THE rehabilitation of Jamie Spencer, who quit as Ballydoyle’s stable jockey this month, gained further momentum yesterday when David Wachman, the Irish trainer, confirmed that he would be calling on Spencer when the Flat season begins in Ireland next month.
“I’d be delighted to have Jamie when the chance arises,” Wachman said. “We got on well last year and I will certainly be using him. The policy here is to use the best jockey available and, for me, Jamie is well up there.”
Wachman’s intention to develop existing links with Spencer is significant in that Wachman’s father-in-law is John Magnier, the proprietor of Ballydoyle, from where Spencer recently made a hasty exit. As Magnier is also a significant backer of Wachman, the trainer’s endorsement of Spencer is another indication that Spencer’s abrupt departure from Ballydoyle was not at Magnier’s behest.
On the contrary, developments behind the scenes have served to reassure Spencer that Magnier remains a supporter as well as a friend — although the jockey is not Magnier’s godson as is commonly perceived. Hopes remain high that Spencer will don Magnier’s colours in the Cheltenham bumper next month, while Wachman said there was no barrier to Spencer riding Damson, who runs in the Magnier silks, in the 1,000 Guineas at Newmarket in April.
“We haven’t got that far yet,” Wachman said, “but Jamie rode Damson in her first three races. Then Kieren Fallon rode her when she won the Phoenix Stakes as Jamie was claimed by Ballydoyle. After that, we didn’t know what Ballydoyle’s plans were for the Cheveley Park Stakes, so when Kieren became available we decided to book him and not take a chance.”
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While Fallon also enters the equation for the classic ride on Damson, his primary allegiance is to Sir Michael Stoute, who is not short of 1,000 Guineas candidates, among them are the unbeaten Shanghai Lily and Echelon. Fallon’s likely unavailability increases Spencer’s prospects. “We’ll see what pans out,” Wachman said.
Damson, the winner of four of her five races last term, is not expected to run before the fillies’ classic. “We will probably go straight to Newmarket,” Wachman said, “but good ground is a must. She didn’t like the (easy) ground when she was beaten in the Cheveley Park, but I have no doubt about her ability to get the mile.”
Any classic triumph for Spencer in Magnier’s silks is bound to resonate with Aidan O’Brien, who trains at Ballydoyle and whose differences with Spencer were central to the latter’s departure. While O’Brien has kept his counsel, Spencer’s diplomatic pronouncements have been received with sympathy by those inside the sport.
O’Brien will also be aware that Spencer’s departure has put Magnier in a difficult position. While Magnier likes and rates Spencer, whom he has known as a friend to his children for 15 years, he must be unswerving in his support of O’Brien, who endured a taxing campaign in 2004.
Above all, O’Brien must produce the seedcorn for Magnier’s Coolmore Stud, which is among the biggest stallion farms in the world. Unless O’Brien hits the gates running when the Flat season resumes in earnest, last year’s banter that he would soon be replaced at Ballydoyle by the rapidly emerging Wachman will resurface with far greater intensity.
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Meanwhile, Ballydoyle is no closer to appointing a replacement for Spencer. The matter will be discussed when Magnier and Michael Tabor, a principal patron at Ballydoyle, meet in Barbados this month.