2010 race

racing_news/

Never Can Tell What Frankie Will Do, Admits Osborne
08/10/11

1 Never Can Tell 25/1
2 Ermyn Lodge 16/1
3 Colour Vision 20/1
4 Mount Athos 14/1
NR: Right Stuff (FR)
33 ran Distances: 1½l, ½l, 3¼l
TIME 3m 48.04s (slow by 2.04s)
Jockey: Frankie Dettori
Trainer: Jamie Osborne

After some career upheavals trainer Jamie Osborne roared back with a big-race winner when Never Can Tell won the Betfred Cesarewitch.

Never Can Tell
© Racehorse Photos

Osborne acknowledged winning jockey Frankie Dettori’s part in the victory, and admitted he had been surprised to see the Italian steering a lone course up the track’s centre. Dettori, who had never won the marathon contest, performed a flying dismount from the winner’s back, then raised his arms to the sky in a show of thanks and exclaimed to the crowd: “Twenty-five years of trying - at last!”

Never Can Tell is owned by Dr Marwan Koukash, whose colours were also carried by fourth-placed Mount Athos, who is trained by David Wachman. Dr Koukash was not at Newmarket today, but Osborne thanked him for his support.

Osborne said of the race: “She’s incredibly brave and this race has been a long-term plan, but when she was drawn in stall 36 it didn’t fill us with humour. Her style of running is such that she was always going to be forward from the gate and the man to negate that draw is Frankie.

“I wasn’t quite sure what he was doing in the straight, when everyone else was staying on the far rail - his words before the race were, ‘Do me a favour, don’t give me instructions’ so I said ‘Okay, just let her bowl along and make this the front-running ride of the season’. As it’s transpired it probably was.

“Cathy Gannon was going to ride her, but when the weights went up this filly came into Frankie’s weight range - I felt he was the right man for this horse because he’s such a good judge of pace.

“She’s not very pretty or very big, but she tries and has a big heart. She’s won two for Dr Koukash at Chester this year, and scoots around those bends. She hates letting horses past her and she was doubling along there today with her ears pricked.”

Osborne won the Dubai Dewhurst Stakes with Milk It Mick in 2003, but changes of stables and a loss of owners have eroded his plans in recent years. “It’s been a challenge,” he admitted, and added: “I’m not the only one in that situation and there are fewer people wanting horses in training, but we can only deal with what we’ve got. I’d like to get more horses, but it’s a difficult time to do that, and the support of Marwan has been fantastic. He’s come along at a good time for me and it’s nice to win a race like this for him. “It’s great to be a part of it.”

Position	Horse Trainer	Jockey Weight	Starting Price Beaten Distance
1	Never Can Tell J A Osborne	L Dettori 8st 11lbs	25 - 1 Winner
2	Ermyn Lodge P Phelan	I Mongan 8st 12lbs	16 - 1 1 1/2 length
3	Colour Vision M Johnston	N Callan 9st 1lbs	20 - 1 1/2 length
4	Mount Athos D Wachman	J Fortune 9st 10lbs	14 - 1 3 1/4 lengths
5	Rainforest Magic D K Weld	P J Smullen 8st 9lbs	16 - 1 3 lengths
6	Sentry Duty N J Henderson	J P Murtagh 9st 5lbs	14 - 1 4 lengths
7	Beyond D Pipe	William Buick 8st 6lbs	10 - 1 3/4 length
8	Regal Park M Botti	Harry Bentley 8st 8lbs	33 - 1 Short Head
9	Ashbrittle R M Beckett	Jim Crowley 8st 12lbs	25 - 1 Nose
10	Veiled N J Henderson	E Ahern 9st 3lbs	12 - 1 10 lengths
11	Becausewecan M Johnston	J Fanning 8st 11lbs	33 - 1 1 1/4 length
12	Buy Back Bob A J Martin	W M Lordan 8st 12lbs	25 - 1 1/2 length
13	Abergavenny B Ellison	P Pickard 8st 5lbs	16 - 1 3/4 length
14	My Arch Ollie Pears	T P Queally 8st 10lbs	40 - 1 4 lengths
15	Bow To No One A P Jarvis	Martin Lane 8st 5lbs	40 - 1 3/4 length
16	Cosimo De Medici H Morrison	R Havlin 8st 10lbs	16 - 1 3 lengths
17	Bowdler's Magic M Johnston	P Makin 8st 10lbs	33 - 1 Neck
18	Keys R Charlton	R Hughes 9st 2lbs	6 - 1 3 lengths
19	Gifted Leader Ian Williams	Ryan Clark 8st 8lbs	40 - 1 3 lengths
20	Red Anthem G A Butler	Liam Jones 8st 6lbs	50 - 1 2 1/2 lengths
21	L Frank Baum Miss Gay Kelleway	Declan Cannon 8st 6lbs	66 - 1 1 3/4 length
22	Bernie The Bolt A M Balding	David Probert 9st 3lbs	16 - 1 1 length
23	Dazinski M H Tompkins	J Quinn 8st 13lbs	50 - 1 1/2 length
24	Phoenix Flight H J Evans	C Catlin 8st 10lbs	50 - 1 2 lengths
25	Big Occasion D Pipe	J P O'Brien 9st 3lbs	33 - 1 3/4 length
26	La Estrella D E Cantillon	Dane O'Neill 8st 10lbs	40 - 1 2 1/4 lengths
27	Palomar B Ellison	T Eaves 8st 7lbs	33 - 1 5 lengths
28	Tasheba D Pipe	K T O'Neill 8st 4lbs	50 - 1 2 3/4 lengths
29	Tuscan Gold Sir Mark Prescott	S Sanders 8st 8lbs	20 - 1 2 3/4 lengths
30	Dayia Mrs L Pearce	O Peslier 9st 1lbs	50 - 1 11 lengths
31	Mystery Star M H Tompkins	Martin Dwyer 9st 4lbs	33 - 1 2 3/4 lengths
32	Braveheart Move G A Harker	R Winston 8st 9lbs	40 - 1 3 lengths
33	Kazbow L M Cumani	K Fallon 9st 0lbs	25 - 1 99 lengths
NonRunner	Right Stuff G L Moore	L Keniry 8st 6lbs	-

GAME ERMYN FAILS TO DELIVER GOLD FOR PHELAN

Pat Phelan continued his nearly man role as Ermyn Lodge filled the runner-up berth behind the victorious Never Can Tell in the Betfred Cesarewitch, thus consigning the Epsom-based trainer to the second place spot for the 26th time this year.

Ermyn Lodge
© Racehorse Photos

“I’ve had 25 seconds already this year before today - since the first of January - and this was number 26,” said Phelan. “He was second at Royal Ascot, behind Veiled in the Ascot Stakes and second again here, so it’s a familiar place to be.”

Ridden by Ian Mongan, the Singspiel gelding, owned by Ermyn Lodge Stud and Heatherwold Stud, stayed on strongly in the two and a quarter-mile contest, the second leg of the historic Autumn Double, but could only get to within a length and a half of the winner.

Ermyn Lodge has had a light campaign in 2011, the Betfred Cesarewitch being only his fourth outing of the year. After claiming the runner-up berth twice at Ascot, including at the Royal Meeting, the five-year-old finished fourth at the Berkshire course in the Shergar Cup Stayers Handicap on August 6, at which point Phelan decided to give him a break before today’s assignment.

Phelan revealed: “He has run well today and I expected it of him. We have invested heavily for a small stable and we were not here to make up the numbers. He has never run a bad race, in his life - only once, at Goodwood when there was something wrong with him, has he run a below par race.

“That was the plan and there are so few opportunities that I suppose he will have a bit of a break now. We will look at The Ascot Stakes next year and then back here again - it’s limited enough what we can do with him.

“The owners might decide to go over hurdles because he has been schooled over hurdles and he jumps well but this was the plan and we didn’t want to jeopardise anything by picking up a little niggle or an injury. He would need a bit of a break after this because we peaked for today so if he were to go hurdling it wouldn’t be any time too soon.”