snitram - On Fri Aug 22 1975, Music Boy won the Gimcrack under J Seagrave at 14/1 beating Stand To Reason by a length. Galway Bay was third. Delta Song was the 6/1 favourite. 14 ran.

What became of the Northern Trainer Steve Norton and who used to ride for him ... I remember backing a horse of his one day College Chapel or Cottage Chapel or something like that,cannot remember the race but I know it got thrown out by the stewards.

Think John Lowe used to ride a lot for Steve Norton at one time. Don't know what became of the trainer.

sooty, always ruining the threads..I will leave it at, that otherwise it will get out of hand & another thread taken over with insults.

Hi Koi, been manipulating any social websites lately.

sorry about bring Koiboy on to this forum, he stalks me when he see my name come up.i have begged him to leave me alone, he can not be of sound mind, i hope someone can help him,

a nice touch kirschingsround ....

Steve Norton died many years ago.

Nijinsky didn't win the National Stakes. He won the Erne, Railway, Anglesey and Beresford Stakes.

His first race (the Erne) was July 12. He started 4-11 in a field of 5.

There's a Willie Snaith Road in Newmarket.

thanks ged ,i knew he was the same age , just trying to find out why he sticks out in my mind , along with derryanne , for some reason i seem to attach my memories of nijinskys 2yo race at the curragh with them both...i was just wondering if they ran on the same card that day ..it was the first time i'd brought my girlfriend racing so maybe my mind was elsewere...

agree blackrock , should have won the arc , lesters one bad ride on the horse ..a monster...

Today’s Birthdays:
Peter Boothman – 70 years old today. Champion apprentice of 1958. Riding Masquerade in the 1959 City & Suburban, he was thrown heavily when his confused mount tried to run through a gap in the rails ( a path crossing the course from the cheaper enclosure to the centre). Peter escaped serious injury but the horse was put down. D.V. Dick had been badly injured in a similar accident at Cheltenham years earlier. Peter’s first ride was on the Aga Khan’s Dutton trained by H. Wragg on Friday May 10th 1957.
Hawick-born Wilson Renwick, born this day 1980. The son of a joiner and a florist, he was the rider of Northumberland National winner Belon Gale.
150 Years Ago Today –  2.45. Weds. 17 Sept 1862. The Marquis (7/2) beat the favourite Buckstone (10/3) a head to win the St Leger. Time: 3 minutes 21 seconds. Time of Saurday’s Leger: 3 minutes 3.81 seconds – same distance.

The Marquis failed by a neck to win the triple crown, as that was the distance he was beaten in the Derby. He'd won the 2000gns.

He was beaten in the Derby by Caractacus, who, PRIOR to the Derby (June 4), had been beaten a head in the Great Met at Epsom, ran 2nd at Newmarket, ran unplaced in the Chester Cup, finished 3rd in a handicap at York, then finally broke his maiden in a handicap at Bath carrying 5st 10lb. The Marquis went off 5/2 fav at Epsom; Caractacus started at 40/1. 34 ran, there were 3 false starts, and when they finally got away, only 3 of the runners started from the correct place - the other 31 got away ahead of them. The starter received a reprimand from the stewards, and a final warning, but kept his job for another 20 years.

workrider
re Nijinsky i always said I would never see another one. travelled to donny on saturday in hope; but i was right.
Went to Laytown last week,..great experience.

thanks TM.

Today's Birthdays:
Geoff Baxter born this day 1946. Rode Prominent, winner of Magnet Cup, 71 and 72.

Also Ryan Moore celebrates his birthday today.

Didnt he have a break........then David Elsworth used to put him up ?

Re...... Neil Pollard....riding out at Godolphin now....I think if there was a will and a way he is young enough to give it another go.

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AFTER the recent success of Tha'ir in the Chesham Stakes at Royal Ascot, winning trainer Saeed Bin Suroor remarked that the colt's work in the build-up to the race had left his work-rider of the opinion that he'd improved significantly from his maiden success and that he'd be capable of giving a good account.

What the trainer failed to disclose was that the work-rider was a Royal Ascot-winning jockey himself - no wonder confidence was high. The work-rider in question is Neil Pollard, who as a 3lb claimer guided Showboat to a wide-margin success in the 1999 Royal Hunt Cup.

Pollard, now 34, turned his back on race-riding in 2009 but didn't walk away from racing and for the last two and a half years has been an integral part of the Godolphin operation.

"I was struggling to get rides," says Pollard. "There comes a day that you realise you've got to earn money and make a proper living and those were the reasons I gave up."

Having started his career with Mark Johnston, Pollard became apprentice to David Elsworth and enjoyed notable success.

He says: "I won the Lester award in 1998 for apprentice of the year off the back of a really good season for David, which culminated in winning the Cambridgeshire on Lear Spear. The following year I won the Royal Hunt Cup for another good supporter of mine, Barry Hills, and in 2000 I even rode in the Dubai World Cup."

Pollard struggled when losing his claim and in 2005 made the decision to try his luck in the north. "It just didn't work out," he says. "The northern jockeys work very hard and deserve their contacts - i t's hard to establish yourself up there."

Pollard first called it a day in 2007 but Elsworth, who had by then relocated from Hampshire to Newmarket, encouraged him to give it one last go. "I had a few rides for David but it was difficult for me to get going again. I then had a couple of nasty injuries and that ruled me out for the winter and my time had effectively gone."

Pollard finally called time in 2009, deciding to become an instructor at the Northern Racing College, a job he "really enjoyed", although one that didn't last for long. He says: "I was instructing one day when I got a call from someone I used to work with at David Elsworth's. He said there's a job going with Godolphin, which was quite rare and when I was offered it I could hardly turn it down."

Of his current role, Pollard says: "As far as stable lads and work-riders go we're very lucky. The horses are well looked after at Godolphin and in turn so are the staff. I ride my two or three lots a day and I really enjoy it. I've been working with the two-year-olds this season and it was a real highlight to get the Ascot winner."

Name Neil Pollard Age 34 When at large 1996-2009 Greatest achievement "Winning the Lester award in 1998 for apprentice jockey of the year. Not many people have them and it's something I will always cherish."

Best moment in the saddle "Riding Showboat to victory in the Royal Hunt Cup was amazing."