Racing: Dawn is gloomy for owner-rider

THERE IS no such thing as a sentimental bookmaker, so it should not have been a surprise to find odds of 16-1 marked up against Cool Dawn before the main event here yesterday. Yet still it seemed like an unnecessary slur against the good name of a horse who, just seven months ago, had run the best chasers in Europe legless in the Gold Cup at Cheltenham.

Never mind that he was expected to need the race, or that Andrew Thornton, his usual rider, had abandoned him. If he was human, you felt, he would probably sue.

Or he might, if that were the sum of his problems. But of course there was also the matter of Thornton's replacement in the saddle, none other than Cool Dawn's owner, the Hon Ms Dido Harding. Harding was a constant partner during Cool Dawn's days as a point-to-pointer and hunter chaser, but relinquished the ride to Thornton at the start of last season. This, as it happens, was the moment when Cool Dawn started to show the astonishing improvement which culminated in his Gold Cup success. The coincidence, some have suggested, is not exactly a case for Mulder & Scully.

Harding was apparently a little upset when race readers implied she was not up to the job of steering Cool Dawn. In which case, she would probably faint clean away to hear some of the opinions expressed in Britain's betting shops, when, for example, Cool Dawn finished second in the Foxhunters' at Cheltenham. To most punters' eyes, it seemed as if Cool Dawn was full of running, while his rider was so exhausted she could barely cling on to his reins.

But there was no such meanness of spirit yesterday at Wincanton, which is about as far removed from the coalface of the betting business as it is possible to get. The lots on offer in the charity auction included 50 bales of hay and one quarter of a bullock (freezer-ready) and the huge country crowd was happy to indulge one of its own. Whatever Harding's shortcomings as a jockey, after all, you could not fault her enthusiasm or bravery.

Particularly not her bravery. As Harding and Cool Dawn were leaving the paddock, the horse reared, dumped his rider and then toppled over on top of her. Anyone else who was doing it for love rather than money might have taken the hint and retired hurt, but Harding was straight back into the saddle.

It was a shame that Cool Dawn himself could not match her spirit. He quickly went second as they ran to the first fence, but before they had passed the stands for the first time, he was just as swiftly relegated to last.

Harding pulled him up with almost a circuit still to run, as if to spare him any further embarrassment. It would have been the same sorry story with Thornton aboard, although his decision to ride Cool Dawn's stablemate, Super Tactics, was doubly vindicated with a comfortable success.

"He was never really operating", Harding said as she slopped through the muddy enclosures towards the weighing room. "We got a good start and jumped the back stretch fences nicely, and I thought `this is fine'. But then Andy came past us and he stopped trying, and I thought that he'd just been over backwards so I wasn't going to be hard on him. I just hope he's all right."

If he is, then the King George VI Chase on Boxing Day at Kempton will be Cool Dawn's mid-season target, with Super Tactics too among his opponents.

Kempton is at least one of the courses he likes - Cheltenham and Ascot are others - while Sandown and, after yesterday, Wincanton, seem to be among those he does not.

Cool Dawn started last season, in fact, with a poor run at the same track, and there is no reason why he should not enjoy another successful year if and when Thornton is back on top.

Not that there is any real reason why Harding should not partner her own horse if that is what she wants to do. To complain about it is rather like objecting to the Arabic names which the Maktoum brothers often give to their horses. When you have paid pounds 1 million for a yearling, after all, you should be able to call it what you please, and while it is true that punters' money is riding on Harding's performance, the odds will always reflect her (very) amateur status.

Despite having completed the unfortunate double of falling and pulling up within the space of 10 minutes, Harding insisted yesterday that "I'd ride him in his next race if I could."

If commonsense prevails, though, she will do nothing more energetic than sign a few cheques.

RICHARD EDMONDSON

Nap: Heartwood

(Lingfield 2.50)

NB: Bomb Alaska

(Leicester 4.30)