Steve Smith-Eccles Week in Racing....

By Steve Smith-Eccles

Well the really bad news this week, hot off the press so to speak, has to be the injury to Taranis who now misses both the Gold Cup and the Grand National thanks to a minor fracture though he should be back next season God willing. I do feel for owner Angela Yeoman who saw her nine year old return after over two years off to pull off a 17.0 shock in the Argento Chase on his reappearance only for lightening to strike twice and make him miss the two biggest races of the season, leaving Tricky Trickster as the stables number one hope for Aintree.

Other news is that the Dubai Carnival is beginning to hot up in the build up to the World Cup, the richest race on the planet, though so many beasts are still having prep runs for their main targets that big bets are certainly not advised! Top British and Irish jockeys such as Kieren Fallon, Ted Durcan, Ryan Moore, and Richard Hills are all enjoying the sunshine as well as Frankie Dettori of course who is virtually a local being retained by the powerful Godolphin team. The racing is excellent and getting better day by day and I for one am looking forward to the first World Cup at Meydan, the World’s most expensive racecourse.

As we count down towards the wonder that is Cheltenham, I still have not one but THREE bets worthy of the name this weekend, all at Newbury, though obviously running plans can change so please wait until the day to place your bets.

Starting with the 14:35, a three and a quarter mile handicap chase for veterans i.e. horses over the age of ten, I would not look any further than TRABOLGAN, trained by the in form Nicky Henderson. The twelve-year-old returns to the scene of his greatest triumph, the Hennessy Gold Cup, which he won here in 2005, though leg problems have kept his appearances since to the bare minimum. He has been in good form this year starting with a fourth in a Listed chase at Cheltenham behind The Package and then looking to be travelling extremely well when he unshipped his rider four out, at Doncaster last week. He returned home without too many bumps or bruises and has schooled well since and looks to have a very good chance of winning here for the first time in over four years.

The feature race on the card is the Greatwood Gold Cup at 15:10 and I will go along with the Jonjo O’Neill trained CAN’T BUY TIME who put in a below par performance on his seasonal debut at Ascot before Christmas but bounced back with a vengeance in a handicap chase at Cheltenham on New Years Day when winning at Cheltenham and with his trainer having a habit of winning the big handicaps on Saturdays lately he could be worthy of a bet here.

Finally, in the 15:45 I like the look of BLACK JACK BLUES who is very much on an upward curve. Trained by Rebecca Curtis, who is rapidly making a name for herself this season, her horses have been in cracking form recently especially when teaming up with champion jockey A P McCoy. This progressive seven year old has taken time to get his act together over hurdles but came good at Ludlow last time out under a typical front running ride he was able to ease down in the closing stages. The fourth (Hidden Keel) has won since, so the form looks solid and although stepping up in class here he should put in a bold show at a decent sort of price.

Summary of Steve’s Bets:

1pt Win TRABOLGAN 14:35 Newbury Saturday at SP

1pt Win CAN’T BUY TIME 15:10 Newbury Saturday at SP

1pt Win BLACK JACK BLUES 15:45 Newbury Saturday at SP


About Steve....

I was born and bred in a mining village in Derbyshire and prior to coming into racing the only thing I had ever sat on was a donkey on Skegness beach and the odd pit pony. My Dad used to watch racing on a regular basis and I would say to him that I was going to be a jockey when I grew up.

I was small as a child and I was influenced in the respect that you either went down the pit after school or you got out of the village so I looked for other directions to go in - racing was one of them.

Coming to the end of my schooling, father wrote off to three trainers - Frenchie Nicholson, Arthur Stephenson and Harry Thompson Jones in Newmarket. The latter was predominately a jumps trainer in those days but did have some Flat horses and he took me on a month's trial. I went down there on July 28 1970 and within weeks I was riding gallops and took to it like a duck to water. You started off by cleaning head collars and mucking out and then you were given your own horse to look after and then you moved on to two.

After three months I was riding work on a regular basis. Greville Starkey was his first jockey in those days and Lester Piggott used to come down on occasion as well so there were a lot of good riders around to learn from.
I have always been a great believer in jockeys being born with the ability to ride and it can be brought out so from an early stage Tom Jones must have seen that in. I was always going to be too heavy for the Flat so I started to do some schooling with Stan Mellor and also took to that quickly - within three and a half years I had my first ride in public over jumps.

After about four years I was riding regularly for the stable and then in five and a half years I took over as first jockey. At that time Tingle Creek was around, although he was getting towards the end of his career. The first time I rode him he won what is now the Tingle Creek Chase, it was the Sandown Pattern Chase back then, and won the race three times in all. The last time, when it was his retirement race, he actually broke his own track record. This was the horse that put Smith Eccles on the map.

My first Cheltenham Festival winner was in 1978 on a horse called Sweet Joe, who won the Sun Alliance. Zongelero was with Tom Jones as a four-year-old but he was sent down to Nicky Henderson with the proviso that I would ride him - that got my foot in the door with Nicky. Zongelero was one of the greatest bridesmaids in the game - I finished second on him in the Mackeson, the Massey Ferguson and the Hennessy.

I rode triple Champion Hurdler See You Then for Nicky in the mid-1980s also and it is phenomenal how it worked out with him. In the first one he was due to run in, John Francome was due to ride him but was badly shaken after a fall in the Arkle, the race prior to the Champion Hurdle. So within 10 minutes of the race, I picked up the ride and the rest is history.

I rode in a great time for National Hunt jockeys. Francome was probably the best but I also rode against Jonjo O'Neill, Ron Barry and later the likes of Peter Scudamore and Richard Dunwoody - some of the best there have ever been.

Tingle Creek probably provided me with my best memories. I was young and brave at the time and that style of riding really suited the horse - all he needed was to be pointed in the right direction. He either met a fence long or even longer - he would never get in close and fiddle. He never fell and I can't even remember him ever making a mistake.

In England I rode 868 winners and around the rest of the world another 30 or 40. My best season numerically was 68 and that actually put me second in the championship to John Francome. We did not have as many rides as there are these days so the numbers are bound to be smaller and there was not as much racing and more importantly there were no agents - you just rode for the stable you were attached to basically.

Since retiring from the saddle I have kept myself nice and busy at home in Newmarket riding work and schooling the young jumpers over hurdles and fences, while I take a lot of pleasure from helping out the next generation of stars in my position with the BHA helping the Conditional jockeys in the Hands and Heels series. Despite an army of unscrupulous tipsters with false names hiding behind PO Boxes you all know who I am (or the youngsters can look me up on Google) – a successful jockey who is lucky enough to offer the best of both worlds – all my contacts in the National Hunt world built up over too many years to mention with most of the very top names in the business, plus being based at the headquarters of flat racing here in Newmarket, and privy to all the latest gallop reports and stable gossip, which I use very effectively to help us all make our hobby pay rich dividends.

So, why not join me now at the reduced price, and help me to write the next chapter of a life spent in the sport we all love...

Steve Smith-Eccles runs the "The Eck " Horse Racing information service.