Johnston’s Last Lion roars at Newmarket
MARK JOHNSTON trains under the banner of “Always trying” and The Last Lion lived up to that motto when he won the Juddmonte Middle Park Stakes at Newmarket.
The Last Lion won the Brocklesby Stakes, the first two-year-old race of the year run on turf, at Doncaster in March and was running for the 10th time this season but saved his best for last to hold off the challenge of Blue Point by three-quarters of a length, a first Group One victory for jockey Joe Fanning on his 46th birthday.
As a 25-1 shot it was a good result for bookmakers who must have thought it was their collective birthday after the defeat of Lady Aurelia, the hot favourite for the Connolly’s Red Mills Cheveley Park Stakes. After a great start, Frankie Dettori could only finish third behind Brave Anna, a first winner in the race for trainer Aidan O’Brien.
Wesley Ward, the trainer of Lady Aurelia, said: “It’s a humbling game. With expectations come big disappointments.
“When he called on her, it just wasn’t there for the last bit, but it’s been a tough campaign. I’m not trying to make any excuses or take anything away from the two that beat her. But she’s a special filly and we’ll take her back and try and get her ready for the Commonwealth Cup at Ascot.
“I expected to win today. I laid it out there on everybody and when you do that... it happens.”
James Doyle, having been dropped as No 1 rider for Godolphin trainer Saeed bin Suroor last week, found a timely uplift when he won the Juddmonte Royal Lodge Stakes on Best Of Days, while Spark Plug won the Betfred Cambridgeshire for trainer Brian Meehan and jockey Jimmy Fortune.
By Stewart Fisher
JOE Ham is preparing for two fights in the space of a fortnight as he sets his sights on a Scottish or Celtic title shot by the turn of the year.
His fellow Team Scotland member from the 2014 Commonwealth Games, Charlie Flynn, may be out of action with broken ribs, but the 25-year-old super bantamweight from the Gorbals – who has five knockouts from his eight bouts – has landed a prime slot on the undercard of the Ricky BurnsKiryl Relikh show at the SSE Hydro on October 7.
He will then be plunged back into action on an Alex Morrison bill at The Glasgow City Hotel on October 22 with a view to readying him for his first title attempt, to be televised on STV Glasgow, in December.
This is a pivotal period for most of Scotland’s Commonwealth heroes, with gold medal winner Josh Taylor also preparing for a Commonwealth title shot against Dave Ryan at the Meadowbank Arena in Edinburgh on October 21.
“I think I’m starting to get the recognition,” said Ham. “I knew when I turned pro that it was a different sport altogether compared to the amateurs and I felt I was always more suited to the pros. I like to hurt people. You’ve got to have an attitude and if you don’t have it people walk over the top of you. But I’ve also got to remember to defend myself because as I go up in class, guys are getting better and better.
“Hopefully I get a bit of TV time to show what I can do. Everything seems to be going perfect. I’m fighting on the seventh and again on the 22nd on Alex’s show. And I’m on STV Glasgow on December 18 so, hopefully I’ll get a Scottish or Celtic title fight by the end of the year. That’s my aim. I’m 14th in the British rankings and I need to keep picking away and eventually I’ll get there.
“But you’ve got to learn your trade. Ricky didn’t get it handed to him straight away. He had to work his way up on all the wee shows.”
Ham was starstruck this week when he shared a platform with Ricky Hatton, one of his childhood idols, who is training and promoting Relikh.
“Growing up, I loved watching Hatton’s body shots and his aggressive style and that’s what I like to do – to throw them like him,” said the Scot. “Being in his company is another step on the way to the big time.”