Dessie: a one-off

We've been fortunate that both our trips to the races in Christmas week have been in sunshine to two very nice friendly and relatively local tracks. Kadouchski ran a typically brave race at Huntingdon and should come on for that run, as will Ex Con, whose second appearance over hurdles at Leicester on Monday was encouraging.

Despite an excellent card featuring one of my favourite horses in training, Carruthers, I was very glad not to be at Newbury on Tuesday where the weather looked dire. The same can be said for Newmarket today. The cold rain has hardly stopped. Gemma and Adam worked the half-sisters She Is A Cracker and Douchkette on the Al Bahathri this morning while John, Hannah and I took it easy on the fillies' brother Kadouchski, Ex Con and Panto, all of whom had their 'flu jabs yesterday so were just out for a wee trot today. Being increasingly feeble, I was grateful not to have to go too far or too fast in today's conditions and we're all praying for things to improve, not just from a riding perspective, but also because the French fillies are entered at Wetherby on Monday. With reports stating that the track has been under snow for the last ten days and that the temperatures are unlikely to rise too much, it seems almost certain that racing will not go ahead there though.

Being in an early race at Huntingdon on Boxing Day meant that we could scramble home in time for the King George to watch in awe as Kauto Star recorded his easiest victory in the race to date. His four consecutive wins puts him past Desert Orchid is some minds but not in mine and not, it would seem, in that of Dessie's trainer David Elsworth, who said in the Racing Post: "Winning it four times in a row is quite an achievement - it's almost as good as winning, being beaten the following year and then winning it for the next three years." And then, of course, there were his great handicap victories.

One of the best assignments I've ever had was to photograph Dessie on his 27th birthday, not long after he arrived in Newmarket from Whitsbury. He died just six months later but as the accompanying pictures illustrate, he had star quality and a touch of the show-off about him right up until the end. There'll never be another one like him.