Borderlescott keeps trying

Aug 2 2008 The Journal

HE never knows he’s beaten even when he has been collared in the shadow of the winning post on so many occasions.

Borderlescott, the star of Robin Bastiman’s small Yorkshire stable, has finished second 11 times since winning the 2006 Stewards’ Cup at Goodwood.

One of those near misses came in the same race last year when short-headed by Zidane. Frustrating, of course, especially when he has lost out by narrow margins, but Bastiman has come to the conclusion that it’s the six-year-old’s style of racing that makes him vulnerable to strong finishers.

He said: “He doesn’t like being held up – he tends to sulk – so he races prominently and if there is something fast enough so that he can get a lead all the better. When the jockey presses the button and says go he does exactly that.

“However, when he has been in front for a while he thinks he has done enough. He thinks he has beaten them and that’s enough. You watch the number of times he has been headed close to the line and he has been in front again a couple of strides past the post.

“He doesn’t know where the winning line is and if he had time to fight back when another horse came at him I am sure he would have won more races. A lot of jockeys know how he races and they come late and nail him.”

Today, Borderlescott has another crack at the big sprint prize on the final day of Glorious Goodwood and will need to put up a career-best performance to repeat his success two years ago.

“I don’t think weight is the problem. It’s whether there’s one in the field that is better handicapped than him. That’s the name of the game, isn’t it?”

Borderlescott is the best horse Bastiman has trained. “He’s only small but has a heart of gold and the will to win. I think he is as good as he was last year.”

The trainer is happy with the draw. “His name came out of the hat early on and my representative was able to nominate stall one on the advice of the clerk of the course Seamus Buckley who thinks the stands’ side is where the better ground is,” explained Bastiman.

Even though only one of his eight victories have been achieved over the minimum distance – that came at Musselburgh this season – the trainer believes five furlongs is the gelding’s best trip.

And he will revert to five at York later this month when he tackles Group One company in the Nunthorpe Stakes. “We might be flying a bit high, but it will be fast and furious from the start and that will suit him. And you never know in these races. Sprinters keep beating each other.”

Borderlescott hasn’t managed to win outside of handicaps but Bastiman reckons that the horse’s day will come and that he is capable of scoring in Pattern company.

He said: “He’s better than a handicapper but just needs a bit of luck and I am sure he will prove me right.” Despite his lofty handicap mark, Borderlescott can never be dismissed lightly in big field handicaps like the Stewards’ Cup as his race record shows, and Bastiman couldn’t be happier with him.

“You’ve got to have your sprinters spot on for the day and I think he is. He always needs two or three races to come to his best and that’s where he is now,” revealed Bastiman. “It would be nice to win the Stewards’ Cup for the North again.”