Royal meeting another day at the office for Middleham masters

WHEN Royal Ascot comes to York this week, the very best of British racing will be on show. Top-class thoroughbreds will share the limelight with the pomp and pageantry that combines to produce one of the most unique events on both the sporting and social calendar.

But, away from the razzmatazz of the Royal Enclosure, a very different racing world will continue to operate alongside the top hats and tails.

This is a world of sacrifice rather than champagne, graft instead of glamour and commitment not canaps. It is held together by the dutiful devotion of the racing fraternity and is epitomised by leading Northern rider Kevin Darley.

The 44-year-old will be centre stage at this week's Royal meeting in his role as stable jockey to the 'Master of Middleham', Mark Johnston.

But, while Royal Ascot begins when the stalls open for Tuesday's opener, the Group Two Coventry Stakes, Darley's day will have begun much earlier than that. And you can bet your life it will have been far less appealing than the opulent image presented at York this week.

"I leave my home at Sheriff Hutton at 6.45am and arrive at Mark's in time to ride the second and third lot," explained Darley, who is looking for his 13th Royal winner.

"I like a bite first thing in the morning and will grab a slice of toast before leaving the house. I'll drink some coffee, but usually that will be it until I get home in the evening, when I'll have a proper meal.

"If I'm back from night racing it will be cheese on toast rather than something more substantial. Then I'll be in bed by eleven, tops.

"Once I'm at Mark's I'll ride a horse up the gallop and then jump onto another when I pull up and do the same again. It's usually three to four each lot and, if I have to get away to the races, one of the lads will jump on the last one I've worked so I can get a good start on the road."

That punishing daily routine has helped keep Darley at the very top of his profession for the best part of two decades. He was crowned champion jockey in 2000 and claimed five Group One winners last season, as well as two listed victories at Royal Ascot.

Much of his sustained success is down to a unique blend of composure and determination in the saddle, but his career has undoubtedly been helped by his lucrative association with Johnston.

The Scottish vet trained his first winner from his Kingsley House base in 1987 and has saddled more than 100 winners in each of the last 11 seasons. Thanks to his role as Johnston's retained rider, Darley has been on board most of them.

"The difference with Mark compared to many other trainers is that he carefully plans what he wants me to do before I get anywhere near a horse," said the stable jockey. "That means it's a smooth process where there's rarely a hiccup. He's meticulous and logs down everything that happens.

"His secretary makes comments on the worksheet, right down to the way the horses handle the stalls. Absolutely nothing is left to chance."

That even includes the hay and silage eaten by Johnston's string. Not content with his twin bases of Kingsley House and nearby Warwick House, the Scot recently purchased the adjoining Park Farm.

The 260-acre site now houses 50 horses, including most of his leading fillies, and 60 cattle, as well as providing enough land to provide top-quality nutrition for his equine superstars.

"I'd been watching it for 17 years," said Johnston, who was the leading trainer at Royal Ascot in both 2002 and 2003. "It practically borders our all-weather gallop, so it's perfectly positioned.

"Having all the horses on three sites has made things dramatically easier for me as, before, we had extra boxes rented around Middleham, plus a yard at Ripon for the out-of-training horses."

The extra land has also provided an opportunity for Johnston to, quite literally, go up in the world.

"We've marked out a strip of ground, which could eventually be turned into a landing strip," he explained. "At present, we have to drive to Bagby, near Thirsk, to make use of a light aircraft to cut down travelling time, but that still takes up to an hour just to get there.

"It would definitely save us a lot of time if we could have a facility where we could take off from here at Middleham."

With a stable motto of "Always trying", Johnston is a great believer in keeping a close eye on all of the controllable variables affecting the horses in his yard. Sometimes, though, even the best-laid plans go awry.

This week's meeting on the Knavesmire should have been a happy homecoming for Yorkshire's number one racing heroine.

Johnston's Attraction became the first filly to win both the English and Irish 1,000 Guineas last year before stamping her mark on the Royal meeting with a thrilling win in the Coronation Stakes.

She was expected to step up to the Queen Anne Stakes this time around but, instead, an early-season outing at Hong Kong has left her licking her wounds.

Attraction finished 13th of the 15 runners in last month's Champions Mile at Sha Tin, picking up an injury to her left fore fetlock joint in the process.

"The trip to Hong Kong took it out of her and it's been one step at a time since then," admitted Johnston. "Although she is sound and continuing in ridden exercise, it has been decided that she should have more time."

The injury to Attraction is just the latest in a string of setbacks to have hit Johnston's stable in the last ten months.

Shamardal, who decimated a top-class field in the Group One Dewhurst Stakes at Newmarket last October, was moved by his owner, Sheikh Mohammed, from Johnston's yard to Godolphin's stables in Dubai. The colt, who will be strongly fancied for Tuesday's St James' Palace Stakes, has already won two French classics this year.

To make matters worse, Mister Monet, who won four races on the bounce last term, tragically broke a leg in the Champion Stakes at Newmarket and had to be destroyed, while Lucky Story, who was installed as the highest-rated three-year-old miler in Europe, had to be retired through injury at the back-end of last year.

The result is a Royal Ascot rosta reduced in both numbers and quality but, unsurprisingly, the prospects of a Johnston winner this week remain high.

Numerically, Tuesday's Ascot Stakes offers the best chance as the trainer, who won the marathon last year with Double Obsession, saddles five of the 36 five-day entries.

Swift Sailor, who will be ridden by Darley, was runner-up in the Chester Cup, while Golden Quest (Greg Fairley) and Contact Dancer (Kerrin McEvoy) were first and third at Haydock last time out. Perennial favourite Bandari also looks to have every chance in Wednesday's Prince of Wales' Stakes.

"Swift Sailor won his 12-furlong maiden at Musselburgh (last season) and that suggested he could be quite a useful four-year-old," said Johnston.

"Bandari won us a Group Two last season, probably running the best race of his life when beating Sulamani at Newmarket's July meeting. The thing which made the big difference to him in 2004 was the earplugs. He's always been a nervous individual and when exterior noises were blotted out it helped him settle down."

There will be plenty of exterior noises if he is leading up the home straight on Wednesday, as almost 300,000 people flock to the Knavesmire for the five days of the Royal Meeting.

Darley will be on board and all the hours of sacrifice and selfless devotion will be worth it if he flashes past York's winning post in front.

"To have Roya l Ascot happening at York this year is hugely important to me," he said. "It doesn't matter what horses I ride during the meeting. A win there would be really special."

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