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

By Steve Smith-Eccles

It was pretty obvious to all and sundry that I would be asked/volunteered to write an article on Epsom but after the results of the classics it has become an absolute pleasure. Before we look at those unlucky in running, horses to follow, blah blah blah we need to mention the special occasion Epsom is in the racing calendar with an alleged 100,000 people on the course on Saturday, as far as I know the biggest figure in European racing? Amongst the gypsy heather, copious amounts of alcohol, and race fans dressed in anything from shorts and bare chests (the men, sadly) to top hats and tails, all were there for one supposed purpose, to watch the high quality racing. First things first, and I was brought up with the idea that Epsom racing is not all it’s cracked up to be with the exception of these two days, and I have to say I am anything but convinced that apart for a select few races, the form will throw up too many future winners being such a unique undulating track unlike any other the world over (with Lingfield possibly the nearest). 

On Friday the big race was (obviously) the Oaks, but before then other horses stood out as improving sorts, starting with the Dave Simcock trained BUSHMAN who won the Group Three Diomed Stakes with plenty left in the locker.  He looked to me as if he idled in front hence the neck margin but he quickened up in the style of a decent sort and certainly looks to be a horse to stay on the right side of if the going is riding on the quick side though where he goes next is anybody’s guess and I suspect they may well look for a Group Two abroad for this six year old gelding though with breeding obviously out of the reckoning prize money may well be more important than kudos. Personally, I read very little in to the gutsy victory of Fame And Glory who outstayed and out fought Sariska all the way up the home straight but she looked to be feeling the ground and a softer surface may well have seen those placing reversed meaning silly quotes of ante post favourite for the Arc look wide of the mark and best avoided as witnessed on Saturday (see below). Snow Fairy won the Oaks to give the likeable Ryan Moore his first classic with a brilliant (if brave) run and a turn of foot that had to be seen to be believed and it honestly could not have happened

Landed himself an Oaks/Derby double Ryan Moore

to a nicer guy. Ryan, as you know, is the son of Gary Moore who I consider a friend, and I can only imagine how proud his father must be of one of the least assuming, publicity shy jockeys in the trade, yet with more than enough talent to allow him to be a lot more big headed than he is (which wouldn’t be difficult). He lets his riding do the talking for him and anyone who cannot see what a talent he is should have gone to SpecSavers, and racing fans everywhere can only hope he remains fit and injury free for many years as I see an incredible talent that is grossly (and ignorantly) underestimated by the majority of the so called racing press. 

Last one for Friday simply has to be the Michael Jarvis trained CANSILI STAR who won with a ton in hand under a very considerate ride from Philip Robinson who did little more than push him out to take the closing handicap by a neck. The official description of “all out” is little more than a joke as “young” Phil was pretty much hands and heels all the way in the final furlong (with perhaps one smack thrown in for good measure) and always had the race in hand. He cannot be put up much for this win and will win again with similar conditions and perhaps  when stepped up to a mile as he ran on well all the way to the line.

Saturday comes next in my calendar and the little matter of the Derby won in quite incredible style by the improving WORKFORCE, who will be a talent to reckon with based on this performance, again under the brilliant Ryan Moore who landed himself an Oaks/Derby double.  Why the other jockeys naively assumed pacemaker At First Sight would come back to the field is beyond me and only Ryan seemed to realise the correct fractions (a jockey with a stopwatch in his head is an awesome commodity) and sent his lightly raced colt after the leader to quicken past for a seven length success and in a course record time to boot.  Others are already crabbing the form and saying he is no Sea The Stars but as the fastest horse wins every race I beg to differ and if he can be kept sound (he is a bull of a horse and must be more difficult to train than Sir Michael Stoute lets on), we could have another superstar on our hands, two years in a row. Interestingly enough, the majority of his current entries lie over in Ireland (Irish Derby, Irish Champion Stakes) which would be a shame in my eyes and I would love to see him turn up at Ascot to take on his elders on the King George so we all get the chance to see just hoe good he really is? The rest of the card was not as informative as I might have hoped but I was pleased to see signs of a return to form of the Saeed Bin Suroor yard with an easy victory for ANTARA who either idled in front or more likely blew up to hold on by a neck in the Princess Elizabeth Stakes. She should go on from here and had some decent form in Germany (I think?) and could be seen next in the Windsor Forest Stakes at Royal Ascot.

Steve’s Tips for this week:

Royal Ascot Next Week:

1pt each way GOLD TRAIL Kings Stand Stakes Tuesday

2pts Win PACO BOY Queen Anne Stakes Tuesday

2pts Win MAQAASID Queen Mary Stakes Wednesday


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.