Time to get 'Real' for Dubai race (From Gazette & Herald)

Time to get 'Real' for Dubai race

There are plainly advantages to be gained in becoming a talented racehorse, a fact illustrated by the Ryedale-trained Realism, who is to spend the remainder of the winter in the sunshine of Dubai.

Okay, so the gelding will need to work to justify his transfer to this popular desert location, but there is every chance that he can pay his way during his stay.

At least, that is the hope of Malton trainer Richard Fahey, following his decision to add Realism, a dual-winner at York last season, to the list of British horses currently making their way to the Arabian Gulf to compete at the 11-week long Dubai Carnival.

"You've got to have a horse rated at least 95 to go out there, and he's 99, which is ideal," explained Fahey.

"He's the right sort to send. He's tough, consistent and he goes on quick ground. There are plenty of opportunities for him in races worth a minimum of £100,000 dollars"

Realism proved a useful money-spinner for Fahey's Musley Bank yard during the latest turf season - his finest moment coming at York's Ebor Festival in August when he won a valuable handicap on the second day of the meeting.

His apparent liking for the Knavesmire was further illustrated when he won there again in October on his final start of the campaign.

"His first race in Dubai is on January 26," said Fahey. "And there's another couple of possible races for him in February, including one on the dirt-course, which we may be tempted to try with him."

Although Realism holds an entry in the Lincoln Handicap - the first major race of the new domestic turf season at the end of March - Fahey is looking on that option only as a safety net.

"If something went wrong in Dubai, we'd consider the Lincoln," he explained.

"But the chances are, he'll see it through in Dubai until the World Cup meeting, which is around the time of the Lincoln, and, hopefully, pay his way."

The first Saturday since nominating the 'Magnificent Seven' - a list of Ryedale-trained horses to follow through the second half of the jumps season - saw two of the chosen squad hit the crossbar.

Down at Sandown, Pay Attention, trained by Tim Easterby, finished second to the unbeaten Refinement in a handicap hurdle, while at Haydock, Peter Beaumont's Cloudless Dawn occupied the same position behind hot favourite Heltornic in the novices' hurdle.

Frustrating though it was, to see the pair each find just one too good, there was plenty of encouragement to be taken out of their performances.

Pay Attention, owned by the Ryedale Partners, and a prolific winner last season, has now finished in the frame in each of her three starts this term, while Cloudless Dawn, already a winner at Doncaster this season, was tackling testing ground for the first time at Haydock, acquitting herself more than respectably behind a plainly well-regarded winner.

It shouldn't be too long (I say, with fingers firmly crossed!) before these two horses justify their position in the seven-strong list.

Bob Woodhouse, no stranger to hard work, drove his horsebox all the way to Musselburgh and back last Friday, a journey of nearly 400 miles - and one which paid handsome dividends.

The Ryedale trainer was on the mark with Tickateal, who clinched the handicap hurdle at 11-2, and was given the sort of welcome back into the winners' enclosure by Woodhouse which suggested that this victory was far from a surprise.

"We've taken our time with him, because he's still only a baby and he also wants some decent ground. He ran nicely on his first run this season at Doncaster and we've been waiting since for a suitable opportunity," explained a delighted Woodhouse.

The mount on Tickateal fell to Graham Lee, who proved an able late deputy for booked jockey Tony Dobbin, who suffered a schooling fall earlier in the day and felt unwell after riding in the first race.

"Graham had ridden this horse earlier in his career, so he knew a bit about him. It was fortunate that he didn't have a ride in the race and could take over when Tony had to stand down," said Bob.

"Graham said he was always travelling well in the race, but he felt he'd got to the front a bit too soon, because the horse was idling a bit with him after the final flight."

Woodhouse, who sold his Welburn yard last year but who is still based in the village close to Castle Howard, works closely with his son, Ben, and the pair are looking forward to the coming weeks and months.

"We've got some nice young horses and point-to-pointers to run shortly," said Bob.

In the meantime, plans for Tickateal remain fluid.

"He's a horse who wants good ground, so he'll only run when conditions are right for him," says Woodhouse, who might well be tempted to return the gelding to one of Musselburgh's upcoming meetings, thus undertaking another 400-mile round-trip.

Character Builder, trained by John Quinn, and placed in both his previous outings this season, looked set to make it third-time-lucky at Ayr last week, only to come unstuck again - this time at the main expense of another Ryedale horse, who started at 20-1.

In a thrilling finish to the bumper, Character Builder went down fighting by a neck to Stolen Moments, a newcomer, trained by Peter Niven at Barton-le-Street.

The winner, ridden by Thomas Greenall, is a French-bred recruit to Niven's Ryedale yard and, given that the local pair stretched seven lengths clear of the remainder of the field, Stolen Moments might just be a useful prospect in the making.

James Hetherton made a quick start to 2006 when Straffan won at Southwell last week, the sprinter prevailing in the hands of Dale Gibson at 8-1.

John Quinn was also on the mark with Caraman, the mount of Robert Winston at Wolverhampton.

Meanwhile over jumps, Malcolm Jefferson was over the moon to see his highly-rated young chaser, Roman Ark, open his account over fences at Ayr.

Mick Easterby has few, if any, peers when it comes to handling horses with leg problems.

His artistry was illustrated yet again at Newcastle on Monday when Spitfire Sortie, making his racecourse debut as a five-year-old, bounded home with eight lengths to spare.

A son of Sadler's Wells and closely related to a number of high-class Flat horses, Spitfire Sortie possesses the sort of pedigree which would have entitled him to Classic pretensions.

But, previously trained by Mark Johnston, he fell foul of leg trouble, which prevented him from racing.

Transferred to Easterby last summer, Spitfire Sortie has been treated to a regime dedicated to getting him to a racecourse.

David Easterby, Mick's son and assistant, explained; "We've had him standing in ice, and he's also had laser treatment. And he goes out twice-a-day, doing a total of five short canters over only three furlongs, always uphill, to keep the pressure off his front legs."

Spitfire Sortie was clearly fit enough to do himself justice over two miles at Newcastle in the bumper where he provided Thomas Greenall with the proverbial armchair ride. If Easterby can continue to keep him sound, plenty more, it seems, will be heard of him.

Cumbrian Knight is proving a knight in shining armour as far as Ruth Jefferson is concerned.

Daughter of Norton trainer Malcolm Jefferson, amateur rider Ruth rode her first winner on this grand 'schoolmaster' at Wolverhampton last month.

And, lo and behold, he did the business again for her on the same course last week, scoring by three-quarters of a length.

Finally, here's a little racing teaser for you. How many North Yorkshire trainers won more than £1m in prize money on the Flat in Britain in 2005?

The answer is two. Middleham's Mark Johnston led the way with £1.8m accumulated, while Kevin Ryan reached this notable milestone for the first time, courtesy of £1,030,981 secured in win and place prize money.

Next up, from our neck of the woods, were David Nicholls (£914,529), Richard Fahey (£802,151) and Tim Easterby (£685,477).

Between them, these five trainers saddled how many winners?

Guess 427 and you're bang on the button.

Updated: 15:59 Wednesday, January 11, 2006