1A perfect send-off for a special talent

Many talented performers, both human and equine, departed the scene in 2016 but the loss of The Times racing correspondent Alan Lee at 61 came as a stunning blow.

However, there was a moment, possibly during Roll Along Prairie Moon, when his memorial service at Christ Church in Cheltenham became a joyous occasion, barely touched by sadness. This was indeed the celebration of a life, not a lament for its abrupt termination.

Lee was a fascinating character - helpful but a loner in search of stories and angles which missed most of his colleagues.

He was fond of the playwright Dennis Potter, whose daughter Sarah spoke at the service. People are reluctant to applaud in church, which is a pity because, when Jeremy Tyndall sang Roll Along Prairie Moon, from Potter’s Pennies In Heaven, it deserved a standing ovation. It was a special moment on a very special day, faultless in every respect.

2Johnson’s year at last

National Hunt racing willed Richard Johnson to his first jockeys’ title and it duly came to pass, the only surprise being the 13/8 offered (very briefly) by Ladbrokes before he set off on the long haul.

Always runner-up to A.P. McCoy, Johnson took full advantage as soon as that indomitable competitor called it a day.

He went everywhere and rode everything. As usual, he kept everyone happy, with Philip Hobbs enjoying first call, followed by Henry Daly and old ally Richard Phillips. With Tim Vaughan weighing in and Gordon Elliott booking him for Perth, only a serious injury could stop him and, mercifully, it never happened.

Johnson might have become stable jockey to Martin Pipe years ago but it never looked quite right and he politely declined.

There is an old-fashioned loyalty about him, a willingness to help out and a desire to say yes, as any journalist will confirm. He dismissed the myth that nice guys always finish second and a small army of admirers at Sandown on the final day left him in no doubt about their feelings.

3Dancing Star recalls brilliant Lochsong

Relying on some mythical scriptwriter when it comes to finding winners is a risky strategy.

And yet, sometimes things turn out remarkably well for those looking to history to repeat itself. Very few results are inevitable on the turf, but there was plenty of good late money for Dancing Star in the Stewards’ Cup at Goodwood in July and not merely because her previous victory had come in the same Newmarket race as the previous year’s hero Magical Memory.

Like Magical Memory, Dancing Star started favourite at Goodwood and went clear. On her dam’s side she traces back to Lochangel, a half-sister to the brilliant Lochsong, who won the Stewards’ Cup among several top handicaps before graduating to group company.

All of these fillies raced for owner Jeff Smith, but Lochsong was trained by Ian Balding before his son Andrew took over at Kingsclere. Like his father, Andrew stays loyal to jockeys employed at the yard. David Probert remains an important member of the team and this was one of many highlights for him in a memorable campaign.

4Sprinter Sacre raises the roof

The most emotional Cheltenham occasion this writer has witnessed was undoubtedly the Gold Cup of 1986 when the charismatic mare Dawn Run was indeed ‘beginning to get up’ as the inimitable Sir Peter O’Sullevan called it. Many a hat went missing and ‘not a dry eye in the house’ proved rather more than a cliché.

If we wait long enough something similar happens and here, suddenly, was Sprinter Sacre winning his second Queen Mother Champion Chase and another television commentator admitting she had been reduced to tears.

And why not? How much patience does it take to nurse a horse back from an irregular heartbeat and the loss of the explosive pace which left the opposition in another county? How often must Nicky Henderson have wondered whether it might not be kinder all round to call it a day?

But he didn’t and here was his pride and joy, pulling clear of Un De Sceaux up the famous hill to a thunderclap of approval. Miracles we need today, heartaches can wait for tomorrow.

5Mecca’s Angel lights up

There is something about sheer speed which fires up flat racing aficionados. There is even something about the difference between five furlongs and six, a fact which is seldom acknowledged.

No one who saw the brilliant Mecca’s Angel win her second Nunthorpe at York in August is likely to forget it.

She simply ran the opposition ragged, never allowing anything to get near her. The vanquished included the very talented runner-up Limato, whose trainer Henry Candy spoke admiringly about the mare afterwards, pointing out that there is nothing a top-class six-furlong performer can do against a horse born to run over five.

Mecca’s Angel was instrumental in raising the profile of trainer Michael Dods and jockey Paul Mulrennan, who could never have dreamed that Group 1 prizes were just around the corner. Whatever the future holds for him, he will never be taken along this fast again.