Guineas dilemma sees Hills gamble on Munir

Lydia Hislop13 April 2012

Here's the problem: there's a big race coming up and you're a sought-after jockey. The good news is you've got the choice from two closely-matched, leading contenders. But the bad news, of course, is you can't ride them both.

You're going to disappoint one set of connections and you also risk looking stupid if the horse you reject wins.

You delay the decision to gather as much information as possible, but you can't wait too long because the trainer you turn down may then find the other top jockeys have already committed elsewhere.

The grapevine has one work-rider saying this, another bookie's snout saying that. Punters don't know which way to jump. Journalists bombard you with calls.

This is the situation with the Sagitta 2000 Guineas just three days away.

It's thought former triple champion Kieren Fallon will ride Sir Michael Stoute's Golan, leaving stablemate Tempest to Johnny Murtagh.

Should Tempest not run, Murtagh may jock Michael Fenton off the Michael Bell-trained Red Carpet rather than swapping - as also mooted - to Richard Hannon's Tamburlaine, who would then be ridden by Jimmy Fortune.

But that domino effect has still not toppled.

Yet one brave soul has already made his bed.

Richard Hills this week threw over deposed winter favourite Nayef, trained in Lambourn by Marcus Tregoning, in favour of Munir, based nearby with father Barry Hills.

Both horses run in the silks of jockey Hills' retaining owner, Sheikh Hamdan Al Maktoum. Understudy Willie Supple will benefit if he's made a mistake.

The case for Nayef is that he was the hype horse of 2000, impressed through style rather than substance and has pedigree as half-brother to 1989 2000 Guineas, Derby, Eclipse and King George hero Nashwan.

But against him is the feeling he may be better over a longer distance than the Guineas's mile and the fact he was only third in last month's Craven Stakes. Munir rudely cut in on Nayef's union with Hills when unexpectedly trouncing his trial opponents in last month's Greenham.

He showed speed, a turn of foot, ability to cope with testing going and readiness for this first Classic of 2001.

He may the superior horse or just the right horse for the ground, distance and timing of Saturday's race. He may be both. Or neither.

But how did Hills tackle his enviable dilemma? "I was lucky - both horses have run this season," he said.

"A lot can happen from age two to three and you go with the feel of a horse. You have to trust your own judgement, then if you do get it wrong - as inevitably sometimes happens and life goes on - nobody else is to blame."

Punters beware, however, in races for more inexperienced horses.

Given the choice of two in a maiden, Hills may ride the one with the best long-term future rather than perhaps a more forward counterpart. "That's always been my policy," he said.

Hills relied on his eyes and hands, watching tapes of Munir and Nayef's every race and comparing their 'feel' to Lahan and Harayir on whom, in 2000 and 1995 respectively, he won the fillies' equivalent, the 1000 Guineas, over the same course and distance.

His two trusted sounding boards are his agent of 12 years, John Robertson, and twin brother Michael, an in-demand freelance jockey. "You take feedback from the trainers and that's crucial if they feel a horse has suddenly come to himself," said Hills.

"But they also want you to ride their horse and can try to sway you. You have to read between the lines and learn whether they tend towards optimism - or even pessimism."

The trainer wants to be informed of a jockey's decision as early as possible.

Hills' retainer made the choice easier as he won't lose the ride should Nayef turn out to be a Derby horse.

A good relationship with the right work-rider is also key. Hills' retainer means his mounts hail from a handful of different yards, so he can't witness day-to-day developments at each one.

"Work-riders are the backbone and we're the glory boys. You get to know the good judges and listen hard to them. I have to compare the best from different stables. The boys at Mr Tregoning's yard say I've got this wrong," said Hills.

"Although Kieren's [Fallon] two horses haven't run yet this season, denying him the chance to fine-tune race tactics, I'll be surprised if he chooses the wrong one. There's no bias when both horses are in one yard. Sir Michael [Stoute] has an extremely good team and they'll know which is best - or most ready for Saturday."

But it can go wrong. Hills' Guineas victory on Harayir came only when Willie Carson, who then held the Hamdan retainer, rejected her for eventual second, Aqaarid.

"There was little more than a length between those fillies and I've never had to make a call as close as this," Hills admitted.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in