Tattenham Corner

Richard Fahey has posted a mischievous message on Twitter after one of his runners was ridden by Richard Hughes

Title shenanigans for Hanagan

With Paul Hanagan and Richard Hughes going toe to toe in the jockeys’ championship, it is inevitable that some of those in the weighing room will be taking sides, particularly given the north/south divide. But what could Hanagan’s boss, Richard Fahey, have been implying about the late jockey change that meant Shane Kelly miss out on the ride aboard the well-fancied Pearl at Wolverhampton on Friday night and allowed Hughes to come in for the mount? “I wonder what was wrong with Shane Kelly in the 7.40 race. Brown envelope problem???????” Fahey tweeted. The jockey switch nearly cost Hughes any chance of winning the title as Pearl was brought down in the race and Hughes hit the deck, although happily the rider was unscathed.

Never look a gift horse …

The Queen’s Carlton House looked a hugely talented two-year-old when winning by nine lengths at Newbury last Saturday and it is not inconceivable that, after 50 years of trying, this could be the horse to give his owner a first success in the Derby next year. But, unlike most of the Queen’s horses, the Sir Michael Stoute-trained Carlton House is not a home-bred but a product of Sheikh Mohammed’s breeding operation. Indeed, it is rumoured that the colt, a son of the Sheikh’s stallion Street Cry, may even have been given as a gift to the Queen by Dubai’s ruler, something she could be very grateful for come Epsom next June.

Booby prizes

Readers of the racing press have been bamboozled in recent months by grumbles from owners about falling prize money levels and Tattenham Corner understands that things could soon become worse. There is currently a mandatory minimum level to prize money at all tracks but it is believed that when new proposals are unveiled in the coming days that, in the lesser-grade races, racecourses will be given a free rein to decide their own prizes.

Gay Kelleway in luxury

Tattenham Corner wouldn’t mind friends like those of Gay Kelleway. The charismatic Newmarket trainer has been in Melbourne, lapping up the culture ahead of next week’s Cup. Kelleway was apparently summoned to Australia by one of her owners, who paid for a first-class plane ticket for her.

What’s In A Name?

The Sylvester Kirk-trained Charles Camoin gave Richard Hughes another helpful winner in his jockey title quest at Nottingham. Charles Camoin was a notable French painter and close friend of the great Henri Matisse. Camoin, who died in 1965, was one of the members of the Fauves (the wild beasts), who were noted for their vivid use of colour.