Fitzdares Times | issue 16

BRAWLS

BY WILLIAM WOLFE

BY MARK POUGATCH

BY JOHN INVERDALE

GOODNESS , THERE IS SO MUCH we will miss about Shane Warne. He was very funny, and great fun. He was naughty but in the best sense, and smart, in the streetwise sense. He made people happy, which is a gift, and he made people stronger with his support and counsel. He was generous and would put himself up for auction at charity events.

“An hour’s coaching at Lord’s with Shane Warne for ten people” would sell for shedloads. He’d meet the buyers, charm them utterly, and do double the time with the group they sent along – often longer if they were enthusiastic kids.

He had friends in high places and friends from the sticks. He learnt to play tennis on the court in Bob Hawke’s backyard and, years later, fired up the pizza oven for Chris Martin and Ed Sheeran to have chill nights in his own backyard;

Michael Parkinson and Tim Rice took him out for lunch at the Ivy; Coldplay called him on stage to sing with them during a sell-out concert in Melbourne.

At Sunningdale Golf Club one day, Sean Connery heard Warnie was putting out on the 17th green and stayed behind an extra 15 minutes just to meet him. He hung out with Dannii Minogue and Jemima Khan and became engaged to Elizabeth Hurley. On Twitter, Mick Jagger mourned his passing.

He completely adored his parents, Keith and Brigitte, was a loyal brother and friend to Jason, and doted on his three children. Wonderful husband he may not have been, wonderful father he was. The Warnes are a fine family. It hurts deeply to think of their pain. Frankly, he has left a lot of folks in pain. He gave so much and had so much more to give. Bloody hell, how we will miss him.

So will the tables. He played high-level

poker, risked high-level stakes at the roulette wheel, and liked nothing more than a punchy unit or two on the golf course. Each year, his great joy was an invitation to the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship in Scotland, and last October he had a run of birdies that saw him fall

applying his remarkable cricketing intelligence to the stories he was telling. He liked cricket kept simple; he loved the game to fizz and to sparkle, and he believed implicitly that attack was the ultimate answer to defence.

only a shot short of winning the amateur event with his professional partner Ryan Fox. I promise that had he done so, he would have regarded it as a pinnacle alongside the Ashes.

He had become a terrific commentator, listening and learning from others and

He made cricket cool and those around him happy. It seems barely believable that the Warne smile is no more. By 52 years of age, he’d had a hell of a run, living five, maybe ten lives or more. Every day, in every place, the magic appeared in one form or another and you just had to be lucky enough to be there and have it rub off on you. It’s gone now, but better to have loved and lost than not to have known him at all. There will never be another.

Mostly, he was a man of popular culture, but his take on it was rooted in the tradition and memories of the past. No one had better manners nor offered

TENNIS

Why sport must do the right thing

‘What’s the key to being a good leg-spinner, Warnie?’ was the question. ‘A lot of love,’ came the answer.

→ answers to seemingly endless requests –appearances, autographs, selfies, interviews, and functions – while always guarding cricket’s history and conscience.

He was cricket and he was rock ’n’ roll too; he was the best of sport and the core of aspirational dreams. He fed us the oxygen of the game in the most engaging and fascinating ways, changing perception, inviting debate, encouraging enthusiasm, breathing hope and never surrendering. We owe him so much.

“What’s the key to being a good legspinner, Warnie” was the question. “A lot of love,” came the answer. “What’s the art of leg-spin?” To which he would reply: “The creation of something that isn’t there, mate.”

It was my privilege to know him well and to frequently stay with him in Melbourne, in the various houses he loved to trade. I was with him at home in December 2003 during the ban for the diuretic pill he took just prior to the World Cup in South Africa earlier that year. After

THE NEW NORMAL

We keep waiting for the world to settle down and get back to normal but, quite frankly, it doesn’t seem to have the appetite. The loss of legends like Warnie and Lester Piggott only adds to the wistfulness of each day.

Luckily, during this bumpy time, sport is one thing that seems to offer respite.There is no greater distraction than kicking back in the evening and seeing your team win (or lose).

Watching sport is such an engrossing experience that it verges on mindfulness, as I'm sure a lot of you nd. The act of going to see live sport – whether it be your local racecourse or Centre Court – is honestly the best bet you can make.

The highlight of my year, so far, was seeing so many of you at our pop-up Cheltenham Club and the launch of our permanent ßCotswolds Club. It was great to feel normal again, whatever normal is these days.

the first night, I woke early but there was no sign of him. He walked through the door at 7.30-ish, clad in tracksuit and trainers.

“Been for a run?”

“No mate, been having a bowl at an indoor school out on the edge of town.”

“But you’re not allowed to.”

“I know. Wanna come with me tomorrow and have a hit?”

“Sure.”

Later that day, after tennis (at which he was damn good, by the way), I asked him about these early mornings. He said he knew the fella who ran the indoor school and talked him into opening up at 6am so he could bowl for an hour a couple of times a week before anyone else in Melbourne had put the kettle on. The place was locked up again by seven and first arrivals weren’t till eight. For one period of his life, at least, he flew under the radar, albeit reluctantly, for it was during this forced sabbatical that Kerry Packer told him to lie low awhile and sell the red Ferrari. So he did. And bought a blue one.

“Did you sell the red Ferrari, son?”

“I did, Kerry.”

ANYWAY, BACK TO THE indoor school.

A handkerchief to aim at was OK, but a batter was better, and by great good fortune, that man with the willow was me. I borrowed his kit and padded up. As I write, I’m trying to imagine myself there, nervous as a kitten. When Hampshire played the Australians in 1993, he was rested (well, he wasn’t at the game!), so I had never faced him.

The first thing that struck me was the aura, even at the start of his eight-pace shuffle and approach. I remember the rhythm of the approach, the power of the delivery stride and the symmetry of the action. I remember the flight of the ball and the hardness as it hit the bat or body: they say some seamers bowl a “heavy” ball; so did Warne. I remember the revolutions, the high bounce off the hard synthetic surface and the need to react quickly and definitively.

He hit the pad so often it was a joke – that slider! He even tried a few flippers, the stuff of gold. I mainly blocked because there were so few bad balls, occasionally slogged over wide mid-on and cut backward of point a bit. One or two drives, straight and through midoff, were highlights. This was a kingdom of days, Warne and me, cutting it as the dawn broke in his home town.

I very well remember marvelling at the level of skill in what he did and the power with which he did it. I saw at first-hand how the 10,000-hour theory rolled out. He was astonishingly gifted at something extremely difficult, and he knew it. He practised relentlessly to perfect it and rejoiced in taking it to the world.

Here is a passage from his autobiography, No Spin, which I wrote with him: “The art of leg-spin is creating something that is not really there. It is a magic trick, surrounded by mystery and

aura. What is coming and how will it get there? At what speed, trajectory and with what sound? How much flight, swerve, dip and spin, and which way? Where will it land and what will happen? There is no bowler in the history of the game that a decent batsman couldn’t pick if he watched the hand, so a leg-spinner must unsettle that batsman. Every leg-spinner gives the batsmen a clue, some just disguise it better than others. Leg-spinners cannot create physical fear, in the way fast bowlers can, so leg-spinners look to confuse and deceive.”

There was something elemental about Warnie, like the wind and the rain, or the sun. He could be a wild and unpredictable ride, or a warm and kindly neighbour. He brought things into our lives that were unique, and he illuminated the spaces we occupied; none of us would suggest that we were anything but lucky to stand in that light. It wasn’t quite exclusively his world in which we lived, but it wasn’t far from it. n

Mark Nicholas is a TV and radio cricket presenter and commentator.

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He believed implicitly that attack was the ultimate answer to defence.

SPEAKER’S CORNER Kim Bailey

FIFTH ELEMENT

ATWO DAY CHELTENHAM FESTIVAL ? Who can recall that? In 1923, due to popular demand, it expanded from two days to three – yet the first race on the new day card was a selling chase! If we’re honest with ourselves, Cheltenham has been tinkering with this meeting for quite a while. One must assume that any forward-thinking CEO would prob ably have had it in the back of their mind that once four days was accepted, five would only be a matter of time. After all, the infrastructure is already in place.

In 2005, the three-day Festival (20 races) was converted to a four-day meeting with six races per day (24 races). Then, in 2008, the wind blew, writing off the Wednesday. To catch up, the last two days had to host nine races apiece.

That moment provided yet another catalyst for change, and then they added two new races the following year, to make it 26 in total. Then, two years later, they rounded it up even further to create seven races on each day. That left us with a total of 28, which remains to this day. Perhaps 2005 was the “doomsday year” as far as planning for a five-day Festival goes.

And planning is important. If, as we expect, they are to add another two races to the meeting for a five-day Festival, each day will need to be cut back to six races. The unintended consequence of this action is that it might not suit race goers who like betting, feeling that they would be losing a race on their day. The cost of a ticket is another consideration. Will racegoers be happy to pay the same amount for a ticket if they are going to see one race fewer? Perhaps not.

The ground on the course is another big concern. Across four days, they run their races over two courses – which one will the fifth day be run on? A major downside is that the racecourse is far smaller than you think, unlike Punchestown. Weather will thus play a major factor, as was the case this year, when 22mm of unscheduled rain arrived on the Wednesday and caused havoc.

Five days works if you scale back to six races per day, which only adds two to the meeting. One of those must be a feature ‘Veterans Chase’ on the Saturday. Those who go racing on the weekend might well have heard of some of these great oldtimers, most of whom would love the chance to roll back the years and power up that famous hill. The other four days should remain roughly the same, with the Championship races remaining on their current days.

CHELTENHAM SHOULD RETHINK its pricing on the Saturday, as cheaper tickets would offer a fantastic opportunity to attract new racegoers. From my own conversations with locals, I know that many are really excited about a Saturday at Cheltenham. Cheltenham (and Aintree, to an extent) is the cash cow of the group, and their profits keep many of the other Jockey Club racecourses going. Sadly, however, the profits from this meet ing do not stretch far enough to go back into the Cheltenham prize money pot, which they should. A fifth day would surely help in that respect.

Given the widespread acceptance of the Festival’s dilution throughout the years, we trainers, owners and punters now just need to focus on the benefits. After all, with the dominance of Willie Mullins, Gordon Elliott and, more re cently, Henry de Bromhead at the meeting, it will give non-Irish trainers a chance of training a winner, as well as the many, many owners who may never have had a chance before. If the Festival does go to five days, then we need to embrace change and see the positive side of it. Enjoy it, win where you can, and then wait for the next round of tinkering. n

Will racegoers be happy to pay the same amount for a ticket if they are going to see one race fewer?

Barry Geraghty and Epatante jump the last, en route to victory in the 2020 Champion Hurdle

Kim Bailey has trained more than 1,400 winners, including the Cheltenham Gold Cup and the Champion Hurdle.

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THE MOST PA

Two years after his finest Cheltenham moment, trainer Paul Webbe r

FRIDAY 13 MARCH 2020 was a day when every star in the sky aligned to allow our racing fairytale to become reality. Indefatigable was ridden by Rex Dingle but guided by the Fates themselves through minefield and mayhem to win, by the shortest of short heads, the concluding race of the Festival that maybe should never have happened. Covid-19 marched on relentlessly, even penetrating those armoured tweeds of the Cotswold Room. Our country was locked down ten days later.

Two years later, Tuesday 15 March 2022 dawns a very differ ent day. A spectacular sunrise to greet the beginning of the National Hunt crusade to Cheltenham. All jump racing inter est focuses on the cauldron that lies beneath Cleeve Hill. The focus of the meeting is already the battle lines drawn up be tween England and Ireland. The talk is of how the battalions of Henderson, Nicholls and Skelton will be able to defend our prizes against the rampant invaders led by Mullins, De Brom head and Elliott who ravaged these parts last year.

Behind these massed ranks of stormtroopers there are smaller platoons or even single snipers, hoping to fire their prized shots at this most cherished target that has the smallest of bullseyes.

We have just one round to fire. In 2020 Indefatigable came into her Cheltenham target, the Martin Pipe Handicap Hurdle, off a cosy win at Warwick; this year she was beaten in that same race, but it was no disgrace in that it was a higherclass contest and was the ideal prep race after a short midwin ter break. Indefatigable is our complete focus and her preparation for the Close Brothers Mares’ Hurdle was abso lutely spot on. Her school friends have been healthy but not in raging form, despite Boughtbeforelunch winning a couple of weeks before to give us confidence.

What has been more unsettling is the lack of cool karma at home. A trauma to us all was the extreme distress our ter rier Peaches was enduring. Wherever and whoever you are,

everybody has a special pet like Peaches; though small in stature with only 4½in legs, she was a giant of a character. She was my wife Ku’s omnipresent shadow and my assistant trainer for as many lots as she wanted to watch each day, se cure on her favourite perch riding the wing mirror of the trainer’s truck! Isn’t it so remarkable that when a man and woman’s best friend is ill, our equilibrium is destroyed. All animals depend entirely on us to provide the regular care and attention they deserve.

Indefatigable, Peaches, chickens and farm cats all rightly demand the same unconditional love, affection and care. A fearful shroud smothers you when you begin to sense that you are losing that battle to preserve life and fear the ter rible consequences.

Cheltenham Tuesday is dawning and as usual Ku and I are awake way before the unnecessary alarm sounds at 5.45am. We both said that this day had a foreboding that was deeply unsettling – indeed, I fundamentally admit that I feared what it would bring. Outwardly, of course, the show goes on and we try to exude confidence and excitement at the prospect of success on our biggest stage. In reality there is this voracious, clawing concern eating away at any perceived state of calm.

I head off to Cheltenham with too many scenarios of var ied outcomes spinning around in my head. Tradition thank fully prevails that I meet up with some very best friends for a quick lunch at the Plough at Ford. Even this wonderful ‘lull in hostilities’ is punctuated by worrying updates about Peaches. Time to face the music now, so onward through Winchcombe and then down the magnificent escarpment that leads into the amphitheatre of Prestbury Park.

I get the phone call I’m dreading at 2pm. Ku has to tell me that Peaches has deteriorated quickly and ‘things’ can’t wait until 7pm, when I’ll be home to help. How can I not be there to help Peaches in her most vital instant, after the 14

INFUL OF LANDINGS

loving years she has given to us all? Nothing will fix this moment, but Indefatigable still has the chance to slightly lighten this day.

Everything pre-race looks cool. Indefatigable is tow ing Jack Cater around the preliminaries in her customary way. Rex has his plan and the race unfolds just so perfectly that you think Moses had carved it into stone thousands of years ago. Never has ‘Mary’ travelled so close to the pace and so eas ily as she approaches the second last hurdle.

The only problem is that she has never approached this hurdle at such speed before, nor met it on such a long, in be tween, nothing of a stride. She goes for it as she knows she has to at this stage of a championship race, but doesn’t quite get there, catching the top of the hurdle on her descent and

having the worst type of hurdling fall imaginable. Her full weight of 460kg, travelling at 35mph, lands on her neck and she somersaults, bring down the second favourite and Rachael Blackmore. We have all witnessed this type of fall before and often seen the terrible consequences. To see both horses and jockeys somehow get to their feet is unbelievable, like a bril liant rainbow against the darkest of skies.

Indefatigable canters sensibly back past us to the winning post, where Jack meets her and leads her back.

As far as we can tell immediately, she looks none too bad, except for grass, mud, a few cuts and no doubt plenty of bruising to come. Somehow thankfully she will fight another day, and knowing her she is probably already looking forward to it. Cheltenham is over for us, as our single bullet has

missed the target. This is no time to dwell, so we leave the Cheltenham battlefield to be fought over by the massed how itzers of the mega-stables and everyone else.

Not a time for celebratory drinks nor the drowning of sor rows, but straight to the car for a solitary, reflective drive home. I had dug a grave for the irreplaceable Peaches four days before, right next to her dear friend Pasha in a lovely peaceful wood amongst the daffodils. We’ve all been so lucky to have a ‘Peaches’, that special character who pierces our soul.

Lord, give me strength to somehow cope with these vicis situdes of life, be strong enough to comfort my family and to finish this day. Tomorrow we have to be ready again to con front these ‘slings and arrows of outrageous fortune’. Roll on Aintree, Punchestown or even Southwell! n

Paul Webber is busy preparing for Cheltenham 2023 at his Oxfordshire yard

Annie Power 2015 Mares’ Hurdle

After Willie Mullins and Ruby Walsh rattled off a treble on Tuesday at the Festival in 2015, Annie Power was a warm order to bring up a fabulous fourfold for the pair. With the race at her mercy, she fell at the last in one of the most dramatic moments in Festival history. Annie had the last laugh, though, storming up the hill to win the Champion Hurdle the following season.

Cue Card 2016 Cheltenham Gold Cup

Having already won the Betfair Chase and the King George that season, Cue Card was bidding to become the rst horse since the great Kauto Star to land the Staying Chase Triple Crown. With racing immortality within touching distance, he came down three fences from home when still travelling best of all in the blue riband.

Benie Des Dieux 2019 Mares’ Hurdle

Flashbacks to 2015 Odds-on favourite Benie Des Dieux was still going well when four lengths in front at the last in the 2019 Mares’ Hurdle. In staggeringly similar fashion to her stablemate just four years prior, she crumpled on landing at the nal ight to send shockwaves around Prestbury Park. She’d go out on her shield the following year at the Festival when just being touched off by superstar mare Honeysuckle in a pulsating nish.

Goshen 2020 Triumph Hurdle

Gary Moore’s only Festival contender in 2020 looked destined to be a winner as Goshen tanked through the race in Friday’s opener to lead by 12 lengths approaching the last. In a remarkably unfortunate turn of events, he clipped the top bar at the nal ight, bundling his way through it before unshipping jockey Jamie Moore with the Triumph Hurdle at his mercy.

Galopin Des Champs

2022 Novices’ Chase Willie Mullins’ star novice chaser was about to deliver the most devastating performance of this year’s Festival in Thursday’s opener. He led the highly regarded Bob Olinger by 12 widening lengths when arriving at the nal fence. His overexuberance cost him, however, as he buckled on landing after the last with the race all but won. Make no mistake, Galopin will be back. His performance that day already has him as the 4-1 jointfavourite for next year’s Gold Cup…

suffered the Festival’s vicissitudes both on and off the course

FESTIVAL FALLERS Looking back at those horses to have come unstuck at Cheltenham

The rumours are true, I gather. Fitzdares are dashing into inter national waters, and I couldn’t approve more of their destination. Toronto is a wonderful city, full of the American vibrancy but without the vulgarity. Excuse me if I sound a little overbearing, but please do allow me to share a few tasty local morsels.

Canadians, are, to a person, the most polite and charming people on this planet. But here’s the good bit: they also have a wicked sense of humour, brim with culture, and (not to offend their neighbours) they grasp irony. One thing to remember is that Canadians love experiences. They would much rather climb a mountain and open a bottle of Krug than swan around Michelinstarred restaurants. As such, I’ve tempered my day in Toronto accordingly.

Stay

In my book I recommend the FAIRMONT ROYAL YORK . While it’s a fine hotel and the grande dame of the city, I recently changed the habit of lifetime and stayed at the spanking new ‘1 HOTEL’. For one reason alone: HARRIET’S ROOFTOP, a stunning place that serves excellent margaritas and wagyu tacos. The rooms have the polish of a new hotel, and you’d describe them as ‘international min imalist cosy’, if that’s such a thing. I stayed in the Cedar House suite, which has a very deep bath and a drinks trolley – surely the answer to everything!

Breakfast

I’m not one for a destination breakfast when I travel. Bacon, pancakes and maple syrup in bed go down rather well, best accompanied by a tasty view of Lake Ontario.

Morning

Once you’ve washed behind the ears, it’s probably a good idea to ease into the day. The ART GALLERY OF ONTARIO (AGO) is a splendid spot and, like London, is relatively quiet in the morning. Although the gallery is outstandingly woke, it being a) a gallery and b) Canadian, you can still rummage through the forced modernity and find yourself in front of a masterpiece in Rubens’ Massacre of the Innocents. It’s worth a good 20 minutes of reflection on its utter brilliance. As you know, there are two types of people: those who shop in the morning and those after lunch. The latter is foolish; the former knows how build up an appetite. You will know the WEBSTER from South Beach and Palm Beach, and this newly opened outpost is just as special, like being housed in a giant pink house in the chic Yorkville neighbourhood. For those who haven’t been, it’s basically Colette or DSM with a sense of humour.

The rooftop at the 1 Hotel is literally one of Toronto's highlights

TORONTO DIARY

by William Wolfe

Lunch

This is the easiest call of the day: it has to be the dim-sum in Chinatown. Except I’m lazy and don’t want to walk from the Webster, so I head over to DYNASTY, just a gentle two-minute stroll. It isn’t chic, but it’s bloody good. As ever with dim-sum, it’s best to over-order, complain and then eat everything anyway.

Down time

From Dynasty I would head over to the DETOX MARKET on Yonge, a modern apothecary with lots of nice things to take back to the hotel and pour in the bath. While there, it’s worth having a stroll around Yonge Street, between Cres cent Road and Woodlawn Avenue – there are plenty of great shops and you’ll kill time elegantly while walking off the dim-sum.

Sport

Time for some BLUE JAYS action. Yes, the MAPLE LEAFS are Toronto’s biggest draw but there’s something wonderful about catching a ‘ball game in the city. Especially when there's a chance to watch a Canadian team beat the southerly neighbours at their own game. The atmosphere is fun, vibrant and a far cry from the ruffian behaviour you might find at Stamford Bridge. The only won derful thing they have in common is my favourite colour: blue.

Pre-dinner

A wander around the ROUNDHOUSE is worth the effort when you’re trying to whet the appetite. It’s now a railway museum and park, but I’d ditch the railway.

Dinner

It’s not really fair of me to nominate just the one place for dinner! King Street West is the mecca for restaurants but to avoid boring you, a few of my favourites are GIULIA (a very slick Italian that looks like it was designed by John Pawson), 20 VICTORIA (a stellar Canadian restaurant, loved by locals), MIMI CHINESE (a sort of Hakkasan), MANITA (hipster café – good for lunch), GUSTO 501 (sexy Italian), TERRONI PRICE ST (an excellent chain of Italians, this being the best), POMPETTE (casual and French, my personal favourite), and ALOBAR (cocktails, lobster and steak – almost, dare I say, American?).

Late night

This is Canada, everyone is in bed by the time you finish your main course. n

William Wolfe’s book is available to buy from fitzdares.com/shop for £14.99.

As ever with dim-sum, it’s best to over-order, complain and then eat everything anyway.

THE FITZDARES CLUB has opened a second location, Naunton Downs in the Cotswolds. The Club is based at Ben Pauling’s training yard with a stunning 18-hole golf course for members to play. All Fitzdares Club members have access to both the Mayfair and Cotwolds clubs, as well as the pop-ups at Royal Windsor and the Cheltenham Festival.

louisa@

SOME GUYS GET ALL THE BREAKS

THEY SAY NOTHING GOOD EVER HAPPENS after midnight. I’d like to disagree. The most epic 24 hours of my life began just a few minutes into the early hours of 16 May 2007. I’d been invited to a black-tie event at Goodwood House by Sir Colin Cowdrey’s son, Graham, a lovely man who sadly isn’t with us any more. It was a big charity evening in honour of the late, great snooker player Paul Hunter. The evening was held in the magnificent Egyptian Room with some stunning Tutankhamun artefacts on show.

Graham had pre-warned me to bring my snooker cue as there was going to be an auction to play a special frame in that room against the legendary John Higgins, who had just been crowned world champion. Thank God Graham had given me the tip-off

At the dinner, although I had one eye on the snooker bid, I had another trained on an absolute stunner from Home and Away, who was sitting one away from me on the table. Un fortunately, we were separated by a Chris Hemsworth-type Adonis, with a chiselled jaw and all the rest. Although I look like the back end of a bus, her attention seemed to all be on me. From that moment on, I was buzzing. I had this feeling it was going to be a good night.

When the auction began, I’d decided that nothing was going to stop me winning the lot. After dinner, we decamped from the ballroom into the Egyptian Room, where 75 people crowded around the table, including former world champions Shaun Murphy and Steve Davis, with John Virgo and Bobby Davro on the commentary. Everyone was tanked up and the atmosphere was electric. I should have been terrified, but in stead I had the bit between my teeth.

John Higgins was my second favourite player (after Alex Higgins), so this was a serious honour for me to even be sharing a table with him. I used to play a bit as a kid, so it was game on. Once we started, I couldn’t miss. I was knocking them in off the lampshades. I had a 30-odd break and every time I had a safety shot, I nailed it. There was all sorts of ban

ter and giggles from the sidelines, with the commentators jok ing that I was like Tintin on an adventure.

As the game slowly unfurled, I was within potting distance of a win. Then something happened that I’ll remember for the rest of my life. There was a long green, along the length of the table. I said to John, loud enough so that the crowd could hear: “If you had any dignity and you were in my local club, you’d have conceded by now.” He looked up and replied: “I tell you what: if you pot that green, I will do.”

I bent over and the green hit the pocket so hard it al most put a hole through it. All 75 people in the crowd stood up and cheered. He then came up to me, put his cue on the table, hugged me and said: “I really enjoyed that – you’re a great player.” At that exact moment, I just wanted to pull my trousers down and stick to the floor. I called my dad immedi ately. I was ecstatic. The clock had already struck midnight.

Time was now ticking on my 24 hours of madness.

I walked back to the room with my silver cue case sparkling against the midnight glow, high as a kite on excitement. The next morning I got up at 6am, having agreed to ride out for Gary Moore. We did two or three bits or work with Jamie, Josh, and Ryan all there too. It was an amazing way to kick-start the day, and then I headed to Fontwell for the afternoon racing.

I did an interview with Zoey Bird before the first race, with the focus on my horse Dusky Warbler in the big novice chase. She’d caught wind of my evening with John Higgins and soon the story was spreading around the parade ring. My endorphins were flying, and the stars were aligning. Brewing with confidence, I went and placed a rather significant bet on Dusky Warbler.

Despite the horse jumping like a piano all the way round, Jamie gave him the perfect ride and they just got up by the shortest of heads. We’d landed on the right side of a tantalis ing two-minute photo, beating AP McCoy on the second favourite. Dusky Warbler went off 11/10, having been backed in from 7/4 – that might tell you the size of the bet!

For those few hours, it just felt like I couldn’t miss. The interviewer then asked if I was around for an after-party back in London, but I turned down the invitation. I was a man on a mission and my third and final hurdle was a date with a lady I’d been really excited about seeing again. I swiftly dashed off to London in my blue Lamborghini, with the win ner’s trophy in the passenger seat and my cue case by my side.

I got back and headed straight out to meet her; a beauty known as ‘Frenchie’. We had an incredible dinner, laughing all the way through the evening, before I turned to her and asked if she’d come back to mine for a coffee. By the time we’d had our first brew, the clock hadn’t yet struck midnight. My 24 hours in paradise was wrapped up in a haze of love. Fifteen years later, we’re still together. n

Rodger Sargent is a keen snooker player and racehorse owner.

Rodger Sargent recalls the day when everything clicked, from the baize to the babes and betting circle

John Higgins has won four World Championships

WINTER WARMERS

Mark Pougatch looks ahead to a World Cup with a difference and finds a raft of live contenders

Brazil 5/1 France 6/1 England 6/1 Spain 17/2 Argentina 9/1 Germany 10/1 Belgium 12/1 Netherlands 12/1

JUST REMIND ME : why is the World Cup being held in the winter? How many times have you heard that cry as we approach the summer? This year’s World Cup is entering uncharted territory for the game and is going to throw up some very specific issues. The Premier League season will stop after the weekend of 12-13 November, the World Cup starts just barely a week later on 21 November, and after the final on 18 December, the Premier League players will be back in action on Boxing Day.

You can just imagine the worries of the international managers watching their players in domestic action in the autumn, knowing that any injury is likely to throw their World Cup prepara tions into meltdown given there’s so little wriggle room for recovery.

ENGLAND

Where are England now? On the positive side, there’s a connection with the public these days that’s authentic and affectionate. Gareth Southgate’s greatest achievement may yet be re-establishing that link between a nation desperate for success and a group of players who’ve successfully left their club rivalries at the door. If you’ve watched England close up as long as I have, you will know that’s not always been the case.

But no amount of the fans singing, “Southgate, you’re the one” or the players taking on the media at darts is going materially to affect what happens on a football pitch. England’s strengths remain what they were last summer: Harry Kane’s goals, Raheem Sterling’s reliability, Jordan Pickford’s late-season form, a plethora of right backs, the brio of Phil Foden and Mason Mount.

The question marks, though, are also the same. Can England keep the ball smartly enough in midfield? Are they mature enough to keep probing even if they’re in the lead? Witness how they dropped deeper and deeper in the Euro 2020 final after taking that early lead, inviting Italy to take the initiative. And, most

significantly for the England head coach, what to do about his centre backs? Harry Maguire has never let England down but has endured a horrendous season at Manchester United. His relationship with John Stones has been the cornerstone of the England XI and the alternatives, good players though they are, lack either genuine conviction or experience at international level. It all adds up to England being a serious live contender in Qatar, but maybe not in the top bracket of favourites.

FRANCE

Chief among those from Europe have to be the defending champions. They lost their way in the Euros against Switzerland and threw the game away, which seemed to trigger a chaotic falling-out among the players.

Kylian Mbappé was horribly off colour that night, but that scar seems to have healed and this French team look as if they have all the component parts – and more – to be feared this winter.

Karim Benzema’s stellar form for Real Madrid will have glad dened Didier Deschamps’ heart and there is such strength in depth in French football at the moment with some incredible young talent pushing hard for a World Cup place like William Saliba, Mattéo Guendouzi, Aurélien Tchouaméni and Eduardo Camavinga. The Cockerel has every right to have a little strut in its stride.

SPAIN

Spain will be fascinating. After the fading of the Golden Generation (theirs actually won plenty), the Spanish marked time before the latest batch put the world on notice at the Euros.

Watching them up close at Wembley in the semi-final against Italy, I couldn’t help but feel they’re just a proper goalscorer away from being a major threat again. The way they kept the ball in their midfield was so impressive, particularly when you bear in mind two of them have only just cut their mother’s apron strings: Pedri, who bossed that semi-final, is only now 19 and his

Barcelona teammate Gavi, 17. If Álvaro Morata, Ferran Torres or Gerard Moreno can regularly find the back of the net,

GERMANY

Of the rest of the European nations, Germany are roughly sixth favou rites. Hansi Flick’s stick of rock inevitably has the name of Bayern Munich running through it, and they may well benefit from not being talked up as much as usual.

Thomas Müller, Kai Havertz, Leroy Sané and Serge Gnabry are all established attacking names very familiar to us, and the dashing Marco Reus has been given the chance to play his way to Qatar. Toni Rüdiger will set the

tone for their defence and only a fool would write them off completely – don’t expect Müller to miss again like he did at Wembley against England on that memorable afternoon.

NETHERLANDS & BELGIUM

The Dutch will be immeasurably better for the return of Virgil van Dijk – they will need his calmness and belief as much as anything after their horrible implosion at the Euros. Meanwhile, it’s surely the last chance for their neighbours Belgium to win something with their brilliant group of players.

My question mark over them has always been about their defence. They threw away a twogoal lead to lose the Nations League final to France, but if they can keep the genius Kevin de Bruyne fit and Romelu Lukaku is focused and firing they’ll always pose a threat – especially if Eden Hazard relocates his mojo.

BRAZIL

It’s 20 years now since a South American country won the World Cup, O Fenomeno Ronaldo’s goals winning Brazil’s fifth title in Yokohama. Brazil are the current favourites, having scored almost three goals a game during their unbeaten romp through qualifying. Coach Tite can choose either of the Premier League’s best two goalkeepers in Ederson or Allison; the defence is built around Marquinhos of PSG; Real Madrid’s Casemiro and Fabinho give them structure in midfield; and then up front the options stack up excitingly.

This is probably Neymar’s last shot at global glory and he’ll have support from the wonderfully elusive and scintillating Vinícius Júnior. Brazil have underwhelmed since that 2002 triumph. It’s high time the Seleção lived up to the reputation of their famous jerseys.

ARGENTINA

Argentina sit between Spain and Germany in the betting (and after England) and they too were unbeaten in South American qualifying. After a forgettable season with PSG, Lionel Messi will be looking forward to a fifth World Cup with a crop of exciting young players.

Emi Martinez and Cristian Romero have shown how good they are in the Premier League, there’s plenty of experience in players like Ángel di María, and aggression and goals up front in the Serie A pair of Paulo Dybala and Lautaro Martínez. I don’t expect them to win the World Cup, but they’re always the toughest of opponents.

SO THE GLOBAL FOOTBALL calendar marches to a very different beat this year. It will be odd to be gearing up for the world’s best come November, but it will be dark early, the wind will be howling outside and the rain teeming down, and there will be World Cup football on the television for company. That can’t be all bad! n

Mark Pougatch presents ITV’s football coverage.

the Spanish will be on the charge again.

There’s a connection with the public these days that’s authentic and affectionate

Harry Herbert and Highclere have been rewarding the faith of their syndicate owners with a stream of winners for 30 years. What is their secret?

Rory Fairfax f inds out from the man himself

Highclere value every pound spent. The 185,000 guineas they laid down for Harbinger wasn’t an overspend; it was recognising talent and having the conviction to go for it. Although, as Harry said, “It wasn’t just that the stars aligned but also that my brother-in-law [John Warren] really wanted him. We just rolled the dice.”

Their track record, however, suggests this was anything but a gamble. Harbinger went on to win the King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot by 11 lengths, en route to becoming the world’s

missed opportunity without too much regret. Now to the future, and what lies in store over the next 30 years. It is, of course, a quintessentially British operation, but Harry sees their future becoming increasingly more international, especially if the right opportunities pop up: “It is incredibly exciting to have a horse at the Breeders’ Cup and we’ve bene there four times, finishing fourth with Telescope and fourth with Cachet. We’ve also won a German Guineas, as well as Group races in both France and Ireland.”

GENEROUS

JOHN AND JAKE WARREN are the best bloodstock agents in the world. That’s the view from up high – or rather, up at Highclere, where Harry Herbert is the man whose words matter most. His syndicate is now celebrating 30 years of banging in winners. He wouldn’t put it that way himself, but the proof is very much in the pudding.

Their front-running 1000 Guineas success with the George Boughey-trained Cachet in May was Highclere’s seventh British Classic and the final piece of the five-part jigsaw. Not to mention the 37 Group 1 wins across Europe, as well as 24 per cent of all their syndicates having black type success. As Harry says, their track record speaks for itself. Statistical gains, however, are not their modus operandi

“When I started, the whole point was to get multiple ownership as close as possible to sole ownership, and to provide a fantastic level of personal service,” he explains. “Essentially, we aim to make Highclere a personal manager to each shareholder.”

This is a high bar to set, but Harry rarely fails to fill the syndicates. Clearly, prospective owners are willing to pay for a top level of service, and it does come at a cost. With a maximum of 12 people to a syndicate, a buy-in is often five figures. That raises the question: how can Harry guarantee the owners will get a real bang for their buck?

“Communication is our lifeblood. We’re using the best trainers, people who understand how important it is to keep the owners up to date. George [Boughey] is a perfect example. Ever since his days as Hugo Palmer’s assistant, I’ve always been seriously impressed by not just his talent but also his attitude. We teamed up with him in his second full year and he had 87 winners. He is really on it, comms-wise, sending regular videos and photos. Faultless. And he’s proven he can train a horse.”

It’s not just Boughey who lives up to Harry’s proven standards. He namechecks

Roger Varian, William Haggas, Mark Johnston, Charlie Fellowes, Karl Burke, Kevin Ryan and Andrew Balding as his go-to trainers – people who understand horses but also, more importantly, understand people.

Highclere don’t just rely on their trainers to make a good impression, though. Harry rolls out the red carpet to prospective clients right from the off, starting with two big days at Highclere to showcase the horses. This gives the owners some time to feast on the Warrens’ impressive knowledge base over three courses and a few glasses of champagne.

Once an owner has committed, that’s when the real fun starts. Access to Highclere’s boxes at Newbury and York, on top of Ascot picnics and Jockey Club lunches, make horse ownership an immersive experience. In Harry’s own words, “Everything is taken care of. Owning a horse with us is a hassle-free involvement.” That’s the selling process, then. So, what’s the buying like?

highest-rated horse in 2010.

“Every single horse we buy must tick all the boxes. Their physicality is the absolute first thing. Then their side-on profile, how the horse’s hind leg sits, their head and shoulder outlook. That’s what John and Jake really mind about. Above all, however, is movement. We would never buy a horse that struggles to walk. They must be freeflowing and athletic. And it’s not just about the fastest time – it’s perhaps about how the horse gallops out or even how it behaves after the breeze. There’s lots of different… moving parts, shall we say.”

They don’t always get it right. Much like when Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger claimed to have missed out on both Messi and Ronaldo, Highclere have had similar experiences – not always on their own terms, though. “Yes, we’ve missed out on loads of superstars to people who have a lot more money than we do.” And what of the superstars that weren’t overly expensive?

Interest in the syndicate has also come from abroad, with some Chinese owners taking an interest in Highclere among the obvious backdrop of Downton Abbey, which was as much a hit in China as it was in the UK. “I got to know Hugh Bonneville very well during filming. He then came into a few horses, which was fantastic, and he really enjoyed it.” While Harry is keen to stress that the castle is very much his brother and sister-in-law’s business, he does concede: “There’s no question it would open a door.”

NOT THAT HIGHCLERE need doors opening, especially when they’ve won 10 races at Royal Ascot, better than any other independent syndicate operation in the country.

“We all go out and look at as many yearlings as we can, looking at their pedigrees and sires among other things. I’m talking hundreds and hundreds each year. Eventually, we whittle them down to a very, very short list, which then goes off to the vets. It’s a very intense process. We can go off a horse even before it goes in the ring, as we know each one intimately. We are extremely picky. When it comes down to it, I’m not frightened to go over whatever our budget might be.”

It might come as a surprise to hear Harry refer to a budget, given they’ve spent £40,498,602 on horses over their 30 years, as advertised on their website. However, it comes across from Harry very clearly that

“The one that really sticks in my mind was when I called up Richard Hannon asking if there was one that we could look at. I went round to have a snoop and narrowed it down to a colt and a filly, both £50,000. We tend to favour colts, so I said: ‘We’ll take him.’ Richard came back to me: ‘What’s wrong with the filly?’ I said: ‘Nothing, but we’ll take the colt.’ He paused for a second and then said something that really got me thinking: ‘OK, Harry, well I’ll keep a leg in that filly. I think she’ll win the Queen Mary at Royal Ascot.’

“At that point, we had to pass on the colt and take the filly instead. Lo and behold, the colt turned out to be Canford Cliffs, who went on to be sold to Coolmore for £7 million. Big error. Huge. I remember seeing him work for the first time. The rest is history. But everyone has those stories, I suppose. That’s the game.”

Over the course of 30 years, stories like this are inevitable. It’s a sign of how comfortable Highclere are with their track record, that Harry can reminisce on a

“We are hungry for winners there and we’re fully aware that we are under the spotlight for those five days.” With roughly 30 per cent of their Royal Ascot runners having finished in the first four places, things have gone pretty well, especially when you can count on Her Majesty’s blessing on one special occasion.

“I came up with the name Heritage for one of our horses, only to find that it been reserved by none other than the Queen. I asked my dad, who was her racing manager at the time, whether he could find the time to ask her if she would release the name. Quite rightly, he told me to do my own dirty business and write a letter – so that’s what I did.

“Unbelievably, by return, she wrote back giving her permission and wishing us the best of luck with the horse. He then went on to win the King George V Handicap with Frankie doing the flying dismount – it was an unbelievable moment. Our first ever Royal Ascot winner.” The way things are going with Highclere under Harry’s guidance, there’ll be at least another 30 years of Royal Ascot winners. n

Fairfax is editor of the Fitzdares Times.

Rory

‘It’s a very intense process. We can go off a horse even before it goes in the ring, as we know each one intimately.’

PORTIONS

Cachet’s impressive 1000 Guineas triumph in May gave Highclere their seventh British Classic win

BLOOD ON THE GRASS

WHAT’S THE POINT of Wimbledon without any points? The fact that we’re even asking that question after the decision by the ATP and WTA (the players’ unions) to withdraw ranking points from the world’s most prestigious tournament poses an even bigger question about how sport sees itself in the world at large, and perhaps more importantly, how the rest of the world sees sport.

Amid all the furore over the past month about Wimbledon deciding to deny Russian and Belarussian players access to SW19 this summer, I’ve had CLR James’ famous line, “what do they know of cricket who only cricket know?”, floating around in my head.

James was a Trinidadian historian, a political activist, and also a cricket obsessive whose book Beyond a Boundary is considered by many to be the greatest sports book ever written.

He writes about cricket in the context of its relationship with society, history and politics, because sport can never be divorced from all other aspects of life.

And that is the point that the players’ unions seem to be missing in

their response to what is undeniably a very difficult situation in which – from a tennis point of view – there are no winners. Why have two of the last three Winter Olympics been staged in Sochi in Russia, and in Beijing, where they barely have any snow? It wasn’t to promote curling to a global audience, that’s for sure. Why is the FIFA World Cup in Qatar this winter? Why is Saudi money flooding into golf? Because sport, as George Orwell said, ‘is war minus the shooting’. It’s a way of engineering public opinion: of exercising power and influence.

So how can sport stand up to its manipulation by international powers whose financial clout is such that, on the basis that everyone has a price, they are happy to pay whatever it takes to mould the world as it sees fit?

Well, just occasionally it can. And that is what Wimbledon did. The All England Club certtainly did not want ‘representatives’ of two pariah nations potentially winning its biggest prizes on an English lawn at the height of an English summer and that image being shown round the world, knocking off the front pages images of bombings and carnage in Ukraine,

thereby showing those two countries (albeit briefly) in a more positive light. So the question then for the ATP and WTA was how to respond. Tricky. But whatever the response, surely the first line of any statement, written in bold type, should have been an outright condemnation of the invasion. Not self-serving comments about “discrimination based on nationality constitutes a violation of our agreement with Wimbledon” etc.

BUT FOR ALL THE misplaced bluster, they do have a valid point. According to some sources there are up to 40 ‘wars’ going on in the world at the moment, and although most of those nations don’t have major sports stars playing on the international stage, once you’ve started down this road, where do you stop? And yet… And yet…

Wimbledon will go ahead this year, and if a number of players choose to opt out of the tournament, they, and not the AELTC, will be the losers. As Andy Murray wrote so succinctly, he knows who wins the Masters at Augusta but has no idea how many

ranking points they win. Steve Davis reportedly never knew how much money or how many ranking points his zillions of snooker tournament victories had secured. As those famous trophies are presented on Centre Court, the winners’ names will not be accompanied by an asterisk. In that respect, the ATP and WTA wanting to be seen, for obvious reasons, to be standing up for their members is the emptiest of gestures.

But equally, you might argue that Wimbledon is just one tournament in a year-long merry-go-round, and that the club’s stance is equally ‘pointless’, meaningless in the wider context once normal service is resumed – and as the season continues, Russian players win while the bombs continue to drop.

Sometimes, though, all of us in sport have to take a wider view, and consider CLR James. He wrote his book in 1963, just after the Cuban Missile crisis. Nearly 60 years on, and in arguably a comparable situation, perhaps the question for all of us is: what do they know of tennis who only tennis know? n

John Inverdale is our tennis Ambassador and a broadcaster for ITV and the BBC.

Sport, as George Orwell said, ‘is war minus the shooting’

There are no winners in the row over Wimbledon’s political intervention – but sometimes sport simply has to take a principled stance, says John Inverdale

Europe’s Premier source of

NATIVE TRAIL

WALL OF FAME

After

bookmaker in Lancashire, inherited a love of racing from an early age. He was a keen racehorse owner, with his biggest success coming when landing a big pot at Redcar in 1968. His Hollywood lifestyle led him to become close to some of the sport’s biggest names and he duly snapped up breeding rights for American Triple Crown winner Seattle Slew. In 2019, Master Trainer John Gosden trained Finney’s namesake to win at Wolverhampton and paid tribute to his old pal, describing him as a “force of nature”.

lm

one

“gorgeous”

the time

come

back to his

room – but then the Doctor Zhivago star was

when the young woman rejected his advances. Upset, he headed straight for the roulette table, placing all his money on one number three consecutive times. Astonishingly, on each spin the number landed, breaking the bank and forcing the table to close. A quick count the following day revealed that he’d pocketed a cool $1.16 million (more than $9 million in today’s currency). Perhaps not the way he’d intended, but Sharif de nitely got lucky that night.

O’Toole de nitely took the ‘work hard, play hard’ mantra literally. He was a close friend of Omar Sharif during the 1960s and the pair would regularly play cards in Beirut while on set for the lm Lawrence of Arabia

Many famous gures have enjoyed a punt over the years, but none more so than our chosen 10 who have made it onto the wall of the Fitzdares Club’s Racing Room

CUBBY BROCCOLI He’s famous for bringing Ian Fleming’s quintessentially British spy to life on screen through the James Bond lms, but Broccoli loved the casino. It was his way of winding down, a means of relaxing. Perhaps his best bet, though, came in 1959. Ultimately, he bet on himself to launch his now famous production company EON, an acronym for Everything or Nothing, perfectly summing up his all-in approach.

OMAR SHARIF By his own admission, Sharif “lost millions of dollars gambling”, but he did win big

night in Italy.

he spent most of the evening with a

young Italian woman during a

promo event,

had

for the pair to head

hotel

shocked

greatest passions – but it was his love of Flat racing that really shone through, and he’d regularly y in for the Epsom Derby in June. Crosby was also a keen racehorse owner, owning 1965 Derby runner up Meadow Court. He went one better than Epsom in the Irish Derby that year, whereby Crosby promptly serenaded the winner’s enclosure at the Curragh with a gleeful rendition of When Irish Eyes Are Smiling. His star colt would go on to land the King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes later that season.

That’s how Jordan summed up his punting habits… and if you’ve seen The Last Dance on Net ix, you’ll know all about that! From playing cards in high school to winning money on the pool table during his college days, MJ would even wager with his team mates on whose luggage would arrive at the airport terminal rst. Nowadays, he enjoys taking his pals for a few quid on the golf course, with fellow NBA Hall of Famer Charles Barkley, explaining that he often plays for up to $100,000 a hole!

proof that gambling is not just a man’s game. She owned some of National Hunt racing’s most illustrious horses, including vetime Cheltenham Gold Cup winner Golden Miller, but was perhaps more famous for her eccentric gambling behaviour. As well as betting upwards of £10,000 on her horses in the mid to late 1950s (more than £320,000 in today’s money), she also struck a unique arrangement with bookmakers to bet on racing that had already taken place. If that doesn’t perfectly illustrate the relationship of trust between punter and bookmaker, we don’t know what will!

great hobbies, but it was his novel from 1968, The Beastly Beatitudes of Balthazar B, that was responsible for the etymology of Fitzdares. Our chairman, Balthazar Fabricius –named after the protagonist in the novel – went on to name the business after Balthazar B’s former lover, Miss Elizabeth Fitzdare, almost 40 years later. For that reason alone, Donleavy will forever be etched in our history, with his legacy living on in the Club’s Racing Room.

attracted him to betting. Naturally, bookmakers became a huge part of the artist’s life throughout the 1980s and he developed a great friendship with legendary bookmaker Victor Chandler. Over the years, Freud amassed signi cant debts from his gambling habits and would often use his masterpieces to appease his creditors, most notably Charlie McLean. Despite reportedly being owed nearly £3 million, it was McLean who had the last laugh, with Freud’s treasure trove collection that was left to him worth a rumoured £100 million!

uence on Fitzdares dates back to 2008. He’d been asked by Manoj Badale to captain the Rajasthan Royals in the inaugural IPL. He agreed on the condition that he’d have complete control over the coaching of the team. Despite their ‘outsiders’ tag at 16/1, the Royals had proved popular among punters, representing our biggest loser in the book. Having lost their rst game, Warne famously kicked an unnamed team-mate off the team bus owing to his lack of commitment to the cause, driving home the message that only maximum effort would be accepted. This was a pivotal turning point as Rajasthan, buoyed by an enhanced sense of cohesiveness went on to win their 14 of their next 16 games to be crowned champions, costing us a startling six- gure sum in the process!

PITCHING IDEAS

and have sold out every single game since their first season. The league plays a twist on normal baseball, with the game sped up to create more drama and excitement. Despite their two league titles, the Bananas are defined by their undeniable X-factor. Back flips, trick shots, dance routines and playing on stilts are what draw in the crowds. Not to mention the vibrant colour of the whole spectacle. It’s Bananas. Now, six years later, they are starting to take off in the public eye, with roughly 2.5 million viewers on TikTok. Move over, Disneyland, Bananaland is here.

It’s not just cheap gimmicks that they use to shake things up, either. They have an all-male cheerleader team, a senior citizen dance squad and a breakdancing coach. All three are breaking boundaries of varying degrees, and while there’s no hidden political message, you can’t help but feel we all need a bit of their energy in our lives. Cole isn’t using entertainment to make up for anything; he’s using it to enhance the sport. There can be no cynical laughing at that. It’s innovation and it’s working. Oh, and the entry ticket covers everything, from your hotdog to your hot seat. If anything, that’s just makes life easier.

Above all, however, the team is competitive. This isn’t the Harlem Globetrotters going on a vanity tour – they play to win, and that’s where this mix becomes interesting. They’ve won more games than any team in the league since they joined. It’s not a case of being entertaining or being competitive – the Savannah Bananas are having their cake and eating it. And so are the fans.

Now, let’s spin all this around, play devil’s advocate and take an American perspective on British sports. Well, there’s too much play-acting and time-wasting in soccer, too many strange rules in rugby, and boy, isn’t cricket just the slowest… game… ever? Five days to finish a match… and it still ends in a draw.

By Rory Fairfax

SOCCERTAINMENT, MONSTER TRUCKS and multi-ball were just a few of the ideas a Budweiser advert from the Noughties jokingly threw at its British audience, with the reassuring pay-off: “You do the football, we’ll do the beer.” It worked, and we laughed, because deep down that’s what a lot of us in this country think of American sports. Smoke and mirrors and celebs and kiss-cam. Anything to distract the viewers from the fact that we don’t find their sports that interesting. People complain that they’re either too slow or complex (NFL), with nothing much at stake in the game (NBA), or there are just far too many matches (MLB). 208 million people didn’t watch this year’s Super Bowl so they could see a couple of sacks, a touchdown or a third-down interception. It was the Real Slim Shady, Snoop Dogg and some crazy pyrotechnics. Or, rather, multi-pyrotechnictainment.

At this point, you’re either nodding along because you’ve heard it all before or shaking your head because you think I don’t get American sports. Both are probably true. One thing I think

we can all agree on, though, is that baseball really is dull. The most exciting thing to happen to the sport is a two-minute clip from Moneyball where Brad Pitt (playing Oakland As general manager Billy Beane) lives out the ultimate office fantasy –wait for it – by telling his colleagues he knows better than them. Using numbers and rhetoric. Real saucy.

Ten years after that Budweiser advert, and entirely unrelated, Jesse Cole founded the Savannah Bananas. Yet if he were to see that advert now, he’d probably think: “Yeah, those are some cool ideas, why not?” Here’s a man who sees sport, above all, as a way of making someone smile.

The Savannah Bananas were born out of a dream to bring colour, spirit and above all entertainment to baseball, a sport that has seen floundering interest. Cole was obsessed with Disney, and wanted to tap into that free-spirited fun with baseball: “We’re not in the baseball business. We’re in the entertainment business.” And boy, are they entertaining.

They joined the Coastal Plain League in 2016

If you can’t fundamentally change the rules –and honestly, that’s quite tricky – why not embrace the Savannah Bananas’ vibe? Even if you do think cricket’s quirks are its charm (and I do), or that football is the best game in the world (and I do). Frankly, a bit of Savannah’s somethin’ somethin’ can’t hurt. Especially when you consider how many sports are clinging on for dear life in the UK, with low ticket sales and declining interest.

Let’s face it: not everyone going to a game is going to be mad about the actual sport on show. Football is an exception, of course. But other sports will need to find creative ways of filling seats or they’ll be heading for extinction. Darts has very much embraced chaos, while cricket is bending its way towards the Bananas, with T20 and now The Hundred. It’s inevitable that more sports will soon follow suit, little by little. And no, readers from the Jockey Club, that doesn’t mean booking Steps for a ‘post-racing DJ and dance set’.

If we learn just a little from the Savannah Bananas or American sports in general, it’s that other forms of entertainment work. We don’t have to take sport so seriously that we can’t have fun, or have so much fun that we don’t care. Let’s have both. Extra-time multi-ball perhaps not, though. n

On the eve of the Cheltenham Festival, our members joined us for the opening of the FITZDARES CLUB in the COTSWOLDS

Based at Naunton Downs Golf Club, our all-new home is right on the doorstep of National Hunt trainer Ben Pauling, who was even on hand to tip up Grand Annual Chase winner Global Citizen!

It was the perfect way to kick off the week before taking the Club ‘on tour’ again. We hosted our members at jump racing’s HQ for the rst time in two years with our Festival pop-up.

THE WORLD’S FINEST KEBAB VAN was a special guest at Stamford Bridge as we handed out delicious kebabs to fans outside the ground ahead of Chelsea’s clash with Manchester United.

WE LAUNCHED our af liate partners programme in front of the 2nd leg of Chelsea vs Real Madrid’s Champions League clash. Guests were treated to a night of action-packed drama in the football and the Club’s infamous horse’s neck martinis.

In December last year, Fitzdares the bookmaker also became Fitzdares the book maker. Having launched the Fitzdares Club in the heart of Mayfair, it was only a matter of time before we felt compelled to curate a de nitive list of all of London’s top spots for breakfast, lunch and supper. Enter WILLIAM WOLFE’S Guide To Excellent Living in London. Penned by Martin Williams, illustrated by Tug Rice and realised by our CEO William Woodhams whose lifelong ambition was to update Sir Francis Chichester’s 1960s guide the book is available to buy at tzdares.com/shop

STOCK OPTIONS

FITZ PERFECTLY is a striking twoyear-old dark bay lly by superstar sire No Nay Never, handpicked by Anthony Bromley and trained by Charlie Fellowes.

For just £75, you’ll get an equal split of all her potential future prize money, as well access to Charlie’s stable and the full owner’s race day experience.

Email tzdares@ oldgoldracing.com or visit oldgoldracing.com/ tz-perfectly to get your hoof in the door!

You’ve been in the game now for 30 years. Are there any specific characteristics that you watch out for in a horse when you’re looking to make a purchase?

Absolutely, 100 percent – the main thing in a horse is athleticism. Whether you’re buying a Flat sprinter or a Grand National prospect, he has to be an athlete. Their conformation is important and you try to have it as correct as possible because a horse needs to stay sound. Now, if you can get pedi gree and performance thrown into the mix as well, it’s a perfect combination, but the individual horse is the most important factor in the whole thing.

I’ve bought champions with absolutely no pedigree, but the crucial factor is finding an athlete that will stay sound. On the flip side of that, if a horse can’t walk correctly, if it’s not an athlete, I don’t want to buy it!

You boast an amazing track record over both codes. Who would you count as the best horse you’ve bought, through the ring or elsewhere?

Kauto Star, Big Buck’s, Long Run, Master Minded, Neptune Collonges were all bought privately. More recently, Shishkin is a pretty good example of one that I bought through a ring. He had a lot of

quality about him and had won his point-to-point in great style. Nicky Henderson loved him at the sale too, which obviously helped get him bought.

On the Flat, I’ve had Kingsgate Native, who was a Group 1 sprinter and a Royal Ascot winner. We picked him up for just £20,000. I suppose a more recent example would be Trueshan, last season’s European Champion Stayer. Alan King and I bought him for £31,000.

Fitzdares have teamed up with Old Gold Racing for our latest racehorse ownership venture. What was it specifically that caught your eye about Fitz Perfectly at the Doncaster sales?

She had a really fluid action during the breeze. She possesses a long stride, a great temperament and had a really nice action in the walk and in the trot after completing the breeze.

She didn’t necessarily strike me as a sprinting type, and that’s what everyone else was looking for at that particular auction. To be honest, that probably played into our hands a bit. It allowed us to buy such an attractive horse by a brilliant stallion in No Nay Never for the price we did. She didn’t look particularly precocious, but she was possibly in the wrong sale in the sense that she’s

going to be more of a miler-plus type. We’ve genuinely done really well to get her.

As for the future plans, it’s now very much down to the trainer. She’s in very capable hands with Charlie (Fellowes), but I’d envisage she’d be a seven- to eight-furlong filly towards the autumn and then make up into a really nice eight- to 10furlong filly next year.

She was a late foal, and she’s very much a two season-plus prospect. She’s definitely not just a onehit wonder and a very exciting prospect.

In your long career, there have been some terrific highs. Could you give us your top three proudest moments on a racecourse?

Kauto Star regaining the Gold Cup in 2009 was really special. No horse had done that before, and the way he came back to beat Denman was brilliant. Bristol De Mai landing a third Betfair Chase at Haydock for Simon (Munir) and Isaac (Souede) would be another one, but my son Ben Bromley riding his first ever point-to-point winner will always be right up there. He rode a horse called Vivaldi Collonges in my colours thet day. n

Henry Beesley is Fitzdares’ Content Executive.

We chew the cud with legendary bloodstock agent Anthony Bromley, who helped Fitzdares pick out our new filly at the Doncaster sales

From a council estate in Dagenham to the biggest sports promoter on the planet. Barry Hearn OBE truly has seen it all. In a career featuring several ‘sliding doors’ moments, the rst came in 1976 at an unassuming snooker club in Romford, Essex, where he met an aspiring snooker player by the name of Steve Davis. The rest, as they say, is history. Together, the pair were responsible for the snooker boom of the 1980s, turning the sport into a global phenomenon televised all over the world.

Following Davis’s rst world title in 1981, Hearn famously pronounced that it was “two guys from council estates conquering the world”. Little did we know that the best was still very much yet to come. The following year he founded Matchroom, the promotions powerhouse now synonymous with sports such as boxing, darts, pool and shing.

After conquering snooker, Hearn made the transition to boxing in the mid-1980s. His rst taste of the biggest stage came in 1987 when promoting the mega prize ght between Frank Bruno and Joe Bugner. He’d go on to represent some of the

biggest UK names in the history of the sport, including Nigel Benn, Chris Eubank and Lennox Lewis.

Darts was next, revolutionising a game whereby “fat chaps throwing arrows” has become one of the most watched sports in the UK, with the World Darts Championships a staple of any sports fans’ festive calendar. Hearn played a pivotal role in the careers of stars such as Eric Bristow and Phil ‘The Power’ Taylor.

to rewrite the script, and he looks to the future too. Family rst, business a close second is his mantra, and now that his son Eddie – whom he describes as a “better boxing promoter than I ever was” – has taken the reins at the Matchroom empire, anything is possible.

Perhaps Hearn’s biggest accomplishment, though, is maintaining that trademark hardgrafting ‘cheeky chappy’ image. In the ruthless, cold-blooded world of sports promotion, his family man persona has seldom been sullied.

He even dabbled in football, purchasing boyhood club Leyton Orient in the mid-90s. After he sold the club to an Italian business mogul in 2014 (a decision he now regrets) the club suffered severe nancial dif culties – a topic he details extensively throughout.

This is not just a story of sporting domination. Hearn looks back on his humble beginnings, how his insatiable work ethic allowed him

Hearn’s career has featured many a darts dust-up, boxing brawl and snooker squabble, but it also paved the way for today’s incumbents. This brilliantly constructed autobiography from the godfather of sports promoters is a must-read. Hearn offers a rare insight into one of sport’s most wellrecognised characters, delivering a beautifully told story of how the underdog overcomes the odds to reach the summit. n

BARRY

HEARN MY LIFE:

Knockouts, Snookers, Bullseyes, Tight Lines and Sweet Deals is published by Hodder & Stoughton (£20).