The TV cameras caught a definite puff of the cheeks from Tom Queally just after the winning post in the Ebor, as if to say ‘Phew! That was close.’ The jockey had just steered Tiger Cliff (5/1) to victory in the valuable heritage handicap but it had looked unlikely with just a few furlongs to go.
Tiger Cliff was still several lengths behind the leaders with two furlongs left to run. But Queally kept urging his partner onwards and hit the front with just a few strides left. The winning margin was half a length.
By contrast, Genzy (second at 11/1) perhaps hit the lead too soon and left himself open to just such a late attack as was launched by the winner.
Persistent, heavy overnight rain had softened the ground on the Knavesmire and resulted in a number of non-runners, reducing the field to 14. But softer ground was no concern to Lady Cecil’s gelding:
“He handled the ground well. We were happy to see the rain,” Queally said afterwards. “He always finishes he races well.”
The four-year-old has only raced seven times, which is not many for a gelding of his age. Indeed, he never saw the racecourse as a two-year-old, a product of Sir Henry Cecil’s patience and insistence on letting the horse tell him when he was ready. That patience was rewarded today.
