitting by the radio, watching the rotating spools of a TDK 90 minute cassette as they consigned the gig of my lifetime to a strip of magnetically coated plastic, I made myself a promise: I would never miss out on anything ever again.  A difficult pledge to adhere to, but one I strive to uphold.

I have since seen Oasis play at Finsbury Park, The City of Manchester and Wembley Stadia, and had a whale of a time in the process.  But that 1996 Knebworth Park performance was the peak of their power and the pinnacle of a Britpop era that punctuated my puberty.  Everything after that, being brazenly and brutally honest, was watching the group in decline.

I openly admit that I enjoy the longevity of following horses that jump over fences and hurdles in the National Hunt arena year after year, but sometimes their demise can also be protracted.  Whilst the flat may not always lavish upon us the same depth of character that its winter/spring counterpart delivers, it is difficult to argue against the pure, unabated qualities of the Classic generation. 

So, not to miss out, I went to Doncaster a few weeks ago hoping to see history being rewritten before my eyes as Camelot seized the triple-crown.   I wasn’t convinced though, and layed the Coolmore colt to the tune of about £200 [I’m aware it should probably be spelt “laid” but I prefer my way when it comes to betting].   Yes, I can say “I was there”, but this experience didn’t fill the bon viveur void that I’ve been searching for since 1996.

It mattered not.  Seeing Frankel in the flesh at Ascot last year was my Knebworth.

See if you can you spot me in the winner's enclosure with Frankel et al

 

Heading back to Berkshire tomorrow to bid him farewell, I have read, listened and watched as journalists, pundits and enthusiasts discuss the issues.  The sub-plots are enchanting:  Will the ground be a problem for him?  Is Cirrus des Aigles the toughest opponent he is yet to encounter?  Isn’t it fitting that Nathaniel, whom Frankel met in his first race at Newmarket in 2010, should bookend his old foe’s career at a track where he has had much success himself?  What will St Nicholas Abbey be making of it all?  Has Excelebration become so accustomed to being whipped by Frankel that, rather than celebrating his Queen Elizabeth II Stakes victory tomorrow, he’ll be found back in his box, miserably leafing through a copy of 50 Shades of Grey to satisfy some kind of equine sadomasochism?

Most readers of this blog will be familiar with most of that already.  So, with only four competitors lining up alongside “The Freak”, discounting stable mate and pacemaker Bullet Train, this is how I see the result panning out tomorrow:

1.      Frankel – I can’t bear the thought of him & Queally flopping.  He will win.

2.      Nathaniel – I love Buick and have fond memories of his King George win here, after which Gosden’s words to the media in the wake of Rewilding’s death provided a particularly poignant moment.  I think Nathaniel can bounce back from enforced absence at Longchamp and overturn the rivalry with Cirrus des Aigles, with whom I expect him to be jousting for the runner-up spot.

3.      Cirrus des Aigles – I was hoping Christophe Soumillon would come over to exorcise his Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe demons, but maybe he is still bitter about his huge fine in this race last year... although probably not.   Olivier Peslier clearly knows how to guide “Cloud of the Eagles” to victory but I’m sure he will settle for a win on board exciting sprinter Wizz Kid instead.

4.      Pastorius – Tipped up at 10-1 (without Frankel) in the Weekender by Paul Kealy, he’s had three wins and a place in his last four outings back home in Germany.  16 years ago his jockey, Frankie Dettori, "did a Hughsie" at Ascot (1996 certainly was an eventful year) and many will rightly see his partnership with this course-specialist rider as a real positive.  All my sentiment and emotion has already been used up for this race though, so I’m sticking with the above Trifecta.

5.      Master of Hounds – Figures of 3181 coming into this and only catches the eye as he’s in the hands of Ryan Moore.

6.      Bullet Train – One of the best pacemakers out there, but that’s it for now.  Behind every great golfer is a clued-up caddy, and Bullet Train pulls out the correct club for Frankel every time.  

Even on testing, boggy ground coming round Swinley Bottom, I expect Tom Queally to be characteristically calm and composed on the back of Frankel, with whom he has developed a beautifully harmonious rhythm.   I’m looking forward to Queally opening up the son of Galileo in front of the packed grandstands and winning by a decent margin.  Five lengths or more is trading at 2.62 (about 13/8) on Betfair at the moment and I think that’s a fair price for a 2pt+ stake. 

But my main advice for the race, clichéd as it may be, is to savour the final outing of a living legend performing at the zenith of his abilities.  Sing along when he holds the microphone in your direction, hold your lighters aloft and say “I was there”.  And if you were not actually there, don’t fret – my mum told me in 1996 that I’d get another chance... I did, and you will.  It might just take a few years, so Roll With It.

Crus-ing into the Jump Season



Grands Crus makes the weight count at Cheltenham yesterday in the 2m 4f Novice Chase

P&L (LAST 30 DAYS)

Boxing: -£18.95 | Cricket: -£6.00 | Horse Racing: £582.10 | Motor Sport: -£31.99 | Soccer: £166.81 | Tote: | Total P&L: £691.97

As I settle down, cup of tea on my little living-room table, to The Morning Line, I’ve finally got a chance to put electronic pen to LCD-projected paper and recollect some of my finest memories of a memorable flat-racing summer.

Back in March at Cheltenham, I met a chap called Simon Hawes for the first time.  Our mutual friend @paolobow introduced us just before Ruby Walsh powered Big Buck’s to another World Hurdle (leaving yesterday’s triumphant Novice Chaser Grands Crus in his wake) and we jumped around a town-centre pub in celebration at Buck’s’s victory (apostrophe carnage!), spilling Guinness and chucking phones around the room, quickly forming a burgeoning friendship built on mutual respect.

Little did I know that when we met at the track the next day, I nearly threw that new found amity away with the kind of disregard normally given to a losing betting slip.  Discussing the national hunt code of horse racing, I made a throwaway comment that went thus: “Ah lads.. it’s ALL about jump racing.. the flat really doesn’t have much for me.. I just don’t see what the fuss is about!”

To Hawes, it was as though I had not just insulted the facial hair sprouting unkemptly from just under his bottom lip; I might as well have taken a pair of tweezers to it and pulled each wiry black hair out, one by one.

@paolobow later told me that he had to hold Simon back: “just leave it, Si,” he said. “Not now.”

OK.  I was wrong.  I made a mistake.  As I always say: that’s why they put rubbers on the end of pencils.  I had, of course, enjoyed the flat in the past, but I just found the jumps more exciting, and I preferred the characters – the older horses like Denman and Kauto Star, who keep coming back after a decade of unabated efforts.  The risks they seem to take are higher, leaping over hurdles and fences into open ditches and soft, cold, winter turf.  I shouldn’t, however, have been so dismissive.

I’ve spent the summer reading up on the history of the flat, the prestige of the classics, the majesty of Longchamp and the pedigree and bloodstock associated with siring the next generation of thoroughbred racehorses.  It all begain with three original animals, the Byerley Turk, the Darley Arabian and the Godolphin Barb, probably over four centuries ago, and modern studs like Coolmore and  the Juddmonte Farms continue to produce the goods to this day.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thoroughbred  

I still think the National Hunt season holds more personal excitement for me, and I relished layed Cue Card yesterday with liabilities to the tune of £170, backing Grands Crus and roaring Tom Scudamore home as he made the weight advantage count and proved his class in the move from hurdles to fences,.  But now at least I can say to Simon, Paolo and the rest of you that I have been educated, enraptured and enriched by opening up my heart and my wallet to the flat, and I’m already looking forward to seeing the return of the speed demons in 2012.

Five Personal highlights/memories from the 2011 flat season:

1.   Having backed Frankel in the Guineas and lumped on at odds-against in the Duel on the Downs, seeing him in the flesh at very close quarters in the Ascot parade ring and winners’ enclosure took my breath away and earned me not one, but two photograph appearances in the Racing Post. http://palphabet.blogspot.com/2011/10/from-newmarket-nightmare-to-freaky.html

2.   Going to HQ for the first time since I was a nipper for my Nan’s 80^th birthday party, and promptly losing a monkey. “All part and parcel of a day at the track” as Simon put it.

3.   The thought of Goldikova and Galileo going at it! What a sire that beast is.. I want him to wine and dine Goldi, treating her with the respect she deserves, but really Gal, hold nothing back when you get down to making the beast with two backs.

4.   John Gosden’s utter class in the aftermath of Rewilding’s death at Ascot.  I was on the Godolphin colt that day and it was very clear that Gosden had more concern for the fallen horse than for his own triumphant Nathaniel.

5.   Watching many a YouTube video of Black Caviar tearing through the “competition” down under.  She is an awesome animal, who glides around the course like a big cat: stealth of a panther, speed of a cheetah.. I sound like the theme tune to the cartoon Bravestarr, but I don’t care and we will all be in for a treat if she comes up this way next year (although not if she starts at 1-33!) http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=black+caviar&aq=f