Royal Ascot success for local stars (From Gazette & Herald)

Royal Ascot success for local stars

If you didn't attend or didn't see it on television, you missed an absolute treat. Royal Ascot at York proved everything it was cracked up to be. And more.

The colour and tradition of this great meeting, graced by the Royal family, and contested by the many of the best horses in Europe and worldwide, created an atmosphere which had to be experienced to be believed.

Among the winners from Ryedale were Sheriff Hutton jockey Kevin Darley, who rode two winners to boost his Royal Ascot tally to 14 successes, fellow jockey Robert Winston, who broke his duck at the meeting and, on a more personal level, Peter and Marjorie Easterby, who enjoyed the wonderful thrill and privilege of being guests of the Queen on Saturday, enjoying lunch with Her Majesty at Bishopthorpe Palace before taking part in the Royal Procession down the course, which was a glittering highlight on each of the five days.

Furthermore, John Quinn, Mick Easterby, Richard Fahey, Kevin Ryan, David Nicholls, Paul Hanagan and Dale Gibson were among the locals who all creditably figured on the fiercely-competitive scoresheet with placed horses, which rank as sizeable achievements for each and every one of them.

For Darley, who, 12 months ago had won on Attraction at Royal Ascot in Berkshire, the meeting is extra special, and he took particular delight in getting on the scoreboard at his local track.

The former champion jockey won the Queen's Vase on Melrose Avenue for Middleham trainer Mark Johnston - also successful with Bandari in the Hardwicke Stakes - and followed up aboard Titus Alone, a first Royal Ascot success for Hambleton trainer Bryan Smart, who also saddled two winners at Redcar and another at Ayr on the same afternoon.

For Winston, his all-the-way success on the Howard Johnston-trained Masta Plasta provided the former Ryedale-based champion apprentice with a moment to savour.

"Brilliant," said the jockey, who, earlier this week, chalked up his 50th win on turf this season to keep alive his hopes of pressing the leaders in the championship race.

Of the trainers, Mick Easterby got a great run out of Bow Bridge, who finished third in the Queen Mary Stakes, while John Quinn was as proud as punch of Crow Wood, his Epsom Derby Day winner, who found only Sir Michael Stoute's Notable Guest half-a-length too strong in the Duke Of Edinburgh Stakes.

Not so fortunate, it has to be said, was Tim Easterby, who received a double-whammy in the Golden Jubilee Stakes. Firstly, one of his two intended runners, Fayr Jag, winner of the corresponding race at Ascot 12 months ago, and also a Royal Ascot winner in 2003 when he dead-heated in the Wokingham Handicap, was eliminated by the handicapper, who was forced to reduce the field when the number of declared runners exceeded the safety limit. Because Fayr Jag was among the quintet with the lowest handicap rating, he missed the cut by one.

Gallingly, for Easterby and for owner Jonathan Gill, the ground, getting faster by the day as the week wore on, would have been ideal by Saturday for Fayr Jag, who had run well over an inadequate five furlongs to finish eighth in the King's Stand Stakes on Tuesday.

By contrast, Somnus, Easterby's stable-star, Europe's number-one sprinter and a confirmed easy-ground specialist, was always destined to find the weather conspiring against him.

The wonderful celebration, meticulously organised by his owner-breeder Lady Caroline Legard at her magnificent Scampston Hall home on Friday night, was to honour Somnus' achievement of being crowned European champion sprinter of 2004, and not a party in advance of what might be the following afternoon.

Indeed, nobody, least of all Lady Legard and her joint-owners Sir Tatton Sykes or Roger Sidebottom, were under any illusions that the odds were stacked against Somnus even taking his chance, and it was no surprise, given the risk of injury to him on firm ground, that Easterby chose to withdraw him an hour or so before the race.

Also scratched late were four others because of the ground, which meant a below-maximum field, which lent some support to Easterby's earlier suggestion - after Fayr Jag's enforced elimination - that a reserve system should be in place for races with 48-hour declarations.

To add to Tim's frustration, Cape of Good Hope, who took the first prize of £155,440 on Saturday, had been beaten two heads into third place by Fayr Jag in last year's race.

Ground conditions on Knavesmire - slippery earlier in the week and very firm later on - came in for some criticism. But, while lessons will presumably have been learned, it should be remembered that York ground is notoriously difficult to manage - it is after all built on a mire - and, after a wet spring, a cold spell, a dry period and then heavy rainfall on the eve of the meeting, producing the track in A1 condition was not a job for the faint-hearted.

All in all, however, Royal Ascot at York worked wonderfully well. A figure of almost 240,000 racegoers attended the five days and, after enjoying top-class racing, a vibrant atmosphere, a Royal presence, plus the not-to-be-missed communal singing at the end of each afternoon, I suspect very few of them returned home feeling anything short of well satisfied.

All signs point to Newcastle this weekend when the three-day Northumberland Plate meeting takes pride of place, and Paul Hanagan will be hoping for as profitable a time as he enjoyed at the corresponding Tyneside extravaganza 12 months ago.

The Ryedale jockey pulled off the main honours in the race commonly known as the Pitman's Derby on rank outsider Mirjan, trained by Len Lungo. Hanagan has been offered the ride on the veteran gelding again on Saturday.

Friday night sees the Gosforth Park Cup taking centre stage and another chance of an encore, this time from Caribbean Coral, trained by John Quinn, who looks primed to make a bold bid to repeat his success of 12 months ago after finishing a hugely-encouraging seventh in the Wokingham Handicap at Royal Ascot at York last Saturday.

Quinn's horses are firing on all cylinders now, as he proved when producing a 1-2 with Zomerlust and Melalchrist in the feature race at Ripon on Monday night. Zomerlust may turn out again in a £50,000 event at Windsor on Saturday, making for an exciting weekend for the Settrington trainer.

Make a note of River Crossing - that was the impression from Redcar last Friday after the Tim Easterby-trained juvenile had made a winning debut under Dave Allan.

The Zafonic filly, who was allowed to start at 20-1, despite being held in some regard in the Great Habton yard, scored cosily by a neck, and behaved impeccably, having had previous problems at home getting used to the starting stalls. She looks a youngster with a bright future.

As for Allen, he is riding out of his skin at present. River Crossing initiated a 24-hour five-timer for the Malton jockey. Also successful on Go Solo later in the afternoon, Allen went on to complete a treble on the same course the following day on Go Tech and Molly Marie, also trained by Easterby, and the Keith Reveley-trained Let It Be.

Amateur rider Nikki Wilson, who had to be airlifted to hospital after a crashing fall in the Ladies' Derby at Ripon two weeks ago, which knocked her unconscious, is making good progress and now back at home near York.

Her husband, trainer Noel Wilson is a mightily relieved man after being "numb with worry," for several days after the accident before it was confirmed that mother-of-two Nikki had not suffered any head injuries.

She has, though, fractured the large bone at the back of her neck. Although in no danger of suffering paralysis, it was, says her husband, "too close for comfort."

He added: "The doctors told me that it's lucky she is such a strong and fit woman, otherwise I dread to think what the outcome might have been. They kept her asleep for three days after the fall, just to give her head and body time to settle down after the impact of hitting the ground at speed, and her face is black, blue and yellow, and very swollen.

"Things looked very bad immediately after the fall. I was numb with worry during those early days. Something as serious as this happening puts everything else into perspective."

Wilson would like to pass on his sincere thanks to everyone who has helped and supported him through such a difficult time.

"It's been unbelievable the support I've received. I've had hundreds of phone calls from people showing that they care, which is nice, my staff have worked their socks off at home, and the doctors and paramedics at Ripon did a wonderful job, as did the Air Ambulance. She has had the most brilliant and professional treatment at the James Cook Hospital at Middlesbrough, and, although the whole thing has been terrible, she is going to be okay again, which is the main thing."

Who needs Royal Ascot at York? Not local owners Terry Elsey from Malton and York-based Richard Mustill, who were perfectly happy to be at Ripon on Monday to see their pride and joy, Richtee, gain a nail-biting handicap success.

The Richard Fahey-trained filly won by a short head in the hands of Paul Hanagan to provide her duo of owners with their fifth success in just 12 months, during which time Richtee has amassed almost £25,000 in prize money. Not a bad money-spinner, by any standards.

Updated: 13:35 Wednesday, June 22, 2005