19 April 2010 Scene & Heard: Essex - High Easter
by Carolyn Tanner
There was an upset in the area feature race, the historic Warwick Vase Ladies' Open, when the odds-on Mid Div And Creep, bidding for her fifth success of the season, was comprehensively beaten by Assassino, who was given a fine ride by Louise Allan and who was reversing the placings in the corresponding race 12 months ago.
The winner's owner Joe Turner is enjoying a purple patch, this being the sixth winner his yard has sent out within the space of a fortnight.
"Grandad loves to win the Warwick Vase. He thinks he's won it about 18 times," said Ed Turner, who described Assassino as "quite strong on the gallops," and who always rides him at home.
Louise herself only sits on the eight-year-old when they team up on the racecourse. "I went to ride out twice in December when they needed someone. Then it snowed so I didn't go again," she smiled, adding "but when I was there I didn't ride any of mine."
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"As tough as old boots, although the older he gets the more he keeps the weight on" was trainer Nibby Bloom's assessment of his charge Caveman, who tackled 3m6f for the first time in the Countryside Alliance Club Members' and landed the spoils under a positive ride from owner [Countess] Viv Cathcart's son George Greenock. "I gave him some older jockey advice," grinned Nibby, whose instructions to George were "Don't you dare come off the inside!"
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"Not a lot." George's reply to the question "What are you doing now?" "I gave up working in London because I wasn't enjoying it," he elaborated, "so I've got to find a job. I'm happy as I am, but my parents keep nagging me!"
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"Thank goodness we've got rid of one Restricted!" exclaimed Suzanna Hall after son Phil had taken that contest on Tommy Thunder, owned in partnership by her husband Christopher with Tony Cooper, who was absent at a wedding, and Pat Wilkins. Connections had elected to make the journey from South of the Thames in the hope of upgrading one of the five Restricted horses from which Phil currently has to choose.
Tommy Thunder, a first course winner for his jockey, led from halfway. "I didn't plan to be in front so soon," said Phil, "but jumping's his strong suit and he took me there. He hadn't been travelling that well but when he got a bit more light he was much better for it."
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"He's superstitious about the jersey. I told him I'd get him some new colours but he didn't want any." Suzanna explains that her son prefers to wear the set knitted by his grandmother.
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Clerk of the Course and Essex MFH Simon Marriage, who farms the land at High Easter, had as usual produced the track in good order, so there was no better-deserved victory than that in the combined Hunts' race of Montevideo, partnered by Andrew Braithwaite and carrying the colours of Simon's mother Janet. It was the fifth occasion on which the Marriage family had lifted the trophy since the meeting moved to High Easter in 1992.
Montevideo should have been ridden by Nicky Cook, who had recovered from the cracked vertebrae she sustained when the horse had given her a heavy fall at Higham in January. However, she was in the wars again, having broken her wrist, although not in a fall from a racehorse - "I was helping someone out with an Irish Draught," she sighed in mock disgust - so Simon, who had put away his saddle when the hunting season ended, found himself responsible for all of Montevideo's galloping leading up to the race.
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"After JP last week we had to follow!" Simon refers to the fact that Montevideo formerly belonged to the Grand National-winning owner.
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Simon and the Essex committee ensured that this well-organised meeting ran like clockwork, and their reward came in the shape of the huge crowd which ensured that even the overflow car park was doing just that.
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George Cooper was fairly dismissive of the prospects of Foulstons Ruler after his home-bred eight-year-old had won the Intermediate, his fourth success of the campaign, in the hands of Rupert Stearn. "I think he'll make a lower-grade Open horse on soft ground," George opined, "but his brother Mambo Ruler, who swallowed his tongue at Higham, is much better."
George bred the pair out of Springlark, a gift horse from former Point-to-Point rider Nigel Wrighton, who now lives in Italy. "I'll be on the phone to him this evening," smiled George, who, with the two remaining East Anglian meetings held on tracks unsuitable for Foulstons Ruler, is now likely to call it a day until next season.
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"Less weight!" was Henry Hill's explanation for the improvement in form of his Maiden winner Greek Star, who joined him about ten weeks ago. "He looked like a show horse when we got him, and he was a complete nutter, but he's settled down now."
It was a second success in the saddle for Henry's head lad George Kennedy. Henry has always been a strong believer in giving novice riders an opportunity. "People keep telling me to get a more experienced rider, but if they've done all the work at home they should keep the ride on the track," is his belief, one which some other trainers would do well to emulate.
Some of the gloss was taken off the victory when Henry's other runner Achner, travelling well at the time, was pulled up lame and had to be collected by horse ambulance, although he was reported on Monday to be not as badly injured as was first feared.
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George was wearing crimson colours which had last been seen on the racecourse in the 19th century. They were owned by the Heathcote family of Conington Castle, and although they had lapsed since then had surprisingly not been taken by a new owner, so family descendant Tara Belcher, who has horses with Henry, was able to re-register them. "I'd forgotten to bring my second set of colours and as I'd got Tara's on the lorry I decided to use those," Henry explained.
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Irritating dog (1). The black and white one which was tied up in the shade in the weighing tent and howled its way through the first race, causing Dickie Barrett in the adjacent changing tent to threaten to take drastic action (he didn't!).
Irritating dog (2). The brown one which snatched a cake out of a small boy's hand in the hospitality tent, causing said child to annoy everyone else by screaming its head off and refusing to calm down.
