[Himself]

I don’t hold too much truck with punters who refuse to criticise jockeys for poor rides or bad judgement , despite evidence to the contrary .

There is more than a touch of condescension in their defence of said jockeys and those ” ill informed pocket talkers ” , who to them are merely philistines in great scheme of things .

Everyone is entitled to their opinion – even those who opine through their empty pockets .

The real reason racing journalists and tv pundits rarely , if ever , criticise jockeys’ rides , is simple : as the much derided John McCririck outlined years ago on Channel 4 racing .

” We don’t like to bite that hands that feeds us – it’s counter productive . ”

In other words , if media pundits publicly criticise jockeys , then those same jockeys will just clamp up and refuse all future interviews .

As for ex-jockeys criticising current jockeys . Forget it ! Birds of a feather flock together and all that …

Gambling Only Pays When You're Winning

[Himself]

# … might as we’ll rain until September # ; )

Serious horse . I loved her attitude .

5/1 looks huge for the 1,000 Guineas , even at this stage .

I was very impressed .

Gambling Only Pays When You're Winning

[Himself]

In top class races , it’s all fine margins , pace, and tactical nous .

My two bob’s worth :

Ryan Moore is the best jockey in Europe by a country mile but he doesn’t always get it right , especially when he should .

Order Of St. George was the best horse in the race and on all known form he should have won cosily .

However, like those golden oldies , Nijinsky and Dancing Brave , Ryan’s horse was given too much to do , and like those two illustrious predecessors in their big races that mattered , they also finished fast but arrived at the finishing post slightly later than planned .

Summation : great battling win by the front running Big Orange , but not one of Ryan Moore’s finest rides on Order Of St. George . Did he think he was on Nijinsky ?

Gambling Only Pays When You're Winning

[Himself]

When I read this , the first race which came immediately to mind was the infamous 1981 St.James Palace Stakes grudge match between To-Agori-Mou and King’s Lake , where the former won and Greville Starkey gave Pat Eddery the “V” sign because of the controversial way in which his mount had been disqualified in the Irish 2,000 Guineas at the expense of Eddery’s King’s Lake . Part 2 in the on going drama between the pair , which would see Eddery and King’s Lake gain revenge in the Sussex Stakes . It was riveting viewing watching those two great milers and two great jockeys lock horns .

Other memorable Royal Ascot races which stand out for me were the 1980 Ascot Gold Cup , when the great Le Moss beat Ardross , and again , another Ascot Gold Cup in 1988 ; this time probably the most controversial : Sadeem being awarded the race after easy winner , Royal Gait , was unjustly thrown out .

Gambling Only Pays When You're Winning

[Himself]

Whether you think so or not , Matt Chapman bases his whole on screen persona on John McCririck’s over the top act . However , McCririck , for all his faults , knew when to rein it in a bit – and was certainly more mindful of the accepted unwritten rules of decorum .

The trouble with Chapman is that he forgets himself and is oft to get carried away ; whether with the bombast or his predilection to hyperbole .

I noticed during the Oaks awards ceremony that even the amiable and tolerant ( on screen at least ) Frankie Dettori had to tell Chapman to hurry it up and stop milking it , before finally introducing the winning jockey .

In short , you need to rein it in a bit Chappers and ditch the John McCririck tribute act . Big Mac was so much better at performing that gig anyway .

Gambling Only Pays When You're Winning

[Himself]

Like TAPK , I too was beginning to harbour some negative feelings surrounding Coolmore’s Group 1 M.O. and was wary about lumping on Winter in a race she was fully entitled to win .

In the end , and in spite of any misgivings on my part , I decided to take the plunge – and thank goodness I did .

How impressive was that . Ryan Moore and all those who backed the filly did not have a moment’s concern .

In fact , I haven’t seen a filly win a Guineas (Irish or English ) with such authorative ease since Humble Duty’s Newmarket stroll in 1970 .

Gambling Only Pays When You're Winning

[Himself]

With Churchill probably heading to The Curragh , this year’s Derby now looks more open than ever .

I was most taken with Permian’s win in the Dante and I’ll be surprised if he is not supplemented for the Epsom race as he was for York’s Derby Trial . He showed a nice turn of foot and stayed on well .

Gambling Only Pays When You're Winning

[Himself]

I really couldn’t give too hoots for a person’s ethnicity , age , sex , their accent or their background ; so long as they’re knowledgeable about the sport , reasonably articulate and mildly entertaining .

Gambling Only Pays When You're Winning

[Himself]

I remember vividly the 1985 running of the Lingfield Derby Trial . It is probably the one running of that race which more or less foretold exactly how The Derby would be won .

Henry Cecil sent Lord Howard De Walden ‘s Shirley Heights’ colt , Slip Anchor , there , in an effort to gauge how the colt might act at Epsom . The beautifully balanced horse ( in every sense ) scooted up by ten lengths . Afterwards , jockey Steve Cauthen , told Henry Cecil that Slip Anchor was an absolute certainty to win the big race at Epsom . Starting favourite , he more or less replicated his win at Lingfield , coasting home very easily by seven lengths .

Speaking of this year’s Derby : as I said last week , Churchill should run and Churchill should win .

Gambling Only Pays When You're Winning

[Himself]

Not Ryan Moore’s finest hour . He made a pig’s ear of that . Rhododendron easily the best horse in the race but Ryan Moore , even allowing for all his experience and tactical nous , somehow contrived to get the horse beat .

Winter had a clear run and saw the mile out well but I cannot believe that Rhododendron would not have won with more enterprising ride .

Gambling Only Pays When You're Winning

[Himself]

I will be most surprised if the Coolmore boys decide against The Derby route for Churchill .

The horse has a good temperament and has the required high cruising speed . He seems very straight forward and always seems to find more when asked .

I think he will line-up for The Derby and what’s more , I think he’ll win .

Gambling Only Pays When You're Winning

[Himself]

Churchill to win . Very confident selection .

I think Eminent will be placed .

Gambling Only Pays When You're Winning

[Himself]

Frankel’s and Zafonic’s wins were jaw droppingly spectacular .
Nijinsky won his Guineas in a common canter ; Sir Ivor was equally , if not more impressive two years before .

From a personal point of view , EL Gran Senor’s victory gave me most satisfaction , as I had backed the horse ante-post and had the biggest single bet ever on any horse up until that point . I was super confident that he would win . It was only when Ray Cochrane appeared on the scene two out , pulling double on Chief Singer, that my confidence began to dissipate rapidly . Thankfully , EL Gran Senor quickened again and won a shade costly , going away .

People tend to overlook the fact that this was EL Gran Senor’s one and only run over a mile ; albeit a very successful one . He never competed in any other mile races – before or since that Guineas win . So , as much as I loved the horse , there is no way I can possibly have him as the greatest miler of all time , let alone best 2,000 Guineas winner .

For me , and many others , the best winner of the race has to be Brigadier Gerard . For him to have made his seasonal 3 year old reappearance at Newmarket in the 2,000 Guineas against Mill Reef , who had already had the benefit of an outing at Newbury , winning the Greenham easily , and beating that great little colt by an increasing 3 lengths , speaks absolute volumes for Dick Hern’s horse . He remained undefeated at 3 and 4 in every mile race he competed in .

To suggest EL Gran Senor was his equal or superior at that distance is just poppyc*ck . For a start , EL Gran Senor didn’t face and beat one of the greatest horses ever to set hoof on the turf : Mill Reef . None of EL Gran Senor’s opponents , very good as most of them were , could conceivably be ranked along side Paul Mellon’s little pocket rocket .

Brigadier Gerard , Frankel , and arguably Tudor Minstrel can fight it out for the title of best miler ever , but on 2,000 Guineas day at Newmarket in 1971 , Brigadier Gerard was king of them all .

Gambling Only Pays When You're Winning

[Himself]

I quite agree .

Each horse included is indeed worthy of a Legends ‘ Stamp but why the inclusion of a fairly average Ascot Gold Cup winner in Estimate .

There may be a very good reason for her inclusion but other than the obvious Royal connection , I’m struggling to find any other plausible reason .

Gambling Only Pays When You're Winning

[Himself]

I remember them very well . The high window rule , if any ; and if there were , they were invariably blacked out as they were seen as dens of iniquity – smoke filled and corruptible .

Ah, the old , barely audible blower – an essential vehicle where we could imagine visions of the race unfolding – and where ” challenging close home ” actually meant the second horse was within 3 lengths as the winner won hard held , pulling up .

The hundreds of discarded bookies’ slips on the unswept floors . The old men ( never women ! ) in flat caps , putting their 5 Bob each way accumulator on . The chalk boards , prior to the introduction of felt tip – winner highlighted in red and previous odds wiped out with diaganol score , usually performed by one of the old , flat cap brigade , many of whom could still wax lyrical about Hyperion’s Derby win and Bahram’s Triple Crown .

I recall one particular day in 1977, rushing away early from work ( dodgy stomach or something ) , in order to catch the Champion Hurdle . As I approached the the green wooded hut , which doubled as an independent bookmakers , I could see about half a dozen men standing outside . As I hurried desperately to get in and place my bet , an outstretched hand stopped me with the words , no chance , whereupon I was promptly informed that it was choc-a – bloc inside . The cigarette smoke billowing from the doorway , accompanied by the incessant chattering , told its own truth .

Anyhow , I took my place with those 6 men – and one other who had since arrived to find himself in our collective predicament – to hear , barely audible , Night Nurse being called home to win his second Champion Hurdle in a row .

Nice to look back on those halcyon days ( as some view them ) but we , the punters , have it so much better in 2017 than we did back then .

Gambling Only Pays When You're Winning

[Himself]

Arrogate : what a horse , what a performance !

The best I’ve seen since Frankel .

Gambling Only Pays When You're Winning

[Himself]

I was hoping Richard Johnson would try and kick on earlier in an effort to get the speed horses out of their comfort zone , but it seemed as if Native River was going as fast as he could and just lacks toe .

Well done to Sizing John and those who backed it . As a sidenote : it makes Douvan’s defeat the other day all the harder to take as on the seven previous occasions Jessie Harrington’s horse has met Mullins’ star chaser , it has been left floundering behind the big horse each time .

Gambling Only Pays When You're Winning

[Author]

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