Easterby’s Body And Soul makes it a fitting York tribute

Cecil was a genius when it came to the training of fillies, excelling because he knew that they could not be rushed in their formative years, and Great Habton-based Easterby appears to have adopted the same modus operandi with this three-year-old.

A winner at Ripon and Thirsk last season before landing Redcar’s season-ending Two-Year-Old Trophy, the winning handler deliberately targeted this six-furlong sprint – the centrepiece of Macmillan charity day on Knavesmire.

Easterby’s fears about unsuitably fast ground were eased when he woke to rain in the early hours of Saturday morning – but even then he was uncertain whether racegoers would see the best of Body And Soul, the 7-1 favourite. He believes her best days are still to come.

Yet she threaded her way through the field under Duran Fentiman, one of Malton’s unsung jockeys, to beat the Harry Redknapp-owned Moviesta whose chances were wrecked when pulling strongly early on under Paul Mulrennan.

If Moviesta can settle in future, Hambleton trainer Bryan Smart’s horse looks sure to be a major player while Body And Soul could be aimed at the Ayr Gold Cup in September before being stepped up in class to Group company next season when she is more mature.

“There’s a lot in her name,” said Easterby, who also landed a double at Musselburgh with The Nifty Fox and Clockmaker.

“She had a hard season last year, some times with two-year-olds, it takes it out of them. She’s only just coming into herself now.

“When you train them every day of their lives, you can know too much. Maybe I am too fussy, but she’s not right yet.

“She’s good. I think we may go down the Ayr Gold Cup route because there isn’t a programme for three-year-old sprinters. It’s hopeless.”

Easterby was fulsome in his praise for Fentiman, who came to prominence when Ventura Mist flashed home to win Beverley’s Hilary Needler Trophy last month.

“He rides well and keeps turning up for work. If they keep turning up, you’ve got to give them rides some time,” said the trainer, who was winning this race for the third time in the past decade.

As for Fentiman and his enduring association with Body And Soul, he said: “She’s got a lot of speed and I got there a bit too soon. She’s tough, she’s quick. She’ll be a gem.”

This was a poignant day at the end of a week in which racing mourned 70-year-old Cecil and jockeys wore black armbands in tribute to the training genius who saddled the winners of a record 25 English Classics and 75 races at Royal Ascot, which begins tomorrow.

It saw more than £350,000 raised for Macmillan – the magic £6m barrier should be passed next year – and Venetia Wrigley won the charity race at the conclusion of a competitive card on Richard Fahey’s Extraterrestrial.

Her husband Nicholas is currently York’s senior steward and she lost more than one and a half stone while riding out at Fahey’s yard five mornings a week.

Fahey has been so surprised by the rider’s progress that he wants Wrigley to remain part of his work team at Musley Bank.

On a day rich with poignancy, Sam Sharp was a clear-cut winner of the Ladbrokes.com Handicap in the silks of Noel Martin.

Wheelchair-bound Martin will always be remembered for the grace with which he handled his horse Jacqueline Quest, trained by Cecil, being demoted to second after she was first past the post in the 1000 Guineas three years ago.

Now with Ian Williams, the seven-year-old powered clear to beat Silvery Moon by two and a quarter lengths.

“Henry gave me a taste of the Classics, I’ll always be grateful for that,” said Martin.

However, there was no fairytale finish to the Ian and Kate Hall Macmillan Ganton Stakes when Stipulate, now trained by Cecil’s widow Jane, could only finish third to the heavily-backed 2-1 favourite Baltic Knight.

Champion jockey Richard Hughes had made no secret of the fact he made the journey north mainly to ride the Richard Hannon-trained three-year-old in this Listed race and he was duly rewarded.

Sir Patrick Moore took the 
field along until two furlongs 
out where Quick Wit made a 
bid for glory, but Hughes was simply biding his time on Baltic Knight.

Making his move inside the final furlong, Baltic Knight came home by a length from Quick Wit, with Stipulate a length and a half back in third.

Hughes said: “The horse Remote that beat him last time at Doncaster is a very good horse for John Gosden.

“We like this fella a lot and he does like cut in the ground. A strong-run mile or a mile and two is probably his trip.”

Malton trainer Richard Fahey warmed up for Royal Ascot 
when Rufford won the Reg 
Griffin Appreciation EBF Maiden Stakes in tribute to the Timeform boss who inspired this charity raceday more than 40 years 
ago.

National hero Mania in with a Hexham treble

NO jockey is riding with as much confidence as Grand National-winning jockey Ryan Mania, whose flying start to the 2013-14 campaign continued with a 70-1 treble at Hexham on Saturday courtesy of Indigo Rock, Solis and Auberge, writes Tom Richmond.

The latter pair came courtesy of Penrith trainer Dianne Sayer, one of the handlers who supported Mania when he made a return to the sport nearly two years ago after a sabbatical.

In the weeks prior to Mania’s John Smith’s Grand National triumph on Bingley trainer Sue Smith’s Auroras Encore, the 24-year-old was enduring more falls than winners – a trend that continued 24 hours after his Aintree heroics when he was airlifted to hospital after a heavy fall at Hexham.

Yet Mania finished the 2012-13 season with a Sedgefield treble – including the Durham National on the Smith stable’s Lackamon – and has now ridden 12 winners in the current campaign to cement his position in the top 10 in the jockeys’ championship.