On Monday night, Brookside Richie added his name to a Roll of Honour that includes Endless Gossip, Mile Bush Pride, Desert Pilot, Larkhill Jo, Sonic Flight and Dorotas Wildcat to name ‘but a select few’ (ugh!) . However without some fateful intervention it would never have happened – writes Floyd Amphlett.
But first a reminder of his emphatic victory. . .
So what has all this to do with fate?
We need to rewind half a month to Saturday August 16. Richie had just impressively beaten Havana Class in a heat of the Ladbrokes Gold Cup and was a leading fancy to land the event when he landed a dreaded ‘T4’ draw for the semi finals. The black had only ever drawn black once before in his career when he held on by a short head to land the Juvenile Classic at Towcester.
Trainer Jimmy Fenwick said: “We feared the worst because he had two early paced runners on his inside who were borderline middle seeds. Richie is a close railer and we went out. No complaints mind, that’s dog racing.”
The point is, had Richie – who stated at 10-11f in a semi won by eventual competition winner Move Over Cha – finished in the first two, he would have raced on Saturday night an Monmore and been ineligible for the Select Stakes. Fortunately, luck also played a part because without the sprint trial on his card last December – when trained by David Mullins – he wouldn’t have been eligible for Nottingham either.
Jimmy said: “He had never been around that first bend at Nottingham but I wasn’t in the least bit concerned because he can run a track first time.”
So, had the Four Day Rule not existed, would you have been tempted to run Saturday and Monday?
Jimmy said: “No, not with just a one day gap. He is a powerful dog and puts in such a lot of effort he wouldn’t have done himself credit on the Monday.”
However – trainers can’t always rely on fate making decisions on their behalf. Like the one not to contest the 2022 English Derby.
Having won the Juvenile Classic for David Mullins, Richie picked up a muscle tear in the Blue Riband and owner Richie Vickers took the opportunity to switch the dog to the Newcastle trainer. When Richie led and finished last in the RPGTV Juvenile, Jimmy realised he would have to be patient.
He said: “Although we would have hoped to run him in the Derby, I told the owner that he wouldn’t be ready so we made alternative plans.”
They included some flying runs at Newcastle and Sunderland and, as explained, the Nottingham performance was as much about luck as judgement.
Jimmy said: “Fortunately, becuase he was being prepared for a Monmore final, he was in good shape. But it is getting very difficult to sort out plans between competitions because the Calendar is so crowded.
“With his early pace and as a tight railer I would have loved to take Richie to Yarmouth but there was a clash. We also looked at the Birmingham Cup but it would mean I would have to get a trial into him and then run the first round next Thursday which is far from ideal for a dog like Richie who ideally needs seven days between races.
“So we will go to Sheffield for the Steel City Cup, an event that has some historical connections for my family. There is then a one-off worth £5,000 at Romford and then later in the year back to Sunderland for the Classic. He still isn’t an old dog so next year’s Derby could still be on the agenda.
“Just one final thing about these open race competitions. They need to be sorted out. We all want to see the best dogs running against the best dogs. It’s what the game is all about.”
(l-r) Owner Richie Vickers, Jimmy and Melanie Fenwick and Derek Somers representing sponsors Jenningsbet – pic Lacie Moran
