Whirl of a day at Goodwood

New Paper

5 days ago

GOODWOOD Day 3 of one of the most famous UK race meetings was not without its fair share of high drama on and off the track on July 31, quite literally.
Thunder and lightning, and torrential rain struck at the third day of the not-so-Glorious Goodwood festival, turning the fillies' feature, the Group 1 Nassau Stakes (1,991m) into a slog through heavy ground.
The Aidan O'Brien-trained Whirl still made light of the atrocious conditions and an unorthodox flag start after the barrier stalls were deemed unsafe to use, to land the day's highlight in emphatic fashion.
But such gloom at the West Sussex track could have turned even darker if an earlier incident at 10,000 feet had not come to a happy ending.
Five jockeys flying down from the north of England missed the meeting after their twin-engined plane had to make an emergency landing. Thankfully, no one was injured.
Rowan Scott, P.J. McDonald, Callum Rodriguez, Tom Eaves and Jack Garritty got a huge scare when one of the engines failed halfway through their flight from Bagby in North Yorkshire.
Amid the chaos, the five riders' first reaction was to still text their agents they would miss their Goodwood rides.
The pilot managed to turn back and make a safe landing at Bagby.
Scott, who was at his first time taking such a private flight - a regular mode of transportation for northern-based jockeys needing to travel the 450km distance to Goodwood - was just glad he could live to tell.
"We were all a bit shook up. Thank God we're in one piece," he told The Mirror.
"The pilot wasn't best pleased with the situation we were in but he was keeping his cool.
"Jockeys often fly down from there. I hadn't before and I don't think I'll be rushing to do it again."
Back on Earth, with lightning ruling out the traditional stalls start, jockeys were in the highly unusual position of starting a top-level race with a flag after a 10-minute delay for a gap in the weather.
It was Ryan Moore on board the $8 favourite Whirl who set out in front, with the Wootton Basset three-year-old filly splashing her way through standing water on the track to make all.
Royal Ascot scorer Cercene (Gary Carroll) finished second five lengths back in her wake, with See The Fire (Oisin Murphy) a further one-and-a quarter lengths away in third.
"I can't remember a Group 1 race starting without stalls. It was unbelievable," Irish trainer O'Brien told ITV.
"Well done to everybody getting it going. She's an amazing filly. Ryan gave her a lovely ride and she handles all types of ground."
Moore was also taken aback by the one-off getaway, but the British champion jockey made the most of the curveball, as he does.
"The start wasn't ideal," he said.
"She's very uncomplicated and has loads of ability. She stays well, can handle quick ground and can handle slow ground." AFP