Juliette's Weekly ',Frolic
You can't read racehorse training at university take it at tec,' or study it at night school. Practical experience is everything, but since trainers tend to keep their methods to themselves. few outside the magic circle know a great deal about the subject. It, therefore, made a' welcome change to pick up Tim FitzGeorge Parker's Training the Racehorse (Pelham, £3.20) which goes on sale next Monday. The book is chiefly directed at the trainers themselves, but as no one likes to be taught his own job, it should draw its widest and most appreciative audience from those racegoers who realise there's more to life than the pages of Raceform and would like a little knowledge from behind the scenes. Although primarily informative, with judicious reading, Training the Racehorse could pay handsome financial dividends.
Naturally not all trainers think alike and while Major FitzGeorge Parker doesn't think much of galloping along the sand dunes, Donald McCain could not recommend it too highly. In fact, his penchant for exercising horses in this fashion provided the press with much colourful copy long before Red Rum won him the ,National. Strangely enough this year's Aintree hero has yet to perform for southern racegoers, a state of affairs to be rectified in Newbury's Hennessy Cognac Gold Cup when he will be up against three previous winners — Spanish Steps (1969), Bighorn
(1971) and Charlie Potheen (1972 And this year's hot favourite).
The 'Hennessy' is a very important date in my life, marking my third birthday as a tipstress. while Spanish Steps is a very important horse, being my first-ever selection. Needless to say, he fell on that historic day but with 11Ib less on Saturday, and a very respectable warm-up behind Tingle Creek under his belt, 14-1 appears to be a very generous price.
The following Berkshire Hurdle heralds the return of Lanzarote, Fred Winter's highly regarded Champion Hurdle prospect. In the normal way even I should not care to oppose this one, but his recent spell on the sick list, encourages a little flutter on Swift Shadow. The Newmarket hurdler is in such unstoppable form at present, that it may take all the favourite's brilliance to beat him. (Also engaged at Newcastle and Wolverhampton on Saturday.)
And so to Newcastle where thanks to the Scottish and Newcastle Breweries and Harp Lager Ltd, there will be free admittance to allenclosures bar the members. The featured Newcastle Brown Ale Steeplechase is a two-mile affair dominated by Tingle Creek, the only feasible alternative being Yorkshire-trained Clear Cut. He fell at the second fence in their only previous clash, at Nottingham, but is a different animal on local northern courses.
Assets: 02.95. Outlay: £2 ew Spanish Steps (14-1 ante-post), E2 to win Swift Shadow and Clear Cut.
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