Colm O'Donoghue and Qualify (right) winning the Oaks© Photo Healy Racing
A recent conversation with a racing-worthy generated the name of a wealthy owner who it is generally recognised likes a bet, especially on horses from a certain stable. Except this establishment pillar was having none of it, dismissing the idea by observing the man is worth millions so why should he get worked up about betting. He also dismissively described said stable as a "punting yard."
There are a number of ways of looking at this, like the guy is merely being discreet, minding his P's and Q's with a hack, or maybe simply isn't paying attention. But just as likely is he simply possesses the view that the business of punting is reserved for yards further down the food chain: that those concentrated at the top have more on their minds that getting one over on the bookies. He's actually not alone in this view.
If it's hard to lose a reputation, it can be just as hard to gain one sometimes. So while a trainer such as Tony Martin is famously described as 'shrewd' and 'the handicap king' it can get overlooked that some of the most powerful yards in the country have owners that makes them in reality "punting yards" too. All yards are to some extent. Rare is the yard anywhere which is immune to betting considerations for the simple reason they are intrinsic to the game. But only some it seems are destined to be regarded as a "punting yard."
The most powerful of all, Ballydoyle, is primarily focussed on making stallions but anyone who believes it is somehow divorced from punting is living in cloud-cuckoo-land. Some of the Coolmore ownership love a bet, might even be regarded as major players, and that's their prerogative. Clearly it adds to the buzz they get from the game and their investment. It can hardly be for the money. Anyone paying any sort of attention to the markets can't fail to have noticed this.
Outspoken's recent Navan maiden win saw the apparent stable second-string backed from double-figure morning prices down to 11-4 and win impressively. It brought to mind the famous occasion at Naas when the then No.1 Ballydoyle jockey Jamie Spencer had to settle for second behind a certain future Guineas winner called Footstepsinthesand who was backed down to favourite. The support for Giovanni Canaletto in Saturday's Derby hardly came out of the blue either, although it always looked way off-beam. The market often proves an informative guide to other major outfits too, something a lot of punters take very much into account. For many, that's all part of the attraction of the game, trying to read the motivation behind different people's different manoeuvres, no matter how much wealth and clout someone might have. Ignoring that reality is naive, on anyone's part. But when those in authority profess to know better, it can look like heads being stuck in the sand.
Racing in the North of Ireland looks to be in a rare pickle with the future of both tracks under threat due to funding cutbacks. Basically it seems off-course bookmakers want to pay less in licence fees - what a surprise - to the Northern Ireland agriculture department and Horse Racing Ireland has wound up paying E150,000 to both tracks to maintain prizemoney levels this year.
Considering the northern administration seem capable of agreeing on little or nothing at the moment, trying to sell the importance of prizemoney is hardly an easy task, especially given the optics of Down Royal and Downpatrick looking for more cash at a time when social welfare payments are a hot topic.
Maybe it's mischievous to suggest such a situation wouldn't be allowed happen on the southern side of the border, but at the same time it's possible to believe it wouldn't have got to the fraught stage it appears to be at now. It's even more possible to believe plenty attention around the Curragh is being paid to the Sinn Fein response to all of this. After all, who knows what the future might bring.
Plenty attention will also be paid around the Curragh in terms of the formation of the Irish Derby field in less than three weeks time. The Epsom runner up Jack Hobbs looks to set the likely standard but it is also likely that plenty will be willing to take him on, happily taking the question of a lack of competition off the table for this year at least.
The real intriguing element however could come from the fillies. Pleascach has already been nominated for the race and it is interesting to ponder if she might be joined by other members of the fairer sex to try and emulate the last filly to land the Derby, Balanchine in 1994.
Balanchine was famously ridden by Frankie Dettori who provided a redemptive feel to Golden Horn's Epsom Derby victory which proved he possesses the sort of resilience that only the true greats in any sport have.
Dettori is a 'marmite' character for a lot of people, including in Ireland, but one thing that has never been in doubt is his natural talent. When combined with confidence it always made the Italian one of the finest jockeys most of us have seen. Without confidence, and sometimes without focus, Dettori could look very ordinary and there were plenty prepared to write him off after losing the Godolphin job and his six month ban for a positive cocaine test.
Coming back from that clearly hasn't been easy. Losing the ride on Treve must have been a kick in the teeth especially. But for someone capable of making the job look easy, getting back to Derby glory the hard way will have made Golden Horn's victory extra sweet.
Kudos also to Colm O'Donoghue for an outstanding Oaks ride on Qualify: how can such a proven big-race pilot have had less than twenty rides in Ireland this season? Sure the competition here is intense but this is a mystery. Still, as advertisements go, a 50-1 classic success around the hardest classic track is hard to top.
And finally, Galileo is undoubtedly Europe's top stallion but the top of the current stallion table must make happy reading for Coolmore's big rival, Darley. There's Cape Cross on top but also in the top ten is Dubawi, Shamardal and Teofilo. Coolmore have Fastnet Rock and the now-retired Danehill Dancer. What would the betting have been on that a little while ago?
