Danelor aims for Vintage display (From Gazette & Herald)

Danelor aims for Vintage display

ALL roads point to York this weekend, when the two-day meeting is highlighted by Saturday's 44th running of the John Smith's Cup - the longest-established sponsored race on the flat in Britain.

The famous showcase handicap, first run in 1960 - when it was won by a Ryedale-trained horse in the shape of Rufus Beasley's Fougalle - was also won by a local raider 12 months ago when Vintage Premium, trained by Richard Fahey and ridden by Paul Hanagan, took the honours in a thrilling three-way photo-finish.

This time, Fahey will be back again to bid for an outstanding big-race double with Danelor. Formerly trained in Newmarket by Ed Dunlop, Danelor has thrived since moving to Ryedale and has finished runner-up in two valuable handicaps at Epsom this season, the latest at the Derby meeting.

"He deserves to win a big one," says Fahey, who is hoping that the four-year-old can go one better on Saturday by following in the hoofprints of Vintage Premium.

Mick Easterby, who has such a wonderful record on the Knavesmire down the years, could be three-handed in this £135,000 showpiece event with Cat's Whiskers, Top Dirham and Trouble Mountain. The former has a similar profile to Danelor, having finished second in the Thirsk Hunt Cup and the Zetland Gold Cup this season, while Trouble Mountain, although a previous winner at York, is currently out of the weights in Saturday's race.

As for Top Dirham, a former inmate of Sir Michael Stoute, he has won his last two races at Thirsk and Carlisle, and is currently on a high. A couple of pounds out of the handicap, Top Dirham has an alternative engagement at York on Friday, in a less competitive race - but for much less reward.

Friday's Knavesmire programme is highlighted by the first running of a new Group Three race, the Cuisine de France Summer Stakes, a six-furlong contest for fillies and mares, which will have a strong local representation. Vita Spericolata, trained by John Wainwright and Tim Easterby's Golden Nun are among the entries for this competitive sprint.

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No joy for Tim Easterby at Newmarket on Tuesday when he had three of his stablestars in action on the opening day of the prestigious July meeting.

Birthday Suit, owned and bred by Lady Halifax, did best of the trio, finishing third in the Cherry Hinton Stakes to Mark Johnston's brilliant and unbeaten filly, Attraction, who waltzed home with five lengths to spare under Kevin Darley.

Darley then took his turn on Bollin Eric in the Princess of Wales's Stakes, but the big Easterby hope faded out of contention in the closing stages as Millenary, winning the race for the second successive season, swept home under Pat Eddery. Easterby's other big gun, Dazzling Bay, also failed to hit the target in the Tote Exacta Handicap. The three-year-old found his hefty hike in the weights beyond him and finished unplaced under John Egan.

Tuesday's Ryedale challenge at Newmarket came within a fraction of having a glorious start when Everest, trained by Brian Ellison and ridden by Tony Hamilton, failed by just a short-head to beat Gilded Dancer.

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Somnus, whose stirring exploits last season enabled him to become the second biggest money-earning juvenile of the year, proved the class act in a treble for Tim Easterby last Saturday.

The Great Habton trainer, on the mark at Beverley with runaway winner Flighty Fellow - part-owned by his mother Marjorie - was likewise successful at Haydock with Bollin Janet and Somnus, whose victory in the six-furlong conditions' stakes was his first victory in three starts this season.

Found to be a little under the weather after his first unplaced outing of the campaign at Ascot, Somnus, bred and jointly-owned by Lady Caroline Legard from Scampston, returned to the same course last month for the Royal meeting, only to again finish out of the money in the Jersey Stakes after finding the fast ground again him.

But, revelling in Haydock's easier ground, he duly made it third-time-lucky on Saturday when scoring by two-and-a-half lengths in the hands of Kevin Darley.

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Regal Song hit a high note at Beverley last Saturday to take centre-stage just ahead of his stablemate, Karminskey Park, and provide Tim Etherington with a career first.

"Unbelievable - I don't ever remember having the first two home in a race before," said the delighted Norton trainer after seeing his two runners in the featured five-furlongs sprint separated at the finish by only three-quarters of a length.

Etherington was full of praise for both his horses. "Both had ground conditions to suit," he said, referring to the good-to-soft going, "and both ran cracking races. Regal Song made the best of his favourable draw near the inside rail, and if Karminskey Park had had that draw, it might have been her that won. I'm very pleased with both of them."

Regal Song, a confirmed mud-lover, was partnered by Derek McGafffin, who was having his first mount for a clearly-impressed Etherington.

"This horse is a 'man's ride', and Derek did a great job, not giving him chance to idle after he hit the front," he said.

"That's the first time this season that Regal Song has had his favourite ground, which is so important to him. At home, he's one of those horses who feels like a slow sprinter, but put him on softer ground and he's a different horse."

Etherington's feat of saddling the first two home in the Mondi Hypac Handicap netted his owners more than £18,000 in prize money. Just for good measure, Stillington trainer David Chapman went some way to emulating Etherington by saddling the next two home; Sharp Hat and Paddywack, who filled third and fourth places. Ironically, Sharp Hat is a former inmate of the Etherington yard.

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There was another 'first' at Beverley on Friday night when Paul Hanagan registered his first-ever dead-heat victory on Fight The Feeling to share the spoils with Dash Of Magic in the 12-furlong handicap.

While Dash Of Magic is trained at Norton by James Hetherton, Fight The Feeling is based at Wolverhampton with James Unett. There was a stroke of luck in Hanagan picking up the ride, as he stepped in only at the last minute after intended jockey Alan Daly had been injured earlier in the day in a fall at Warwick.

"Paul had never ridden for me before, and had never ridden this horse, but he proved a very good subsitute, riding him exactly to orders and producing him at the right time," said Unett.

Hanagan said: "It was obviously very close and I couldn't be sure I'd go there, which is why I didn't go into the winners' enclosure before the result was announced. Riding a dead-heater is a new experience for me!"

Hanagan was in the right place at the right time again at Musselburgh on Monday. On hand to stand in for the opening race, when apprentice Luke Fletcher was held up in traffic, Paul capitalized on his opportunity by winning on 16-1 shot Orpenberry for Middleham trainer Karl Burke.

Updated: 10:15 Wednesday, July 09, 2003