Jockey's championship race far from over
(www.telegraph.co.uk Thursday July 19, 2007, J A McGrath)
Twenty years ago the great Steve Cauthen found himself caught up in a jockeys' championship battle that went the distance, with the American visiting tracks like Edinburgh and Hamilton near the end of the season to hold off the magnificently-determined defending champion Pat Eddery.
It was a titanic struggle to the line with Cauthen, on 197 wins, lasting home by 'a whisker' - officially it was two wins - after both rode winners on the final day. It was Cauthen's third title and he never won another.
For Eddery, the battle marked a renewed commitment to British racing after a fruitful stint as first jockey to Vincent O'Brien in Ireland. Eddery, with the benefit of a retainer from Khalid Abdulla, went on to chalk up a further six titles, making him one of the most successful jockeys ever.
The question today is whether the greatly-improved Seb Sanders and the resourceful Jamie Spencer are likely to stage a similar fight to the death to land this year's Flat title. It would inject tremendous interest in the final weeks of the season if they did.
This morning, Sanders leads Spencer 82-79, but the bookmakers are in no doubt, it seems, about who is going bag the prize. Most major firms offer 4-6 Spencer to regain the title - he won it in 2005 - with Sanders at 5-4. Closing in on them is Richard Hughes, who is generally at 25-1 after reaching the 65-winner mark, leaving him 17 off the lead.
When I asked Spencer recently whether he woke up thinking of the title and whether he could overhaul Sanders, he looked a little startled. "Nothing like it," he assured me. And, no, he didn't look to see where Sanders was riding and how many mounts he had.
On the other hand, Sanders is the perfect example of a solid rider who suddenly developed an added dimension. His vigour had never been in question, but his tactical skill, timing and finesse suddenly seemed to improve, so much so that his confidence also soared. By early June, he had built up a lead of 18 over Spencer and was 2-7 to win the title.
Sanders described going to work as easier than it had ever been. "I can hardly wait to see what I'm riding the next day," he told me.
John Hanmer, who was Cauthen's agent during the American's golden years, warned yesterday that the title battle can fluctuate wildly. "Steve had built up a good lead early only for Pat to peg him back and have a double-figure advantage at the end of September.
"But Steve really got interested when it became obvious he had a chance of winning it, and he went everywhere to try to get winners. He had been champion in 1984 and 1985 and, looking back, it was the first of those titles that meant the most to him.
"My advice is never to underestimate a jockey going for his first title. They will move heaven and earth to do it,"said Hanmer. Spencer himself did two years ago.
Shortly after Sanders had built up his sizeable lead, Sir Mark Prescott, Sanders's retaining trainer, knocked down the suggestion that his jockey could be champion. One suspected Prescott was trying to relieve his jockey of the burden of high expectation, but the point he made was that his stable had been more successful earlier than usual, and that the yard's firepower would consequently diminish.
Of course, if Ryan Moore, the defending champion, had not been injured in March, there would probably be little point to this story. Since his comeback early last month, Moore has regained winning ways and is riding superbly. Being more than 50 winners adrift of Sanders, it is almost certainly too late for him to catch the leaders, but surely, he will be favourite to land the 2008 championship.
As for 2007, it is far from cut and dry. Spencer may be favourite, but Sanders has a brand of grit and application that continues to impress. If he gets half a chance, Sanders will take it all the way to the line.