Racing: Fortune hits trouble

ROBERT SANGSTER and Jimmy Fortune met for breakfast yesterday to discuss terms for next season, writes Richard Edmondson at Doncaster. The rider did not give an immediate response about becoming stable jockey at Manton, though there seemed to be a message later in his display aboard Sangster's Commander Collins in the Champagne Stakes here.

Fortune tried to impress his prospective boss so much that he was found guilty of whip abuse. Commander Collins failed by a head to overhaul Auction House and his jockey failed to keep within the guidelines, hitting his mount with a frequency which must have sent a collective shiver through the Manton string.

Sangster did not seem too upset however. "I am pleased with him," he said. "Excellent. I think a lot of Jimmy and he's got a lot going for him. We had breakfast and talked about him joining the stable. Now it's up to him."

Auction House is now a 20-1 chance for next year's 2,000 Guineas following his tenacious all-the-way success. "I hope he is a Guineas horse," Barry Hills, the victorious trainer, said. "If he runs again this season it will probably be in the Dewhurst."

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