25 July 2017

All that glitters is Goldie

It looked like it was not going to be this Renfrewshire-based trainer's lucky day at Ayr yesterday when, in the first race, the racinguk.com Novice Stakes, Oriental Power, came last of eight. Then, in the next contest, Jim Goldie was spoilt for choice as he saddled four of the nine runners in the Coastal Getaway Offer At Western House Hotel Handicap and, surprise, surprise, they came in one, two, three and four! The star of the day was the nine-year-old Cheeni who enjoyed her first-ever win by denying victory by a neck to her stable companion, Goninodaethat, who was enjoying his fifty-third run at Ayr. The third slot was bagged by Insurplus who crossed the line one-and-a-quarter lenghts ahead of the Sean Mooney-ridden Sea Of Green. For the rest of the fixture, however, the Libohill Farm stables' team had to be content with a couple of places.

Bollin' Along

The Go Racing In Yorkshire Summer Festival's third day at Beverley yesterday had its fair share of inclement conditions and drama. The bad weather wasn't expected and neither was the dramatic outcome of the last race of the day, Racing Again Next Tuesday Handicap. The Mark Walford-trained Druid's Diamond won the nigh-on ten-furlong contest by a neck ahead of Tim Easterby's Bollin Ted. The problem was, however, that the son of Piccolo hung persistently to the left and caused considerable interference. So much so that the stewards decided to deny him the victory and relegate him to second place. Many of the racegoers expected the result to stand but all credit is due to Bollin Ted's jockey, Duran Fentiman, who probably had a sneaking feeling that things might go his way if later there were an enquiry and so battled on to reduce his three-quarters of a length deficit to the eventual result.

Better Days to come

After the creditable performance by this son of Azamour at Newbury on Saturday his trainer has decided that he has earned a crack at the William Hill St Leger at Doncaster. The Hugo Palmer-trained Best Of Days got off to an impressive career start after winning two of his three races as a juvenile, in particular, the Royal Lodge at Newmarket last September but then went on to blot his copybook by coming last in the King Edward VII Stakes at Royal Ascot last month. So the Godolphin-owned colt was dropped in trip and class for the Listed Steventon Stakes at the Berkshire track and, although he obviously wasn't too much at home in the rain-sodden ground, connections were generally pleased with his finishing third.