SOME people may be on the edge of their seats, but the battle for the jockeys' championship apparently doesn't have Scottish racegoers in a vice-like grip.
With Jamie Spencer and Seb Sanders neck-and-neck in the closest battle for the title racing has seen in 20 years, the appearance of the dynamic duo at Musselburgh yesterday looked a mouth-watering prospect not to be missed.
Judging by the size of
the crowd who turned up to see them lock horns, there must be an awful lot of alternative attractions in the Honest Toun on a Friday afternoon.
While the attendance at the East Lothian course was on a par with previous years, those who hoped a rare, bird's eye view of the two main contenders eyeballing each other like a couple of old fashioned gun-slingers would have the turnstiles birling like peeries were sadly wide of the mark.
Perhaps had it been a Pat Garrett and Billy The Kid style confrontation in the shape of a showdown between Kieren Fallon and Frankie Dettori, it might have been a different tale. On the other hand, perhaps those who stayed away had a bit more insight than those of us who turned up.
Maybe the no-shows instinctively knew that once the dust had settled at Musselburgh, the destination of the championship would be as much up in the air as it has been for weeks.
At first glance, Spencer rode into town toting slightly the more powerful armoury with the former champ set for seven rides against his rival's five, a scenario he repeats at Doncaster today.
A couple of the Irishman's intended mounts at Musselburgh were subsequently declared non-runners, however, so numerically speaking the pair went into action on level terms.
In a manner of speaking, Sanders drew first blood in the opener, albeit it was a hollow victory, steering Azure Mist into third spot just ahead of Spencer's mount Royal Applord doing nothing to help either man's cause.
Spencer then went slightly closer aboard Blue Eyed Miss, but as hard as the partnership tried, they couldn't cope with the strong finish of Style Award, ridden by locally born Andrew Mullen, so another opportunity slipped by.
A starting price of 10-1 suggested Sanders had it all to do on Salerosa in the next and so it proved, but with the pair on the first and second favourite in the sprint handicap, lady luck surely had to shine on one of them.
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Not to worry, Sanders had the leg up on Double Banded in the stayers' event, and with the John Dunlop-trained gelding having won his last four starts on turf, punters steamed in to send him off a 4-6 favourite.
Inside the final furlong, that looked a generous price as Double Banded took up the running from Gee Dee Nen but the latter battled back to score by a head.
Sanders, though, seemed undaunted by the reverse, casually twirling his whip like a baton as he walked into the parade ring to take the mount on Alma Mater for his guvn'or Sir Mark Prescott in the mile-and-a-half maiden.
Those who took the jockey's nonchalant demeanour as a hint were rewarded with a 15-8 victory, and Sanders had nosed one ahead in the championship race.
Sanders set a steady pace on Alma Mater before quickening the tempo in the straight. It looked as if he was going to be swallowed up a furlong out as first Mythical Story, ridden by Spencer, then Propaganda and Lochiel challenged.
However, Sanders galvanised the favourite for one final effort to win by one-and-a-quarter lengths from Propaganda. The jockey said later: "I didn't think three out that I was going to win - but she is very game. The title looks like it is going to go right to the wire now."
By this stage, time was fast running out for Spencer but when the owners of his ride in the last, Crocodile Bay, appeared on the telly to proclaim their horse would win, an honourable draw on the day looked a certainty.
Unfortunately, 40-1 shot Ansells Pride hadn't been watching the interview. With a less-than-fruitful trip north over, all that was left for Sanders and Spencer was to head back across the border, the former heading to East Fortune for a flight to Wolverhampton and last night's floodlit fixture, the latter opting for the same destination via Edinburgh.
Both were rewarded for their respective journeys south, as they notched a winner each under the floodlights. Spencer scored first on 4-11 shot Mafioso, but Sanders replied 35 minutes later on 13-2 chance Northern Boy to make the score 189-188 in his favour.
If the senior jockeys' title remains up for grabs, there's now absolutely no doubt who the champion claimer will be, a double for Borderer Greg Fairley at Musselburgh confirming his status as leading apprentice.
Fairley has proved head and shoulders above his fellow claimers this term and he took his tally to 65 winners when partnering Endless Luck and Hieroglyph for his boss Mark Johnston.
However, the 19-year-old admitted he had serious weight concerns at the end of last season and was considering calling time on his fledging career.
"I was nearly packing it in but my weight came good again," he explained. "I am not sure why but I have been doing so much travelling that I haven't had time to eat! Things have gone extremely well, I could not have hoped for this many winners at the start of the year and it is great to win the title. The plan is for me to keep riding on the all weather until Joe Fanning is back from injury at the end of January or beginning of February and then I will take a holiday."
Endless Luck started a well-backed 6-5 favourite for the European Breeders' Fund Maiden Stakes, and striking the front inside the final furlong, he strode away in good fashion to beat Epsom Derby entry Tighnabruaich by five lengths.
Hieroglyph, a 5-4 favourite, travelled nicely in the European Breeders' Fund Maiden Fillies' Stakes and stayed on well to beat her stable companion Somerset Falls, who was making her racecourse debut, by two lengths.
Today's action at Doncaster will determine which Scottish trainer finishes top of the pile, with just a few thousand pounds separating Ian Semple and Jim Goldie. How their respective charges Sunrise Safari and Dhaular Dhar fare in the valuable Wentworth Stakes could be the deciding factor, so given how crucial the situation is, both men will be delighted to see I'm going for Borderlescott.
We all know fairytales are fiction so Kevin Darley surely can't win the November Handicap on Akarem, his last mount before the former champion rides off into the sunset that is retirement?
Actually, he might, because although Karl Burke's runner has disappointed a few times this season, his latest outing hinted at a return to form, and if that's the case, he's worth a decent each-way punt at a big price. The nap River Bounty will also be sent off huge odds in the nursery on Town Moor but off a low weight, Alan Jarvis's youngster is far from out of it while Valentines Lady, Dreamaker and Super Baby look the pick of a competitive Kelso card.
