2017 Season: Week 24 - York Sale Day

Extract taken from #1 Scottish Groom, 2017 Season: Week 18 - Tregaron:

"Whilst on the track I spoke to Steve [Lees] and his son, Stephen, and told 'little Stevie' that he'd need to work hard to be as good a driver as his old man, who'd won the race with a horse who scraped into the final by the skin of his teeth.  Little Stevie pointed up to the commentary box and said 'that's where I want to be, up there not out here'.  Duly noted young man.  We will get you on the right path to be a commentator.  I mean, surely we all know someone who could help out a budding young commentator?! *cough* Darren Owen *cough*"

I spoke to Darren at Corbiewood on the Sunday of the Murdock Weekend regarding the above conversation and left the ball firmly in his court.  On a day marred with incidents both during the sale itself and the racing, when twelve-year-old Stephen Lees stepped up to the mic to call the three-runner Northern Trading Ltd Novice Pace, I went into a bit of a meltdown.  I wasn't the only one, as little Stevie's sister's boyfriend, John, desperately tried to fire his phone up quick enough to record it (as Kellie wasn't there).  A flat battery sent him into a panic, but thankfully Marcia Thompson (off of Equine Products UK, who basically keeps giving me free hats and her own coat to wear because I don't dress appropriately for the weather) was on hand to film the commentary (and thus miss the race as she stood with her back to the track facing the commentary box).  You can watch the video here:

It's one thing sitting in the comfort of your own home in front of your close family commentating on videos you have watched over and over, but it's something else altogether commentating on a live race in front of a large crowd in a new environment.  A three horse race can be very difficult to make sound interesting (particularly when, as in this case, one horse dominates a race as Springhill Calaburn did) but Stephen did a fantastic job and the round of applause he got at the end was thoroughly deserved.  I genuinely think he can go far if he sticks at it, because he's good already.  And there are a lot of people rooting for him, because he is one of us.

Twelve-year-old Stephen Lees Jr in the commentary box at York Harness Raceway

I don't wish to detract from the racing and the achievements of those who participated and won, however this was the highlight of my day by a mile.  Unfortunately during the course of the afternoon there were multiple incidents which left a bad taste for those who stayed after the (eventful) sale into the afternoon's racing.  I'm not going to dwell on them.  Suffice it to say that there was a distinct lack of organisation running throughout the entire day and after the penultimate race (when pacing fans began to leave) I was bombarded with connections of horses searching for rugs, trophies, rosettes, prize money and indeed, the hard-to-miss (except on this occasion) 'Racing Manager'.

Anyway, here are my noteworthy performances from the racing:

Cassius Clay - our boy clocked a PB of 2.00.6 when finishing second to the electric Coalford Mystery who followed up on his win at Wolverhampton with a 1.59.7 performance in the Daniel Welling Memorial.  This turned out to be Cassius' last run of the year as the Gaffer swanned off on holiday to Salou the following week and we weren't allowed to race him at Corbiewood in his absence.  Booooo.  He'll hopefully be back next year for some more fun (and hopefully more firsts than seconds!).

 Coalford Mystery - as above.

 

Plan B - ran a stormer to return to winning ways after finishing second the week before at Wolverhampton, however owner Jean Fell was absent as her and the family were at the Horse of the Year Show, so it was a depleted turnout in the winner's circle but at least this time the gelding was on his best behaviour to pose for the camera!

Anna Diem - this gorgeous chestnut mare was trained by her owner Emyr Edwards in the earlier part of the season before moving to trainer/driver Mike Evans' yard solely in order to race in this event, having not raced since 2014 (she is not eligible for the Trotteur Francais races staged by Trot Britain so there are very few racing opportunities for her).  She made the effort worthwhile for connections when winning the BHRC Prakas in style.

T'es Trop Foot - another trotter who impressed when winning the George Button Snr Challenge trophy, making it three wins on the bounce on three different surfaces (grass at Almeley, tapeta at Wolverhampton and hard at York).  Stablemate Sun Gahn finished second so I had both boys in the winner's circle to celebrate the connections' 1-2 in the race!

Starzapan - I love a mares race and I particularly love a STAGBI Future Broodmares race, and this one did not disappoint!  Having finished second in the mares race the week previous to Shades Of Grey, Starzapan went one better to record her lifetime mark of 2.00.7, bearing in mind that she has rarely left Scotland, with this being her first run on a hard track other than Corbiewood.  I was delighted for connections, Trackside Racing Stables, but particularly the First Lady of Corbiewood, Mig MacKenzie (mother of owner, Ally MacKenzie) who grabbed my arm on the way out of the winner's circle and declared that she was so happy she didn't know what to do!  That's what racing does to people!

Ontop Shouder Cuda - having owned his dam, Orders (Real Desire) for a short time, I have always had a soft spot for this horse and he did not disappoint when clocking 1.59.6 to beat superstar 4YO and joint Crock of Gold winner Miraculous by a neck to take the Camden Daniel Top Class Pace.

One more week of racing to go, with the scheduled penultimate fixture at Corbiewood on Sunday 15th October becoming the final fixture due to a lack of entries on the 22nd.  I missed the meeting the day after the sale due to a lack of enthusiasm (brought on by the tiredness of a 4am start to get to York, and not getting home until 11pm - I think I can be forgiven for that!).

The sale write up will feature in a joint post alongside the Brightwells sales results in order that a comparison can be easily drawn between the stats from both sales (including comparisons with last year's sales also).

Over and out,

#1 Groom