Ashforth’s Alternative View: Richard Kimble may help us solve Market Rasen puzzle
By Gavin Sheehan Don't USE
Last Updated: Tue 5 Dec 2023
Award-winning journalist David Ashforth has joined the Racing TV team and in his first column takes a sideways glance at the action at Market Rasen on Tuesday.
Goodee, there is racing at Market Rasen on Tuesday, one of my favourite jumps courses. I have got a particular soft spot for it because some toilets there are named after me.
A lot of fuss is made about the likes of Nicky Henderson and Willie Mullins, Richard Johnson and Ruby Walsh, but are any toilets named after them? No; my case rests.
There are some distinguished toilets in the stands at Market Rasen
If you are looking for something to run really fast, you will find it in the shape of Dr Richard Kimble in the opening Juvenile Hurdle (1.50).
When he was a surgeon, Kimble was convicted of murdering his wife and had to run all over the place to escape injustice and track down the real killer.
As you will know if you saw The Fugitive (1993), in which Harrison Ford pretended to be Kimble, the Doctor got his man and there was a happy ending, although Mrs Kimble was still dead.
The race Dr Richard Kimble is running in is what is called “competitive,” meaning that you can study the form and stare at relevant replays for as long as you like but the one you back still won’t win.
Dr Richard Kimble was not for catching at Goodwood in June
Praeceps is an interesting opponent, not just because he ran promisingly on his hurdling debut in December but because he was bred and previously owned by John Kelsey-Fry.
That is John Kelsey-Fry QC, one of the country’s leading barristers, who represented Kieren Fallon when the six-times champion jockey appeared at the Old Bailey in 2007 charged with conspiracy to defraud. The case was thrown out.
Kelsey-Fry was fantastic and if you are charged with a serious criminal offence, I strongly recommend him, although you will probably have to rob quite a big bank to pay for it.
One way and another it is a fascinating race. Have you heard of the trainer Joanne Thomason-Murphy? Neither have I, although she’s had 20 runners over jumps in the last five seasons, so I should have paid more attention.
On the other hand, only one finished in the first four and Foxy’s Spirit, her representative today, is unlikely to get that close. I wonder who she is? As long as Thomason-Murphy knows, I suppose it’s alright.
One of the attractions of run of the mill, midweek fixtures is the part played by trainers and jockeys rarely seen at prestigious meetings.
They drive hundreds of miles to saddle or ride a no-hoper, even when it is freezing and their hands are going to get cold.
If it gets too cold or wet at Market Rasen, Newcastle will come to the rescue. The big question is, can Tum Tum, bought by trainer Michael Herrington for only £1,500 in September, beat Merchant Of Venice and Sajanji in the Novice Stakes (4.45)?
It would be rather nice if he did. Merchant Of Venice won a woeful maiden race at Kempton in December, but will improve, while Sajanji has been favourite for both her runs this year and disappointed both times.
The drop back in trip might help but, judged on last year’s efforts, may not. Go on Tum Tum!
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