Bollin Eric faces toughest-ever test (From Gazette & Herald)

Bollin Eric faces toughest-ever test

BOLLIN Eric, whose place in Ryedale racing history is assured, following his unforgettable Classic triumph in last year's St Leger at Doncaster, seeks to add his name to the roll of honour in Britain's most prestigious middle-distance race for older horses at Ascot on Saturday.

The four-year-old, trained at Great Habton by Tim Easterby, goes for the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Diamond Stakes, worth a whopping £750,000 and featuring the winners of the English and Irish Derbys, Kris Kin and Alamshar, not to mention top-notch older horses in Nayef, Falbrav and Sulamani.

Bollin Eric, who is still seeking his first win of the season, is priced at around 16-1 to open his account in this star-studded Group One showpiece.

The four-year-old has finished in the frame in all his four races this season and was a beaten favourite at Newmarket on his latest outing when he lost a shoe during the race and returned home slightly lame after finishing fourth to Millenary.

Previously, Bollin Eric had run a blinder at Royal Ascot when he was collared only in the closing stages of the Hardwicke Stakes and beaten a neck by Indian Creek, whom he reopposes on Saturday.

Bollin Eric has been forced to carry a Group One-winning penalty in all his previous races this season, but on this occasion, back in Group One company for the first time since his St Leger success, he will, at least, be free of that incumberence.

A tough test - his toughest-ever - awaits Bollin Eric at Ascot, but in a not-to-be-missed event, Ryedale's star performer deserves his place in the distinguished line-up of what promises to be a crackerjack of a race.

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Tim Easterby certainly has his horses in fine form, as was illustrated last weekend when Somnus, his star juvenile performer of last term, gained his second win of the season under Kevin Darley at Newbury, and Good Girl, his best two-year-old in 2001, bounced back to form at Newmarket.

A victory for Danesmead, a half-brother to Good Girl, would have been fitting in the Weatherbys' Super Sprint at Newbury, but the youngster had to settle for a creditably-gained third prize in a race previously won by his sister.

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There was a fitting climax to the race named in honour of Ryedale racing stalwart Jim McDonald at Beverley last week - the five-furlong dash was won by a Ryedale horse.

Celtic Thunder, a two-length winner in the hands of Darryll Holland, is trained by Tim Etherington at Wold House, Norton, a yard where McDonald, now 82, once worked for the late Rufus Beasley.

"It was nice that there was a local winner of the race," said McDonald, who was honoured for his long career in racing by the Lifetime in Racing series, run by Racing Welfare.

"It was very good of them to organise a race on my behalf, and I am very grateful to them," said Jim, who did not allow being in the spotlight to interfere with his regular job in the Beverley weighing-room.

"I call out the jockeys for each race and make sure they get to the parade ring in time," he explained. "I was still able to do that last Tuesday, as well as making the presentation for my own race," added Jim.

Married to Sonia, another racing enthusiast, and set to celebrate his 50th wedding anniversary next year, Jim, who lives in Norton, is in no doubt about the best horse with which he was associated.

"It's got to be Althrey Don," he said, referring to the top-class sprinter, trained by Pat Rohan to win the 1964 Nunthorpe Stakes at York.

"I used to ride him out all the time at home," he recalls. "He was a top-class horse, but he could jump and kick like a bolero dancer!"

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Efidium continues to etch a deeper place in the heart of Suzanne France, his regular rider. The Neville Bycroft-trained gelding won his fourth race of the season - Suzanne has been in the saddle each time - at Carlisle on Friday. The partnership may not have finished their purple patch yet.

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Richard Fahey, currently enjoying a purple patch, has pinpointed the Cambridgeshire Handicap as a possible late-season target for Definite Guest, who followed up his recent York success with a victory at Newbury on Saturday.

But first things first for the in-form gelding, who is currently being primed for a big-race target in Ireland next week.

"There's a one-mile handicap at the big Galway meeting, worth around £90,000, which we're seriously consiering for him," reports Fahey, whose winners last week also included Neckar Valley, Sualda and Riska King.

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Tony Hamilton, fast developing as one of the north's most sought-after apprentices, took his burgeoning career to a new high at Ripon on Saturday. On the eve of his 20th birthday, the Ryedale claimer completed a double on Conquering Love, trained by his Norton boss Brian Ellison, and Rookwith, who is based at Middleham with James Bethell.

Conquering Love, who won the Ripon Bell-Ringer Handicap - worth more than £13,000 to the winner - by a head from Pantone, provided Hamilton with the biggest success of his career, which he started with David Nicholls, before moving to the Ellison yard earlier this year.

Ellison is now contemplating a tilt at next month's Tote Ebor Handicap at York with the gelding, who, it is to be hoped, enjoys better luck than during his last intended trip to Knavesmire earlier this summer.

A foot infection, which came to a head on the morning of the race, caused the five-year-old to miss his intended engagement, but, when Ellison rang the course to inform them of the reason why Conquering Love would be a non-runner, a breakdown in communications resulted in the misfortunate animal being mistakenly reported to have died, information which was passed around the racecourse and to the media.

Needless to say, Conquering Love, with his foot-problem long since cured, remains in pretty rude health, as does Gue Au Loup, who completed a cross-country double for Ellison on Saturday.

The giant-sized grey scored for Graham Lee at Market Rasen, much to the delight of owner Clive Sherry and Ellison, who was running the gelding for the first time.

There was understandable satisfaction in this victory as Gue Au Loup had been plagued by bursting blood vessels in the past. "We've resisted the temptation to gallop him and have just given lots of long, slow work instead," said Brian, pleased to see his regime pay handsome dividends.

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Fancied mounts don't come along too often for John McAuley, but when they do, the hard-working Ryedale jockey rarely fails to convert them into winners, as he proved at Hamilton last Friday night when he enjoyed his biggest-ever success. The rider, born just a few miles from the course, clinched a pillar-to-post victory on Celtic Mill in the £30,000 Scottish Stewards' Cup. The sprinter, who justified favouritism by a resounding three-and-a-half lengths, is trained at Scorton, North Yorkshire, by David Barker.

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Nigel Tinkler, John Wainwright and Linda Stubbs were also among the winners last week in what proved to be a cracking period for local trainers.

Langton-based Tinkler completed a double with Loveisdangerous at Leicester and Apache Point - ridden by his wife Kim - at Hamilton, while Wainwright was triumphant with sprinters Catch the Cat at Beverley and Cut Ridge at Ripon. Stubbs scored with Lunar Leader, partnered by Robert Winston, at Carlisle. On the jockey front, Malton rider Dean Mernagh was also in cracking form, winning on Dispol Katie at Carlisle, Axis at Hamilton and Mr Lear at Ripon, a trio of horses trained by David Barron.

Updated: 11:22 Wednesday, July 23, 2003