Harry Dunlop hitches ride on wave of new syndicates

Trainers are becoming ever more imaginative in a bid to attract owners and the themed syndicate, whereby people share an interest in more than just racing, is now all the rage.

Harry Dunlop, perhaps surprisingly, given that his last mention in the diary was about him falling off his bike in front of the massed ranks of a Boxing Day meet of the local hunt, is among those leading the way with this by forming a cycling partnership.

It will lease a Dutch Art filly for 2018 with the option to continue through to 2019 if she is any good. It is a one-off £1,000 all in for 30 members to include all fees, such as vet, farrier, gallops and puncture-repair kit. The filly’s name, syndicate name and colours – which will be made of Lycra, of course – will be democratically chosen by the partners with a cycling theme.

The deal incorporates organised bike rides next summer, including a hilly one to Watership Down Stud, where the as yet unnamed filly was born, and another to Chantilly in France, which will conclude with a presumably sweaty stable tour of Criquette Head’s yard for those still standing.

If he persists at his present rate and the dearth of good horses in France continues for much longer, Dunlop will probably be champion trainer across the Channel before too long. His little lorry certainly knows its way to all the Paris tracks and, if he has a USP, it is plundering France’s generous prize funds and bonuses.

This he has done most notably with Robin Of Navan but, on Friday, his Fighting Irish beat neighbour Charlie Hills’s Nebo by a head in a three-runner Group Two Criterium de Maisons-Laffitte to pick up the not inconsiderable £93,000 first prize. The only runner the French managed to muster was a respectful three lengths back in last.

Failed driving test 

My It was George Bernard Shaw who said that Britain and America were two countries divided by a common language. He was not wrong. Thinking ahead to the Breeders’ Cup at Del Mar in San Diego, which I explained I was covering for the newspaper and requires me to be at the racetrack at 6am each morning during the build-up, I emailed my Airbnb host to ask if she knew of a “pet taxi driver” who could be guaranteed to pick me up every day at 5.45am.

A while later, I received a reply. “You mentioned you needed transportation, including a pet,” it said. “What kind of pet will you be bringing and I’ll ask around?”

Equine therapy

Wincanton, which celebrates a century and a half of racing with the launch of George Bingham’s Wincanton Racecourse – The first 150 years at its first meeting of the season on Friday, is hosting a fundraising day on Sunday Oct 29 in aid of Key4life, a charity which helps young prisoners find employment and prevents them from re-offending.

Indeed, so far, those 18-24-year-olds being mentored by Key4Life are four times less likely to re-offend than those who are not, and four times more likely to gain long-term employment. Taking horses to prison has had some spectacular results for the charity’s founder, Eva Hamilton.

It may seem strange for those who handle horses every day, but Hamilton, who has an MBE for her work with young prisoners, took two horses to a West Country prison which housed 23 hardened gang leaders who had no respect for the charity or any other intervention. However, brought into proximity with the horses, some tried to hide under chairs. Their respect for the horse was instant and most started engaging fairly swiftly afterwards.

This Monday, as part of Key4Life’s programme, a couple of former prisoners will be joining Paul Nicholls for work experience in racing. They will be under the wing of Harry Derham, Nicholls’s nephew and assistant, who is riding in the charity race.

If you believe what you read in some newspapers, the whole of the bloodstock industry is about to be sent to prison by the BHA, so it could be a useful source of employment for lots of trainers in time.