Luck will change for Gracilis

13 April 2012

I think I saw the winner of the Cesarewitch at Glorious Goodwood. Okay, you will have to wait until October to see if I'm right but, if I am, you'll hear about it.

The horse is Gracilis, who may have done himself a favour in the long- distance handicap last Wednesday by being beaten. The gelding was aiming for his fifth win on the trot, having risen over two stone in the weights, but his two-and-a-half length defeat by Hugs Dancer should stop the handicapper from going overboard when making his assessments for the second leg of the Autumn Double.

I was surprised to see Kieren Fallon commit the four-year-old more than three furlongs from home in the Marriott Hotels Goodwood Stakes. It is seldom the former champion jockey hits the front too soon but on this occasion his tactics appeared to be not up to his usual high standard.

Gracilis has one of the greatest weapons in a stayer's armoury - the ability to quicken at the end of affairs. I can see him being held up so he can deliver his turn of foot as late as possible at Newmarket.

Gracilis is part owned by a king of the media business, Michael Watt, whom I got to know well when he was Lester Piggott's agent and I was ghosting the great jockey's column in a national newspaper.

Watt is chairman of Octagon-ICS, an international sporting television rights company. He also has a couple of dozen racehorses split between England, Ireland and France but things didn't go too well for him last week.

The day after Gracilis's defeat his other classy stayer, San Sebastian, was kicked at the start of the Goodwood Cup and finished fifth behind Persian Punch.

On the same day, Ansar, sold by Watt after being beaten by a short head in last year's Chester Cup, won the Guinness Galway Handicap Hurdle for Dermot Weld, having scored earlier at the Irish festival meeting on Monday. But, knowing Watt, he will not be down for long and we may see a decent four-year-old chaser he has with Marcel Rolland at Chantilly over here next season, called Turkama, who has already won a couple over hurdles and two more over fences.

Going back to Piggott, my assignment with him lasted five years. It was hardly a labour of love but I did get to know about his wicked sense of humour. Other people's minor misfortunes tickled him.

I remember one Brighton meeting when Piggott was searching for a lift back to London.

As mugs went, I was at the top of Lester's list, so he was across the paddock quicker than lightning. The fact the round trip would set me back 150 miles or so was neither here nor there. I knew something, you see. In a car, Piggott was transformed. He actually talked.

The Derby was a fortnight away and, as usual, Lester was sitting on the fence without a mount. This was tantamount to letting the cat from next door babysit your goldfish. What was he going to ride?

As we nosed on to the M23, I got the question ready but instead he began enthusing about a TV series entitled Private Schulz, about an accident-prone German soldier. Everything happened to him, and it sent Piggott into hysterics.

"Put your foot down, it's on at seven," he said. Dutifully, I pulled into the outside lane and was doing around 110mph as we approached a bridge on which sat a police car. "They've got us, Lester," I cried.

"What do you mean, us?" he said with a huge grin on his face. "You're the one who's driving."

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Luck will change for Gracilis

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