The Dicks’ Guineas Mark II

This is what Richard Hannon Snr. said yesterday, prior to Dick Turpin’s run today in the French Guineas:

“People have underrated Dick Turpin. I told anyone who would listen before the Greenham that he could be the fly in the ointment, and he not only won that trial but went on to run a blinder to finish second in our Guineas.”

This is my beef list:

• Naming a son after a father so I have to distinguish with more keystrokes between Dick Hannon Senior (fat old bloke with a baggy face) and Dick Hannon Junior (tall younger bloke with terrible sartorial taste and a baggy face in the wings).
• Persistently favouring Canford Cliffs over Dick Turpin last year and this (notwithstanding yesterday’s quote) and is that, one wonders, something to do with Canford’s more powerful owners than DT’s owner’s one horse string.
• Sending DT to France. He’s been there before and didn’t win (excuses available) perhaps he doesn’t like crossing the Channel. Why, I would like to know, could he not go to Ireland for their Guineas? He has won there before and it would give him longer break than just 15 days.

In the Hannon’s very, very great favour is the training of their stable star Paco Boy, who won so impressively in the Lockinge yesterday.  He travelled in what looked to be quite an interesting fashion on the heels of Lord Shanakill and then scooted clear once he saw daylight.  This is why I keep watching racing, to occasionally see what is clichedly termed a devastating turn of foot.  Yesterday it was a case of leaving the rest of the field for dead, apart from Ouqba who had also unleashed his own burst of speed up the far side.  Nonetheless Ouqba could not live with Boy who put the matter to rest without, it seemed, really coming out of a cruising gear.  I’ve been a supporter of Paco Boy for a long time and to see him racing like that is fantastic.  He made me smile too as he was pulled up, having a little argument with another Dick (Hughes) about walking in nicely without a lot of head-shaking and tossing.  If that’s not a horse at the top of its game then I don’t know what is.

I’m hoping Dick Turpin hoses up today in the Poule de Essains dedadeda wotsit.  Then I can stop carping.

What is known as "finishing off a race"