Friday 15 September 2000
 |
| 14:00-16:00 |
| Racing
from Newbury |
|
Richard
Pitman and Willie Carson introduce four races from today's card.
With commentary from Jim McGrath, Jimmy Lindley and Graham Rock.
Races at 14:10; 14:40; 15:10; 15:40.
Saturday 16 September 2000
 |
| 13:50-14:10 |
| Racing
from Newbury |
|
14:00
Tote Sporting Index Autumn Cup. With commentary from Jim McGrath,
Willie Carson, Richard Pitman and Angus Loughran.
|
| 14:55-15:15 |
| Racing
from Newbury |
|
Live
coverage of the 15:05 Dubai Duty Free Mill Reef Stakes.
|
| 15:35-15:50 |
| Racing
from Newbury |
|
15:40
Courage Best Stakes.
|
Rider Profile:
Pat Eddery - Once in a lifetime
Occasionally,
a really special someone makes their way to the very top in any given sport.
Be it George Best or Paul Gascoigne in football, Alex Higgins or Ronnie O’Sullivan
in Snooker, Lester Piggott or Pat Eddery in racing, they all offer something
unique, something that puts them above their contemporaries.
In the case of Pat Eddery, he looks (almost) as young today as when he rode his
first winner way back in April 1969, aged seventeen, and since then, he has gone
on to win the jockeys championship ten times, plus numerous big races including
The Derby three times, (Grundy 1975, Golden Fleece 1982, Quest for Fame 1990)
and many others.
None of us who were there will ever forget the devastating ride he gave Dancing
Brave to win the Prix De L'Arc De Triomphe in 1986, when he majestically swept
past a field - described as "the best ever assembled in Europe"
- as if they were standing still!
 |
Yet here we are,
over thirty years after his initial race win, realistically wondering about
his chances of winning the jockey's title once again - with the fire in the
heart of this talented Irishman still burning as brightly as ever. With the
unfortunate injuries to Frankie Dettori and Kieren Fallon, he'll never have
a better chance of eclipsing Lester's 10 record championships than this season,
although the likes of Kevin Darley and Richard Quinn may well have something
to say about the eventual outcome!
It will certainly be interesting in the remaining months to watch and see
which powerful stables and owners swing their weight behind the major protagonists,
and how their mounts fare as the season continues, but one thing is absolutely
certain – no jockey will be more experienced and more motivated than
a certain Mr. Eddery!
 |
On a sad footnote,
Pat is suffering a lengthy ban for excessive use of the whip when narrowly
touched off in the Coral-Eclipse, which although perhaps not justifiable in
these enlightened times, is a style that has worked effectively and brought
the best out of his mounts for thirty two years, with seldom a mark on any
of his mounts. In this modern age when money overtakes ability and desire,
I wonder if we will ever see his like again, or is he a racing dinosaur destined
for extinction? |
