Horses I Led Up – Flat Races 1987
Horses I Led Up at the Races
1987 Flat Racing Season
31/8/1987
Spinney Nursery Selling Handicap 2yo
Wolverhampton Racecourse
Shanghai Bowler
Result
Finished 1st / 11 ran
Richard Bevan National Hunt Rides 1986/87 Racing Season
12 rides… Average Starting Price Odds 24.25 to 1
Owners Prize Money £1847
Completed 10 = 83.3%
2 rides in the first four 16.6%
1x 1st place 8.3%
1x 4th place 8.3%
fell 0 = 0% / ur 0 = 0% / bd 0 = 0% / co 0 = 0% / ro 0 = 0% / pu 2 = 16.7% / su 0 = 0%
23/8/1986
Hereford Racecourse
Saucy Mop
Finished 9th / 17 ran
4/9/1986
Worcester Racecourse
Members Revenge
Finished 7th / 26 ran
3/10/1986
Hereford Racecourse
Right Formula
Finished 4th / 7 ran
9/10/1986
Cheltenham Racecourse
Right Formula
Finished 9th / 11 ran
13/12/1986
Ascot Racecourse
Annie Ra
Finished 13th / 22 ran
7/2/1987
Stratford-on-Avon Racecourse
Rimfire
PU / 16 ran
14/3/1987
Sandown Park Racecourse
Dealers Dream
Finished 14th / 21 ran
A ride on Dealers Dream
The owner was getting the mare fit at home then brought it to Nicholson’s one Sunday morning to give it a gallop with one of The Duke’s with the idea of leaving at the yard if it went well enough… this was late Jan early Feb 1987.
I was working that Sunday morning, we’d been mucking out then leading a few out around The Pound in Condicote after which some were going to be ridden.
Nicholson said to me “Richard, you ride the mare that’s just arrived in a gallop with Selborne Record ridden by Dan (Jones)”… the lady owner was with The Guv’nor when he said this.
They had taken it off the horsebox and put it in one of the stables, after all the owner was intending to leave it in the yard.
I got my tack and went to saddle up… after a minute or two The Duke (now alone) had followed me up the yard and he said “Richard make sure this mare doesn’t work very well, I don’t want the f?cker in the yard” and added “you will be working up the all weather, make sure you lose a few lengths in the dip before the bend” … this was the all weather gallop at Condicote, the one that ran uphill for about 4 furlongs following the outside of the fields/edge of the woods before running into a dip before a right handed bend to continue slightly downhill along the edge of the fields/woods to the finish
It was in the dip I had to lose some ground
I thought blimey but just answered “Ok”
Anyhow, Selborne Record couldn’t have gone quick enough because even though I lost some ground the mare made it up and finished upsides her galloping partner
The Duke and the owner were at the end of the gallop and us two lads took a turn back to the trainer and he said “How was that?”
I just said “She’s done nothing wrong”
They drove off in the Daihatsu and Dan and myself walked back to the yard
There was no getting out of it, the mare was stopping in the yard… Nicholson didn’t say anything to me about the gallop but what he did say was “When that mare runs, you ride!”… while he said those words he was pointing his finger into my chest
That’s how I got the leg up on Dealers Dream and as a result got to ride in the purple colours normally carried by the decent chaser Contradeal
4/4/1987
Aintree Racecourse
Annie Ra
Finished 11th / 17 ran
21/4/1987
Uttoxeter Racecourse
Dynadee
PU / 7 ran
2/5/1987
Uttoxeter Racecourse
Crowecopper
Finished 1st / 9 ran
Crowecopper was my first winner under National Hunt Rules and he was also my friend Roy “RF” Davies final winner
I won three races out of ten on Crowecopper, at Uttoxeter, Windsor and Bangor-on-Dee
10 rides in total on Crowecopper all over fences
3x 1st
2x 2nd
1x 3rd
1x 4th
1x 5th
1x SU
1x UR
Video – Crowecopper winning at Uttoxeter
Tom Beckett |
16/5/1987
Bangor-on-Dee Racecourse
Rimfire
Finished 5th / 10 ran
23/5/1987
Warwick Racecourse
Rimfire
Finished 7th / 11 ran
1/11/1986
Chepstow Racecourse
Annie Ra
Finished 5th / 22 ran
5/11/1986
Newbury Racecourse
Condicote Boy
Finished 9th / 21 ran
13/11/1986
Wincanton Racecourse
Charter Party
Finished 4th / 7 ran
22/11/1986
Newbury Racecourse
Charter Party
PU / 15 ran
27/11/1986
Warwick Racecourse
Annie Ra
Finished 3rd / 16 ran
27/11/1986
Warwick Racecourse
Members Revenge
Finished 8th / 17 ran
2/12/1986
Hereford Racecourse
Annie Ra
FELL / 16 ran
22/12/1986
Towcester Racecourse
Condicote Boy
Finished 4th / 17 ran
26/12/1986
Wolverhampton Racecourse
Annie Ra
FELL / 19 ran
3/1/1987
Newbury Racecourse
Charter Party
Finished 3rd / 6 ran
4/2/1987
Hereford Racecourse
Annie Ra
Finished 6th / 17 ran
11/2/1987
Ascot Racecourse
Condicote Boy
Finished 6th / 18 ran
11/2/1987
Ascot Racecourse
Against The Grain
Finished 2nd / 5 ran
21/2/1987
Nottingham Racecourse
Charter Party
Finished 3rd / 4 ran
12/3/1987
Stratford-on-Avon Racecourse
Annie Ra
Finished 4th / 7 ran
19/3/1987
Cheltenham Racecourse
Charter Party
FELL / 12 ran
Charter Party was just making up the numbers in the 1987 Gold Cup
He’d been kept stabled the previous Summer (’86)during which he was blistered and hobdayed (got a bit of a leg after winning the Golden Miller at Cheltenham, also had a breathing problem) and was then put straight into training when the other horses came back from their holidays… he had no break
Throughout the 1986/87 season Charter Party had no appetite and often left his food… something I told of and actually showed to the “old man” and also to the head lad… I would fill a black bucket up with the food he’d left and take it into the office first thing in the morning for them to see… he ran all season 20-25 kilos lighter than he had the previous one
Then to make matters worse, in the early part of 1987 Charter Party developed a fairly large lump on his rump (which he ran in the 87 Gold Cup with)… in the end, to put it right the lump was drained which was done when he was taken out of training… what caused the lump will never be known but I do remember him having a couple of “vitamin” injections into his backside (I told the Guv’nor this)
I think if you look at the photo I’ve attached to this post of him going down to the start you can see how light Charter Party looks in his condition (his neck, the breast girth hanging loose… wasn’t even wearing a breast girth or breastplate 12 months earlier in the Ritz) and if you look even more carefully you will see the lump near the top of his quarter, it was quite large
Charter Party was always a Gold Cup horse but at no point was 1987 going to be his year
… at least I can say I led Charter Party up in the Snowstorm Gold Cup!