Kieren Fallon signed off for the season in style with a near 16 to 1 double on Sovereigns Court and Bold Faith at Nottingham yesterday - and immediately set his sights on adding some extra icing to his colossal championship winning cake in Saturday's Breeders' Cup at Hollywood Park.
Fallon, who partners Borgia, on whom he finished third in last month's Prix de L'Arc de Triomphe, in the Turf, has high hopes that his German-trained mount will prove equal to her formidable task.
"I know she has got Singspiel to beat, but I definitely feel she has got a big chance. She is tough and is still on the upgrade, and I am just hoping that the Arc did not take too much out of her," he said.
"I am really looking forward to riding her. If she happened to win, it would be a brilliant end to a brilliant year." he added.
Fallon flies to the US from Heathrow at midday today. "I will ride track-work on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, which will help to warm me up nicely for Saturday's big meeting," said the jockey who is no stranger to Hollywood Park, having spent a month there last winter.
Fallon was presented with a bottle of champagne during racing at Nottingham by course chairman Julian Richmond-Watson to make his achievement of becoming champion jockey of 1997. The British Flat turf season winds up on Saturday when the big race is the Tote Credit November Handicap, from which last year's runner-up Kutta is to be an absentee. Robert Armstrong yesterday withdrew the five-year-old, who had been due to carry top-weight of 9st 10lb, from the £30,000added contest. The trainer has left in Sheer Danzig, who is now set to head the handicap, with the weights rising by 5lb.
A total of 40 horses were left in the mile-and-a-half contest yesterday, including market leaders Arctic Owl, Dantesque, Heritage and Ridaiyma.
Taunt has been a leading fancy since his victory in testing conditions at Ascot last month but David Morley will only run him if the ground is suitable.
The going at Doncaster was described officially as good today but the trainer said: "The ground wants to be genuinely good for him to run. He wouldn't run if it is on the firm side.
"Taunt is in good form and hopefully would have a good chance. Darryll Holland will ride him." Apprentice Gary Milligan will partner Dantesque, whom he steered to victory over course and distance on the colt's latest outing in September.
"Michael Hills will be in California riding Royal Applause so the kid will ride Dantesque again," trainer Geoff Wragg said. "He won on him last time and is a very good lad.
"He hasn't run since September but that was the plan and he is a definite runner. He has done all his racing on a sound surface but a bit of rain would do no harm and he might appreciate give in the ground."
Exeter stages its highlight of the year, the £29,000-added William Hill Haldon Gold Cup, today, And a mouth-watering contest it is too, featuring an exciting confrontation between two inmates of Jackdaws Castle, former Champion chaser Viking Flagship attempting to give 10lb to progressive stablemate Mulligan, Ask Tom, Gales Cavalier and exAidan O'Brien-trained Royal Mountbrowne.
In the latest fund-raising effort for the Shane Broderick appeal fund, two of his weigh-room colleagues, Charlie Swan and Norman Williamson, along with racing photographer Pat Healy, will drive to all 28 race courses in Ireland in one 24-hour period on next Monday and Tuesday, the November 10th and 11th The trio will set off from the Westbury Hotel at lunch-time on Monday and will make Fairyhouse, where Broderick's riding career was so tragically ended in March, their first port of call.The marathon effort will culminate at Leopardstown racecourse the following afternoon.
At each venue visited, they hope to be met by members of the racing fraternity along with local fundraisers and anybody wishing to donate to the appeal fund.
Royal Applause, who grazed himself when flipping over in the starting gate at Hollywood Park, reassured his connections in an unofficial stalls test yesterday.
The breeder's Cup Sprint candidate put up a model display as he walked through the stalls to the satisfaction of track starter Gary Branson.
The colt grazed a hind leg during Satruday's incident but he was still able to complete his last piece of serious work, covering four furlongs of the dirt in 49.5 seconds.
Royal Applause was the only English horse to exercise yesterday. Singspiel impressed in a full workout on Sunday.
