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By Cornelius Lysaght
BBC horse racing correspondent
Proprietor Paul Dean has his own tips on knighthoods, although st Leger week began with a hoo-haa over Theresa May’s honours list.
Sir Ron Priestley, rated a playful contender against Logician, Sir Dragonet and also co. in flat racing’s oldest and closing Classic race of this year staged Doncaster, is one of a string of horses Dean has named following friends to whom he’s also awarded’his own sort’ of knighthood.
The late Mr Priestley was a first client from the betting shop opened in the 1960s by Dean, among the racehorse owners that was firmly on the Mark Johnston bandwagon nicely prior to his successful operation at Middleham, North Yorkshire became high profile as it is today.
And speaking 49, Sir Ron Priestley’s jockey Franny Norton, will soon be deserving of an equine name-check, if not a gong, was a standing dish in the jockeys’ room for decades.
A champion boxer who turned down the opportunity to go to the 1998 Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur so as to concentrate on becoming a jockey, the Scouser, has had to punch his way to the summit of racing.
A successful apprentice rider, a later teaming up with Johnston, who also saddles outsider Nayef Road, although he found that the going hefty because a fully-fledged rider, has proved a revelation.
But though Norton’s ridden in 3 Classic races – in the 2014 St Leger and in 2 stagings of the 1,000 Guineas – he’s never been effective at the highest Group One degree of the sport.
Maybe Sir Ron Priestley a winner at Goodwood in August, can fill that CV void .
Norton stated:”We haven’t got to the base of him, and he is always dug deep to me.
“We all know exactly what Logician and the others are bringing to the table, however we know what we’re bringing to the table and, above all, if there is any chinks in their armour Sir Ron can locate them since he is tough and he’s brave.
“The three in front of him in the betting, are they that bombproof? I am really positive and I’ll be giving my horse all the positive vibes.”
With Norton being the most senior jockey – just ahead of Frankie Dettori – before many of his opponents have been born, along with having ridden his first winner in May 1989, a victory at this level would be acclaimed.
While acknowledging it could be a”great story”, he insists he is philosophical about what may or may not occur.
“If Franny Norton ends his racing career, and he did not ride a Group One winner, will I lose any sleep? No I will not,” he said.
“Should Franny Norton wins a Group One race along with a Classic, does it make it any better? No it doesn’t. Will it place my career up farther? No, because I’ll be completed in a couple of years anyway.
“But you’re right it’d be a fantastic story – people enjoy a rollercoaster, and that’s what I have needed – so, yes it would be good.”
As much as eight runners are due to line up from the St Leger, initial staged four decades before the Epsom Derby.
The unbeaten Logician, a grey-coloured son of champion Frankel heads the field, commissioned by Dettori and trained by John Gosden.
Dettori, who’s looking for his sixth largest St Leger success – compared to Gosden for whom success would be number five – said:”He is still learning, however, he hit the line well [in the Great Voltigeur Stakes at York in August], and that is going to bring him further.”
The Dettori/Gosden accessibility has been more like a juggernaut in important prizes throughout the summer – with much more to come, notably Permit in October’s Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe at Longchamp in Paris – although that the Irish-based Aidan O’Brien group was in nearly equally potent kind.
Consequently, O’Brien and Gosden are efficiently neck and neck at the prize-money-decided British trainers’ championship – that proceeds until 31 December – but although Gosden holds a #300,000-plus guide, the 700,000 online at Doncaster, with rewards down to sixth place, could simply make all of the difference.
Sir Dragonet, that shot to prominence if operating away with the Chester Vase in May before completing down the field from the Epsom Derby, is best fancied of a three-strong O’Brien struggle as the County Tipperary coach goes for a third win in 3 years, seven complete.
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