Steve Smith-Eccles - 'The Eck' puts you straight!

By Steve Smith-Eccles

Well what can we say about this week apart from the story of the Guineas meeting from The Curragh for starters? We stole/took their 2000 Guineas with Canford Cliffs who put all us doubters firmly in our place by quickening nicely off a decent pace, so his stamina is no longer in question and he should be in for a very good season barring injuries of course. Sadly, every positive has a negative and the two most powerful stables in the United Kingdom and Ireland are having a woeful time, absolute proof that whatever

Put all us doubters firmly in our place by winning the Irish 2000 Guineas Canford Cliffs

people tell you, money just doesn’t buy you happiness. Step forward the Coolmore guys, based at Ballydoyle in Ireland spearheaded by trainer extraordinaire Aiden O’Brien, and spenders of mega millions at the sales, not to mention the values of the home breds. Owners with deep wallets such as Michael Tabor and John Magnier help bank roll what has always been a silky smooth operation but this season the wheels have fallen off and with their high standards, the fact that they are yet to place in a classic at home or abroad could be seen as a disaster.  Luckily for them, their biggest “rivals” in the Dubai financed Godolphin operation are also down in the dumps so no one is really sure who has the bragging rights just yet?  Statistics are not really my scene so I asked my mate Sean Trivass (aka Sir Ivor) to look it up for me and to my surprise they were even worse than I thought? In the last fourteen days (at the time of writing) Aiden O’Brien has had 35 runners and eight winners which is far better than the start of the season so they are at least moving in the right direction (all be it at a lower level than they would like), while Saeed Bin Suroor (one winner, twenty two runners, 4.5% success rate) is being outshone by newcomer Mahmood Al Zarooni (five winners, twenty nine runners, 17% success rate) which must be seen as a little embarrassing all be it early days yet in a long season.  My point is, however many millions you throw at the sport success is anything but guaranteed, and when I win the lottery I might not spend a high percentage buying race horses!

As for my tips for the weekend, we need to start and finish at Newmarket where I have two bets worth a second look and worth a few quid as well!  At 15:20 the big betting heat on the card is the six furlong Coral.co.uk Sprint which will be a right old cavalry charge from start to finish. Each way has to be the sensible way to play this race and I have heard the one to be on is the James Fanshawe trained BAGOMOYO who finished runner up on his reappearance over course and distance but has improved out of all recognition for the run. He has been seen catching pigeons on the Newmarket gallops of late and must have an outstanding chance granted a clear run. Prices are guess work at this stage but he ought to be an each way sort of price with any luck and I will be backing him accordingly.

In the 15:55 I will rely on the in form Henry Cecil yard and have a decent bet on RODRIGO DE TORRES who is going the right way and still has more improvement to come. I like his profile as a lightly raced, progressive three year old who started the season with a highly respectable fourth in the Greenham Stakes at Newbury (Group Three) behind Dick Turpin, Canford Cliffs, and Arcano, so no shame there, and as he was reported to badly need that race, it was no surprise when he won a conditions stakes at Doncaster next time out where he comfortably beat Meezaan who went on to frank the form with a respectable fifth in the French 2000 Guineas. Connections are convinced he is Group class in the long run, in which case this Listed race should be his for the taking.

Summary of Steve’s tips this weekend:

1pt each way 1/4 1,2,3,4 BAGOMOYO 15:20 Newmarket Saturday at SP

3pts Win RODRIGO DE TORRES 15:55 Newmarket 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.