27 January 2010 Scene & Heard: Waveney Harriers - Higham
by Carolyn Tanner
CLAIRE DOUGLAS and Big Moment: got a telling-off despite winning!
photo: Jackie Oliver
Big Moment's strong run from off the pace to snatch a last-gasp victory in a quality Ladies Open was considered by racegoers to be a perfectly-judged ride from Claire Douglas, but her effort was greeted with less acclaim by trainer Jenny Gordon and her husband Chris.
"We were going to kill her when she came back because she didn't do as she was told!" said Chris, Claire having been instructed to jump off handy. "We were facing the wrong way when the starter let us go," admitted Claire, who now heads the ladies' novice championship.
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"If he'd kept his b...s on we could have used him as a stallion." Chris Gordon is in no doubt that Big Moment's class and ability could have been passed on.
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"Six weeks from now he'll be at Wolverhampton!" grinned owner Tom Pratt after Blue Hills, who has won ten times on the all-weather for Peter Hiatt and was here running his 102nd race, easily landed the PPORA Club contest. He had also carried Tom in the 2004 Newmarket Town Plate - a "first and only ride" for Tom, who was at school with trainer Julie Marles. "We knew he could do it if he got his own way," said Julie, who was quick to mention her gratitude to Fred Hutsby for the use of his gallop. It was Julie's first runner at Higham, and surprisingly it was also an initial visit for her partner Charlie Wadland, who had never ridden at the track.
The only regret for winning jockey Henry Kinchin was probably the inability to capture the victory on his own camera. Henry is concentrating on riding this season, but is fast making a name for himself as a photographer with his own company, HJK Images.
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Start Royal - "We thought last year that he could be the best horse we've ever had in the yard," said trainer Alan Hill's wife Lawney - maintained his unbeaten record between the flags with an impressive success in the Intermediate under James Tudor. The unpromising weather forecast for the following weekend had prompted Alan to give Start Royal a run here. "He's such a sod that I couldn't face having to keep riding him at home all the time," was his reasoning.
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Fleur Hawes, nursing a broken collarbone sustained when Scotland Yard fell with her on the gallops at Newmarket, sent out Fraser Duffin's Star Double to win the Mens Open in the hands of Matt Smith. Star Double, who managed only two outings last season before incurring an injury at home, made virtually all. "He doesn't always like it when he's headed," Fleur commented, but there was no sign of shirking here, as he rallied very gamely after being headed two out.
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Matt later made the recovery of the day when Red In Bed nearly came to grief at the last in the Maiden Division Two, although lying almost horizontally along his mount's back would have gained him few marks for artistic impression.
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The majority of the Restricted field lost their chance in a very ragged start, although there is probably little doubt that Lotta Presents (James Owen) would have landed the spoils in any case. Lotta Presents, who came from Liam Cashman, was a popular winner, his owner-trainer John Ferguson having a large support group to cheer him home. John, bloodstock advisor to Sheikh Mohammed and also a Master of the Scarteen (Black & Tans), rode five winners between the flags, the first of which was Tara Boy at Cottenham in 1994, and was making a return to Pointing after an absence of ten years.
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Status Quo groupie Cyndy Aldridge saw her Three Chords, a name synonymous with the band, make an impressive winning debut in the second Maiden. It was a welcome change of fortune for trainer Gerald Bailey and rider Dickie Barrett, who had lost Little Fountain at Larkhill the previous day, although the victory came as a surprise to connections.
"We weren't sure if he was a racehorse or a playboy!" laughed Gerald, whose charge is a replacement for the Aldridges' former star My Best Buddy, who will be a schoolmaster for Lucy Docker this year. Three Chords was almost ready to run last season until his preparation was halted by a minor problem. "In hindsight, it was a good thing [to leave him another year]," said Gerald's wife Caroline.
Cyndy, who has been to more than 420 Status Quo concerts, had received a "good luck" text from them prior to the race. She was in the group's audience at Oxford the previous evening and was due to see them at Harrogate the following night.
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Division One went to the day's furthest traveller Principal Lad, who answered the question Harriet Bethell had voiced en route to the course, namely "Do you think this horse will ever win a race?" The Bethells had set out for Higham at 6.30am. "We didn't realise quite how far it was," smiled Harriet's mother Liddy, "and when we were running into hour five I wondered why we were coming here."
The horse, though, had a shorter journey over the weekend than that undertaken by his rider. Harriet, an assistant chef at a delicatessen just off Chelsea's King's Road, had driven home to Beverley on Friday night and was due to go back to London that evening, but only after driving the box back to Yorkshire.
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An aerodynamic Harry Fowler, who recently had his head and legs shaved in aid of charity, recorded a 50th career success in Britain when taking the Hunts' Club Members on Itsallupintheair, who had looked to be losing the battle against Henry's Pride when that one fell three out.
Harry, who also has several winners in his native Ireland to his credit, will be facing a different sort of challenge later in the year, when he hopes to be in Edinburgh competing in the World Duathlon Championships, describing it as "my escape from reality."
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Rupert Stearn, who took a heavy fall from Mambo des Mottes in the PPORA Club race, was fortunate to escape with just a broken collarbone, as his helmet was split right across in the incident.
