22 April 2010 Scene & Heard: Towcester - April 20th
by Carolyn Tanner
"That will make the journey back to Northallerton seem a bit shorter," smiled Caroline Bailey after Pass The Parsel, trained by her husband Gerald for Yorkshire-based owner Margaret Moody, had landed the spoils under a well-judged ride from Gerald's son Johnny.
The leaders went off at a suicidal pace, but Johnny was content to sit at the back of the field. "I wasn't worried because I knew they'd come back," he said. "They must have thought they were in the Derby. I was fairly confident after we'd jumped the second-last, although Tom Weston [rider of runner-up Mr Goofy] is always a hard man to pass."
The nine-year-old, who is looked after at the Bailey yard by Leah Rowlands, has slightly unorthodox living quarters. "He doesn't like narrow spaces so if you tried to lead him through a stable doorway he'd squash you," Gerald explained, "so he lives in a yard and has got an old hunter as his girlfriend next door."
Margaret was understandably delighted at the victory but was quick to express her disappointment for Pass The Parsel's regular rider Dickie Barrett, who broke his hand in a freak accident at Garthorpe two days earlier.
Johnny, 20, has been making the most of the opportunities which have come his way, and his most recent three rides, all spares due to Dickie's misfortune, have won. He wore the Moody colours to victory at Garthorpe on Kandelin, and the day after his Towcester success he picked up the plum ride on Coolefind at Southwell.
"Paul's very generous about letting me have time off to go racing and schooling," he said, referring to trainer Paul Webber, with whom he is pupil-assistant.
