Talking Horses: Review of the Northern Flat season

BEST TRAINER

RICHARD FAHEY

A long-established presence on the North Yorkshire scene, Richard Fahey has enjoyed a stellar season, capped off with a particularly memorable last couple of months.

The Malton resident has saddled 186 winners since the start of the year, amassing more than £2m in prize money as he has plundered races up and down the country.

It is since early-September that he has really hit his stride though, with a remarkable run of Saturday successes catapulting him into the national spotlight.

Ribchester claimed the Group Two Mill Reef Stakes, before Fahey plundered the Ayr Gold Cup and Cambridgeshire Handicaps in successive weekends. A couple of weekends later and Eastern Impact was claiming the Group Three Bengough Stakes, before last weekend, Donjuan Triumphant emerged as a top-class two-year-old when he won the Criterium de Maisons-Lafitte in France.

BEST HORSE

MECCA’S ANGEL

She has only run three times in 2015, but that was still sufficient for Mecca’s Angel to create a couple of magical moments and establish a claim to be the best sprinter in the world when she encounters her preferred ground.

Trained by Michael Dods at Denton Hall, near Piercebridge, the four-year-old broke the track record at Longchamp when she plundered the Group Three Prix de Saint-Georges on her seasonal outing in May.

That confirmed the immense talent that had been sporadically evident during her three-year-old campaign, and while she could only finish second in the Sapphire Stakes at the Curragh when the ground turned against her, she produced one of the best displays seen anywhere all season when she overhauled the American wonder-horse, Acapulco, to win the Grade One Nunthorpe Stakes during York’s Ebor Meeting.

Her need for cut underfoot meant she was unable to contest the Prix de l’Abbaye at Longchamp on Arc day, but her owner, David Metcalfe’s, decision to keep her in training next year means more big prizes are still on the agenda.

BEST TWO YEAR-OLD

LUMIERE

For a while, Dods’ Eastern Angel looked like scooping this prize, but the sprinter ran out of steam slightly in the latter half of the season. She could well prove a superstar as a three-year-old though.

The same can definitely be said of Mark Johnston’s Lumiere, who will head into her Classic season as the 8-1 third favourite in the ante-post lists for the 1,000 Guineas.

Having won her maiden in facile fashion at Newmarket in July, Lumiere finished a close second behind Besharah in the Lowther Stakes at York in August.

Johnston always felt she was better than that run though, and she turned the tables in spectacular fashion to beat Besharah and Illuminate as she won last month’s Cheveley Park Stakes at Newmarket.

BEST RACECOURSE

REDCAR

York continues to dazzle, and August’s Ebor Festival once again proved the highlight of the Northern racing calendar. But when it comes to punching above its weight and providing a cherished and affordable asset within the community in which it is located, you’ll struggle to beat Redcar.

For the eighth year in succession, Redcar opted not to increase its prices, which means the course remains the cheapest paid admission course in the country.

A family of four can gain access to the ever-popular course enclosure for a total of £10, yet the racecourse executive continued to fund improvements to the facilities on offer.

This month’s devastating closure of the SSI steel works has dealt a huge blow to Redcar – at least the town’s racecourse acknowledges the need to remain affordable.

BEST RACE

YORK’S JUDDMONTE INTERNATIONAL

The history books will note that its main protagonists either failed to run, or failed to run to form, but in terms of drama and excitement, it’s impossible to look past the Juddmonte when it comes to the Race of the Season.

The intrigue started before the off, with Aidan O’Brien walking the Knavesmire before pulling Guineas hero Gleneagles out of his proposed dual with Golden Horn.

That meant the Derby winner going off as a 4-9 favourite, but Silvestre de Sousa produced a sensational ride on 50-1 shot Arabian Queen and while Golden Horn briefly got his nose in front, the odds-on shot eventually went down by a neck.

Golden Horn went on to claim the Irish Champion Stakes and Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, so the Juddmonte remains the only blot on an otherwise unbeaten record. Anyone who was there will still be scratching their head now.

BEST JOCKEY

CONNOR BEASLEY

Connor Beasley might not top the rankings in terms of winners, and Paul Mulrennan deserves more than a passing mention for a fantastic season that saw him claim his first Group One success, but the County Durham youngster’s bravery and stoicism make him a deserved top jockey.

Having ridden out his claim last season, Spennymoor’s Beasley had celebrated 18 winners before his summer, not to mention his life, was turned upside down following a high-speed fall from Cumbrianna at Wolverhampton.

Beasley was left nursing a fractured skull and spine, and a seriously damaged neck, and spent the next week in hospital as the surgeons carried out a series of procedures.

He is hoping to have his body brace removed soon, and still faces an uphill battle to be ready for the start of next season, but his upbeat approach to his recovery and refusal to blame anyone for his misfortune are examples for all to follow.

BIGGEST CONTROVERSY

NEWCASTLE’S DECISION TO MOVE TO THE ALL-WEATHER

The debate over whether Newcastle or Catterick would switch to an all-weather surface rumbled on for more than a year, but in the end it was the Gosforth Park circuit that got the nod from the British Horseracing Authority to rip up the turf in favour of Polytrack.

The building work has already begun, and while Newcastle will continue to host winter jumps meetings on turf, the course’s final Flat meeting on grass has already taken place.

The decision to move to the all-weather is hugely controversial, with a large number of trainers and punters bemoaning the loss of a turf circuit that was widely regarded as one of the fairest and best-maintained in the country.

What will an all-weather Northumberland Plate look like? By next year, we’ll know. For now, it is just a shame that so much history has been abandoned.