Malton's Richard Fahey eyes a unique treble in the £150,000 John Smith’s Cup at York (From Gazette & Herald)

Malton's Richard Fahey eyes a unique treble in the £150,000 John Smith’s Cup at York

3:52pm Wednesday 8th July 2009

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Richard Fahey stands on the threshold of achieving a unique hat-trick this weekend at his local course in a milestone running of Britain’s longest commercially-sponsored race.

The John Smith’s Cup, first run in 1960, will be staged for an historic 50th time on Saturday, and Fahey, having won the last two runnings, will be bidding to become the first trainer in half a century to complete a hat-trick in York’s annual July showpiece.

The Malton trainer is responsible for six of the 44 entries for the £150,000 spectactular and is guaranteed to have two runners, with a possible third if Deep Winter, currently just below the safety limit, manages to make the cut.

“Albaqaa and Unbreak My Heart will definitely run and there’s a good chance Deep Winter will get in as well,” says Fahey, who is resigned to the fact that Viva Ronaldo, Charlie Tokyo, the 2007 winner, and Deadly Secret, will all fail to make the cut for this year's ultra-popular race.

“We’ve had the John Smith’s as a target for Albaqaa all season, and he’s going to be going there with a decent chance,” says Fahey, who is also upbeat about the prospects of Unbreak My Heart, a 30,000gns purchase out of Roger Charlton’s yard last autumn, who has done precious little wrong in three races since moving to Ryedale.

“A drop of rain would suit him. He’s proven on easy ground, but we haven’t been able to run him on it yet. He copes with it quicker, but ideally he prefers it on the softer side of good. All ground seems to come alike to Albaqaa, who progressed really well last year and who has run some cracking races this season, even though he hasn't won yet.”

The John Smith’s Cup is a favourite race of Fahey’s. He first won it in in 2002 with the Paul Hanagan-ridden Vintage Premium – “the bravest horse I’ve ever trained” – and followed up in 2007 with Charlie Tokyo, who, partnered by Jamie Moriarty, just got the better of stable-mate Flying Clarets to give Fahey a momentous 1-2 in this richly-endowed handicap.

Twelve months ago, it was Flying Clarets’ turn to enjoy her moment of John Smith’s glory. She took the honours in game style to provide Freddie Tylicki with a sensational major-race triumph less than a month after the apprentice, previously based in Ireland, had ridden his first winner in Britain.

“I make no secret of the fact that it’s one of the races I really want to try and win every year,” says Fahey. “It’s huge prize money. It’s like our Derby. It’s been lucky for us. I’m hoping it will be lucky for us again on Saturday.”

Televised on Channel 4, the John Smith’s Cup is also being targeted by fellow Ryedale trainers Brian Ellison and Tim Easterby. The in-form Ellison is aiming his useful Newmarket acquisition Ladies Best, a Pontefract winner this season, at the race, while Easterby, fresh from a couple of winners last weekend, will be represented by Medici Pearl, a tough and genuine campaigner.

Back in 1960, the first running of this race, then known as the John Smith’s Magnet Cup, was won by a Ryedale horse in Fougalle, ridden by famed northern lightweight Norman McIntosh and trained at Wold House Stables in Norton by Rufus Beasley.

Come Saturday, it would be quite something if the 50th renewal could also be won by a Ryedale horse. Fahey spearheads the local team as he aims to make hat-trick history in what has long been a Yorkshire showpiece.

Former jump jockey-turned-owner Tony Ross is aiming to send Sonny Mullen to next month’s August Sales at Doncaster after the gelding highlighted his talent and potential in no uncertain style at Market Rasen last weekend.

Making his racecourse debut, and sent off at 22-1, despite being far from unfancied, the five-year-old treated his rivals with disdain as he romped home with no less than 21 lengths to spare in the hands of Tom Siddall.

Trained by John Wainwright, Sonny Mullen was purchased by Ross 18 months ago and has been brought along gradually.

“He’s a lovely horse with a great jumping pedigree, so to win a bumper like he did, and in the style he did, shows what an exciting horse he is,” said Ross, who admitted, “I very nearly didn’t run him. I’d pulled him out of a similar race there about three weeks ago because I felt the ground was a bit too quick for him, and I walked the track twice on Sunday before finally making the decision to run.”

Ross, who nowadays runs a livery, breaking and pre-training yard just outside Malton, believes Sonny Mul-len to be a horse with a big future.

“He jumps for fun,” he revealed. “He must have jumped 70 fences and he’s an absolute natural. Unless he’s sold beforehand, he’ll go to Doncaster Sales next month. Hopefully, there will be a lot of interest in him.”

After last weekend’s impressive romp, Sonny Mullen will surely be on the short-list of many a would-be purchaser.

A spare ride for Paul Hanagan in the feature race at Haydock Park last Saturday provided him with a second Lancashire Oaks triumph – just 12 months after the first.

Last year, it was his old pal, Anna Pavlova, with whom he enjoyed such a notable association, who carried him to victory in the prestigious Group 2 event. This time it was Barshiba, trained at Newmarket by David Elsworth, with whom Hanagan has had only a handful of mounts, who did the business in a race with a first prize of more than £56,000.

One of the outsiders in the field, the five-year-old belied her 12-1 odds by winning by almost four lengths.

“She’s a smashing filly and she gave me a great ride,” said the Malton jockey, who was born at Warrington, not far from Haydock. “It used to be my local course when I was growing up and to win the Lancashire Oaks for a second time in two years there was something special,” he added.

Spiders Star did Paul Pickard more than one good turn last week – he provided the Ryedale apprentice with two wins in just five days.

Trained at Middleham by Simon West, the six-year-old followed up her success at Thirsk early in the week to bolt home at Beverley on Saturday, Pickard, who is attached to Paul Midgley's local yard, bringing her across the line with eight lengths to spare.

A mare who once had an aversion to starting stalls, Spiders Star has overcome that problem within the last 12 months and looks a staying handicapper on an upward curve. “Paul seems to get on really well with her,” said West.

It was a good week for Pickard. He also made a successful trip to Kemp-ton, where he scored on Bel Cantor for Newmarket handler, Bill Ratcliffe.

Few jockeys are enjoying a better purple patch at the moment than Graham Gibbons, who stole the show at Beverley last Friday night with a superb treble.

Based at Rillington, Gibbons, who is number-one pilot to John Quinn, began his Beverley harvest with a chance win on Umverti in the opening race. The Neville Bycroft-trained filly had been the intended mount of Francis Norton, but when he got held up in traffic en route to the track, Gibbons stepped in to get the four-year-old home by a head.

Bycroft said: “Funnily enough, last season at Carlisle, Royston Ffrench was due to ride this filly, but he had to stand down after feeling unwell and Graham stood in that day, too.”

Gibbons followed up at Beverley with excellent efforts aboard the speedy Bould Mover, trained at Lambourn by Roger Curtis, and on Shaylee, trained by Tim Walford at Sheriff Hutton.

The jockey’s wins earlier in the week included one on Master Nimbus, trained by Quinn. This wonderfully versatile and evergreen nine-year-old was completing an unsual treble. In only a matter of a few weeks, he has won two Flat handicaps and a handicap chase at Aintree.

Rose Blossom will not be in action at York this weekend, but next month’s Lowther Stakes at the Ebor Festival on Kavesmire is firmly pencilled in to this high-class filly’s agenda, following her victory at Haydock last week.

Having smashed a 37-year-old five-furlong course record when making her debut at Hamilton in May, Rose Blossom was sent to Royal Ascot for the Queen Mary Stakes, but was unable to trouble the principals.

At Haydock, however, dropped in class, she got her exciting career back on track with an all-the-way success under Paul Hanagan. He reported: “It would have suited me better if she’d been able to get a lead, but there was nothing in the field quick enough to lead me. As it was, she wasn’t doing a tap in front, which is why I had to give her a couple of cracks inside the final furlong, just to keep her mind on the job.”

Trainer Richard Fahey, who sold half of Rose Blossom to Highclere Thoroughbreds before Royal Ascot, said: “We’ve always thought the world of her. Royal Ascot just didn’t happen for her; it was a combination of little things that seemed to go against her and her race was over after a furlong. But she’s grand, and she’s back on track again now. We’ll send her to York next month for the Lowther and, hopefully, she’ll run a big race.”

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