Racing: Workhorses pay off for Johnston
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Your support makes all the difference.It is a long way from Middleham to Goodwood – 285 miles to be precise – so if you take a horse from North Yorkshire to West Sussex, it may as well earn the petrol. Mark Johnston's not unreasonable policy of making his horses work for a living paid dividends for the second time during the week when Darasim, runner-up to his stablemate Scott's View on Tuesday, made all the running to take the Glorious Stakes yesterday.
The previous day, Takes Tutu had won when turning out for the second time at the meeting. Note: Scott's View runs there today.
Darasim was the second leg of a double for Kevin Darley, earlier successful on Smirk in a blanket finish to the day's most valuable race, the William Hill Mile. Smirk survived a stewards' inquiry after some argy-bargy at the furlong marker to rather surprise David Elsworth. "We weren't over confident because you need a lot of luck in these handicaps," said the trainer. "And we've tended to avoid firm ground with him. I thought he was an autumn horse, and had the Cambridgeshire in mind. But sometimes you just have to run them, otherwise they end up stuck in their box."
Nayyir, trained by Gerard Butler and ridden by Eddie Ahern, confirmed his upward mobility with a half-length defeat of Redback in the Group Three Lennox Stakes. The versatile four-year-old holds Group One engagements over six, seven and eight furlongs during the coming weeks.
David Nicholls warmed up for today's Stewards' Cup by supplying the first three, Flak Jacket, Zuhair and Pax, in the closing sprint over the big-race course and distance. In the opener, Kieren Fallon picked up a three-day ban, starting tomorrow week, after trying to dash Chorist through a non-existent gap. But a PR disaster was avoided by 24 hours, for today week at Ascot Fallon is due to captain the GB & Ireland jockeys' team in the Shergar Cup.
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