ROBERT COOPER
Sky racing correspondent bumps into a famous face at Bath
We’re always told ‘never meet your heroes’, that’s probably why I’ve been dodging Bob Dylan for 50 years but when someone turns up that you think resembles a celebrity, but you’re not quite sure, that is the point where problems can begin.
I thought I’d spotted darts wizard Eric Bristow the other day until I discovered he’d been transported to that divine oche in the sky at least three years ago. The Crafty Cockney was a true hero and champion; I loved the way he ogled the TV camera just before he plucked his arrows from the board.
On a steamy evening at Bath races recently, our Sky Sports cameraman, best known as the Excellent Jon Hill, told me that he’d heard boxing legend Joe Calzaghe was at the track. The mere rumour caused a tsunami of excitement in Sky’s London studio. To be honest, I’m not a boxing fan, and until I ‘Googled’ him I didn’t have the foggiest what he looked like or that he was the longest reigning super-middleweight in boxing history, undefeated I read, in all his 46 fights.
When Jon pointed to the gent standing by the tote windows swilling a pint of lager, I thought it was windup, so I continued in my professional capacity as a broadcaster to analyse and assess the Bath form and ignore extraneous gossip. Still, I could feel the pressure building and feared that I would be unable to leave the track until the tittle-tattle was confirmed or denied. Surely, I thought, if the mystery punter was truly Joe Calzaghe CBE, wouldn’t he be besieged with autograph hunters and dedicated boxing aficionados?
The moment of truth presented itself when the alleged ex-pugilist parked himself next to me on the paddock rails. “Has anyone ever mentioned,” I mumbled, “that you bear a very close resemblance to Joe Cal…..,” at which point he whipped off his shades, and seemingly pleased to be recognised, we banged knuckles in post-covid introduction – his being somewhat more meaty than mine.
Cameraman Hill doesn’t claim the label ‘Excellent’ without just cause and for once he was right. Towards the end of a genial chat with Joe (friends already) on Sky Sports Racing, the paddock bell rang for the jockeys to mount: seconds out and only just in time, I resisted landing a barnstorming right hook on the invincible Calzaghe.
Not a household name yet, but it’s very early days, is Upper Lambourn trainer Brian O’Rourke. Based at Old Manor Stables, from the same yard Kim Bailey trained MR FRISK, MASTER OATS and ALDERBROOK to win the Grand National, Gold Cup and Champion Hurdle, O’Rourke has been involved in pre-training for the past six years but has now designated 13 of his 49 stables as a fully licensed trainer.
He said, “It’s been my dream for years to train but with owners like Al Shaqab, Highclere, Bjorn Neilsen and David and Sue Ward the pre-training is an important part of the business.” A recent success story was top Group One sprinter STARMAN, “the easiest horse I ever broke in, and you could put a saddle on him after a couple of weeks, and that was it, he was a perfect gent. And the Wards are the nicest people you’ll ever meet – they love coming to see their horses.” David Ward owns and bred STARMAN, and also owns PRIMO BACIO, a close fifth to SKY LANTERN in the Group One Falmouth Stakes.
Another feather landed on Rourke’s cap when SKY LANTERN won at Newmarket, as Richard Hannon’s filly also developed her formative nursery education from O’Rourke. Pre-training not only involves breaking in and tutoring yearlings before they arrive with their trainers, but also reassurance and
encouragement. Racing just once as a two year-old, SKY LANTERN spent some ‘down time’ back in Upper Lambourn. “I’m a great believer in foundation,” O’Rourke says, “just a bit of grazing, trotting for two or three weeks, then some slow canters to get rid of the baby fat. I’d take her out very early on the gallops, around 6am, when no one’s around and it’s quiet.” The finishing school approach appears to have paid off.
Brian O’Rourke, originally from County Tyrone in Northern Ireland, has spent many years globe-trotting. Not from a racing background, “we had a few ponies and my grandfather was a bookmaker, but in the long run I always wanted to train.” Spending four years in Australia before heading to the USA to learn the ropes from American Hall of Fame Legend Shug McGaughey, “I was there in the days of LURE and INSIDE INFORMATION, it was a wonderful experience.” There followed a spell as assistant to Chicago trainer James Gulick, totalling ten years away from home before returning to join Highclere Thoroughbreds in an educational and pre-training role, prior to setting up to go solo.
At the time of writing Brian O’Rourke is awaiting his first training success from only a handful of runners. His four year-old filly AL GAIYA ran her best race yet when third at Bath and a two yearold filly BANSHEE (a former pupil, owned and bred by Bjorn Neilsen) looks a sure-fire future winner when tackling longer distances. She is a half sister to BIOGRAPHER who shone when his stamina was tested.
If Brian O’Rourke has yet to acquire the
Midas touch as a trainer, he certainly can be proud of his initial venture into breeding. The result of sending his cheaply bought Galileo mare GALICUIX to the brilliant miler PACO BOY was GALILEO GOLD, winner of the 2016 2,000 Guineas for Hugo Palmer and Al Shaqab Racing. “He was the first horse I ever bred. I bought GALICUIX privately; she was a good-looking mare but no one wanted her at the sales. She was a slow but gorgeous looking horse and I thought sending her to PACO BOY might produce a bit of speed.” Success certainly produces the snowball effect, although no longer owner by O’Rourke, one of GALICUIX’s latest progeny, by KINGMAN, fetched 2.7 million guineas at the yearling sales last October. If only my vinyl collection could escalate at a similar rate.
August is traditionally the silly season for most things sporting and political, and now the Freedom Button has been pressed we have the Racing League and Shergar Cup to entertain us in these dog days of summer. As I mentioned in this column a few months ago, we must see how the League unfolds before casting aspersions. I certainly intend to embrace it, after all 30 races run over six Thursday evenings, each worth £50,000 is not to be sniffed at, and who knows we might find a few winners.
It’s worth remembering, way back at the start of the century, scorn was heaped upon the Shergar Cup but now it has become a traditional August highlight at Ascot. Silver Saddle winner Hayley Turner, team captain of the Female team, hails it as ‘my favourite day’s racing of the year’. Travel restrictions will prevent some overseas star riders from taking part, but the general concept of racing letting its hair down is surely a positive one. I hope the same goes for the Racing League.
On a purist note, York’s Ebor Meeting is one of the high spots of the Flat racing year and the race that never fails to spark a thrill is the five furlong Nunthorpe Stakes. There’s nothing to beat raw thoroughbred speed and I’m sure Charlie Hills will have BATTAASH primed for his hat-trick after a lacklustre effort at Ascot in the King’s Stand. I’d feel underwhelmed if Wesley Ward’s GOLDEN PAL won as the only time we’ve seen him in Britain was when second in last year’s Norfolk Stakes. He’s not a household name like BAATAASH or possibly DRAGON SYMBOL, who hit the headlines when he was disqualified at Royal Ascot. He then ran a barnstormer when runnerup to STARMAN in the July Cup and he certainly deserves in Dylan’s words ‘a simple twist of fate’.
Don’t despair if it’s a wet August as Michael Dods’ DAKOTA GOLD, a fivetime York winner, loves soft ground. But where is DAKOTA GOLD? He’s only run once this year when walloped by WINTER POWER, a very speedy dual Course and Distance winner.
Dods has an excellent record in the Nunthorpe, winning twice with MECCA’S ANGEL and last year QUE AMORO was the only horse to lay a glove (I’m getting the boxing bug) on BATTAASH. And where also is GLASS SLIPPERS? Kevin Ryan’s filly hasn’t been seen since winning the Breeders’ Cup Sprint in Keeneland last November. A setback kyboshed her Royal Ascot plans.
Planning a day trip to France in this topsy-turvy world may be out of the question but the Prix Maurice de Gheest on August 8 at Deauville would be an excellent focal point for a Normandy weekend. Ed Walker’s STARMAN is pencilled in. If conditions aren’t favourable, the Haydock Sprint Cup in September is an alternative.