THE lush, green grass of Longchamp or the sand of Dundalk. They all come alike to the remarkable Borderlescott.
Having finished third in the Group 1 Prix de L'Abbaye at the Paris track on Arc day, the West Lothian-owned sprinter could now be set for a trip across the Irish Sea for a rare sojourn on the all-weather.
"He's been jumping and squealing at home
and my dad's found a Listed race over five furlongs a week on Friday," explained Rebecca Bastiman, assistant to her father Robin who trains the Nunthorpe winner at their Wetherby yard. "We'll have to carry a penalty but he's so well he could run."
Borderlescott has run on an artificial surface just once, but his performance on that occasion, when beaten half-a-length by Maltese Falcon in the Golden Rose Stakes at Lingfield last November, showed he'll feel at home should he make the trip to the County Louth venue.
Someone facing an even longer journey is Doug Starrett who has clearly heard of Kelso's reputation as 'Britain's Friendliest Course', as he'll be jetting in from Massachusetts to enjoy the hospitality of the Borders circuit on Saturday. President of the American-owned L S Starrett group which sponsors the beginners chase, he'll present the prizes as the company celebrates the 50th anniversary of its factory in Jedburgh.
This weekend's Kelso card provides yet another indication that National Hunt racing is beginning to fully awake from hibernation, the fact half of today's four fixtures take place over jumps a further hint the seasons are beginning to change.
It's a little early to suggest any of the runners on show this afternoon might be playing a prominent role when the major prizes are being handed out later in the campaign, but Uttoxeter's EBF Novices' Hurdle does include a few interesting contenders.
As always, just about anything Lanarkshire born Alan King saddles this term is liable to be worth a second look so Awesome George deserves at least that, but of more interest is the Nick Williams trained Diamond Harry. The gelding has had a somewhat stop-start career thus far with just a couple of outings in the last few years but he's won both of them and his trainer is already talking about him being good enough to head for Cheltenham next year.
There you go, the first mention of the Festival and it's still five months away.
The card at Wetherby wouldn't stop you in your tracks but, again with an eye on the future, it will still be interesting to see how events at the Yorkshire course unfold.
Mandingo Chief, who landed the corresponding event a couple of years back, is tipped to do the trick again in the Bobby Renton Chase.
Trainer Alan Jarvis appears to employ big-name jockeys when one of his runners is fancied so the booking of Jamie Spencer for the best bet Spring Goddess at Lingfield catches the eye.
The reigning joint champion jockey has admitted sharing the title with Seb Sanders wasn't quite the bed of roses it might have seemed to the outside world and he's already looking forward to next season.
"It took a lot out of me, forcing my body and doing stupid weights. You do three nights a week at Wolverhampton and it just gets so mundane and monotonous. My appetite at the start of the season wasn't probably as driven as it should have been.
"It's something you have to enjoy. I found last year, when the season was over, I didn't enjoy being champion jockey. Too much of anything is bad."
To bring a little cheer back into his life, Spencer will undoubtedly be in raptures to know he's been entrusted with steering today's nap to victory.
The full article contains 636 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
