Ending on a low note

After a good few days at Goodwood it was back to earth with a bump today when I got the Stewards' Cup completely wrong and paid the price for going against the received wisdom of backing middle to high numbers.

Having said that, even if I had concentrated on those runners I would not have backed the winner, particularly after David Nicholls did not even put him up as the best of his three runners. At least my choice, Kaldoum Kingdom, had the first and second favourites among the half dozen who finished behind him!

Goodwood has always had a special meaning for me and when I was just turned 17 I hitch-hiked from my home in Plymouth to the meeting with weeks of savings from my meagre wages, convinced I was going to return home triumphant.

The truth was somewhat different and I had not realised that there would nowhere to stay in or around Chichester and neighbouring villages and the Monday night before the meeting opened was spent on a park bench until a member of the local constabulary took pity and stuck me in a cell for the night for somewhere to sleep! I then found somewhere to stay on Selsey Bill for the rest of the week but by the end of Glorious Goodwood 1974 I was totally skint and hitch-hiked back home with literally just one penny left in my pocket. Still it didn't put me off although thankfully I don't have to hitch-hike everywhere nowadays.

With this year's meeting now behind us I have been looking at the 4.30 at Newbury tomorrow which is a very tricky Listed fillies race and I am going to take a chance on Luca Cumani's Becqu Adoree at around 10-1.

This one turned up at Cumani's yard this year and was made favourite for her opening listed race but finished tailed off and then was second favourite when running only a little better at Warwick in June. She then went to Newmarket and finished behind two of Sunday's rivals in another listed contest but was impeded when starting to make a run and was then blocked again when keeping on.

She won twice as a two-year-old and showed progressive form last year and the fact that the Cumani team was obviously very keen on her suggests she is a decent sort who could finally be settling into life in England and about to show her true form. She is sure to get this 12 furlong trip so I am willing to give her a go, having not backed her in any of her previous three runs so have not had my fingers burnt. We shall see!