Racing: People's filly has ghost of a chance

1,000 Guineas: Soviet Song emerges from Fred Archer's old haunt to give her 15,000 owners a glimpse of glory

It was a tragic tale of obsessional desire for achievement begetting self-destruction. When Fred Archer shot himself, aged only 29, the winner of 25 Classics was not only in a state of depression brought on by the death, in childbirth, of his wife, Helen. He had also become delirious from constant wasting to maintain a riding weight.

His former home at the Falmouth Lodge stables in Newmarket, where he ended it all, has long since been demolished. But the yard, now known as Pegasus Stables, in the Snailwell Road is very much a thriving concern. It is said that Archer still retains a presence, albeit an apparently benign one, with reports of him being sighted on a ghostly white horse...

The present incumbent James Fanshawe's final routine of his day is to do the rounds of his Newmarket stables with the family dogs. The trainer believes that he may, one night, encounter his illustrious predecessor. "It's always rather reassuring that Fred might be about," he says. "I'm rather looking forward to meeting him."

Given Archer's predilection for winners, with 2,748 victories from 8,084 rides in the years when he was 13 times the champion jockey, the suspicion is that his first response would be to demand the "leg up" on Fanshawe's Soviet Song, who heads the British-trained interest in next Sunday's 1,000 Guineas.

Archer, who constructed the yard himself and named it as a compliment to Viscount Falmouth, who had first claim on his services, certainly knew what it required to triumph in a Classic. His tally included five Derbys and two 1,000 Guineas. Fanshawe has enjoyed successes in the Eclipse and Champion Hurdle since he first acquired a trainer's licence in 1990, but has yet to win an English Classic.

Indeed, Soviet Song, the undefeated daughter of Marju, whose zenith was a comfortable victory in the Group One Meon Valley Stud Ascot Fillies' Mile last season, will be his first runner in the race. Wisely, he approaches the day with intense circumspection about his charge, who will contest the event on "home" territory without a preparatory run.

"When fillies improve they do so very quickly, and I hope that's happened this winter," says Fanshawe. "There's been a lot written about her; now she's got to go and do it. I've been pleased with her build-up. You try and approach all races the same, whether it's a little event at a small track or a Classic. There's obviously going to be a lot more tension and excitement in the yard with a short-priced runner in a race like this. But you just try and keep everything normal, everything nice and smooth."

The fact that his anticipation is tempered by caution may also have something to do with the fact that Soviet Song's ownership numbers over 15,000, a good proportion of whom will be present on the day. A fortunate few will even be seen in the parade ring beforehand, alongside such owners as Sheikh Mohammed, Sheikh Hamdan, Michael Tabor, Khaled Abdullah and the Niarchos family. It's a day when, it might be said, the élite will mix with the Elite. Around 10 per cent of the Elite Racing Club's 15,000 members are expected to be in attendance to support their home-bred filly.

Elite came into existence in 1992 with three horses. Kabayil was their first winner in February 1993. Since those modest beginnings, they have had 169 winners spread over just about every racecourse in the country, including the 1995 Tote Gold Trophy winner, Mysilv. "The quality of our horses has improved greatly over the years," says the club's manager, Matthew Budden. "Now we are going into the 1,000 Guineas with a live chance, which is something that normally only the very top echelon of owners can contemplate."

For an initial £169 a year (discounted after the first year) there are visits arranged throughout the country to stables where the club's 25 horses are trained, a 24-hour hotline for information (at standard, not premium, rate), and a successful breeding programme, with five mares.

One of them, Kalinka, a winner for the club as a two-year-old, went on to produce a foal for them by the stallion Marju. It was named Soviet Song. "She'd always looked an attractive filly," recalls Budden. "But we never could have imagined that she'd become as good as she is. She didn't look a particularly forward type, the kind to excel as a two-year-old, so really last year was something of a bonus. This spring, she's really started to come in her coat, she's grown and strengthened and is looking like a high-class racehorse."

The problem will come, you suggest, if one of the major players made a significant offer for the filly, as a racing or breeding prospect. "We've not had any direct offers, but even if we did, our response was always going to be a 'No'," says Budden. "At some stage we would like to consider breeding from her."

Among Soviet Song's future entries is one for the second fillies' Classic, the Oaks. Whether she stays, or not, will only truly be ascertained on the racecourse, but Fanshawe admits: "One thing she has done between two and three is to become more relaxed in her home work, and that would stand her in good stead. There is some stamina on the dam's side, and Marju has produced good staying fillies like Sil Sila [French Oaks winner] and My Emma [Yorkshire Oaks victor], but it's a decision that will be made after the Guineas."

The horse will be partnered by Oscar Urbina, the only Spaniard to have ridden professionally in the UK. The closest the 30-year-oldhas come to a Classic win is fourth in the St Leger. While some trainers might have opted for a big-name rider, Fanshawe insists: "He's got a very good pair of hands and relaxes a horse well. I'm a big believer in continuity, and he does get on very well with this filly."

And should he need it, presumably there is always the spirit of Fred Archer to offer some divine guidance.