Dead level

Another brilliant meeting concluded with a finish so close that, even with all the modern gizmos available to us these days, the judges were unable to separate the first two  in the Ayr Gold Cup. Now Son Of Rest was expected to go well but Baron Bolt was a bit of a surprise. Or was he?

Of his twenty-two runs on turf he has been in the frame fifteen times. And now for a bit of after timing (as I didn’t even mention him in my preview). If you take his runs on soft ground he was 123522. So, he appears to like to get his toe in. But it was a thrilling finish.

Chris Hayes on Son Of Rest thought he had been pipped while Cameron Noble on Baron Bolt thought he had won. After watching the replay, I thought the favourite had landed the odds on the nod. It shows how difficult it is.

I was happy enough to bag the third and fourth each way and even got 18/1 on Get Knotted as his price had halved by the off.

Ascendency towards retirement

And on the subject of the face spitter I am getting closer. Four out of six placed two weeks ago and five of seven last week. Is this a gradual ascendency towards my retirement? One can only hope.

Queen Of Bermuda won a lot more easily than I expected but I am not complaining. And I actually did better than my dad for the first time since Derby day.

I was on the verge of tears when it was announced that Take Cover had run his last race. He was just beaten by Mr Lupton having run his usual honest race. He raced forty-nine times winning fifteen and being placed in half his races. He gained three quarters of a million for his owners and at the age of eleven he deserves a rest.

He actually beat Group One winners (albeit not in the top grade) and on his day he was very hard to catch. He won the last two Beverley Bullets and was ridden by fourteen different jockeys winning on seven different tracks. I make no apology for being a bit misty eyed, but I do love these horses who stay in training.

The jumps horses are different as we see them year after year but when a flat runner stays around we do get a connection. Think of Further Flight and Persian Punch and you get my drift. Or even Yeats who danced at the big meetings.

Even if I have backed something else in the race there is a part of me willing these old heroes on for that one last glory run. Happy retirement old fella.