KIEREN FALLON endured a torrid time at Glorious Goodwood last month but the champion jockey turned on the style there yesterday as he delivered Chic to claim an extraordinary triumph in the Celebration Mile, writes Tony Coleman.
Fallon admitted that halfway up the straight, he had few thoughts of claiming the £100,000 Group Two prize. Chic had difficulty following the frenetic pace set by Naahy and Passing Glance, and her prospects were rated no better than the 80-1 at which she was traded in-running on Betfair, the betting exchange.
She was still last with two furlongs remaining as Nayyir, the favourite, struck for home under Mick Kinane. But Fallon then conjured a relentless run from Chic, who weaved a path to glory, overtaking Nayyir 75 yards out to secure a length-and-a-quarter victory.
‘Two furlongs out, I was riding for second place,’ Fallon confessed. ‘Mick had gone for home and I thought he’d stolen it. It became a case of trying to find the gaps and get through. She has proved herself a very good filly today, coming from as far back as she did.’
Chic, winner of the Group Three Hungerford Stakes, may be elevated to Group One company for the Sun Chariot Stakes at Newmarket in October.
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Chris Richardson, racing manager at the Newmarket-based Cheveley Park Stud that owns Chic, said: ‘Beforehand we were hoping for a place and thought the favourite was going to win. Now the Sun Chariot must be an option.’
Chic was Cheveley Park’s 48th success of the season, and a third of the day. Orange Touch earned a possible tilt at the Irish St Leger after turning the March Stakes into a procession, while at Newmarket, Echelon, Chic’s two-year-old half-sister, earned a 33-1 quote from Coral for the 1,000 Guineas after a successful debut.
Swimming
DAVID DAVIES displayed the kind of form that won him a bronze medal at the Olympics when he won the 1500m at the British short course championship in Manchester yesterday. Davies, 19, won in a time of 14min 51.57sec.
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James Hickman recorded a time of 1min 52.50sec to beat Olympic bronze medallist Stephen Parry in the men’s 200m butterfly.
Rugby league
FORMER Wigan coach Frank Endacott had the last laugh on the club that gave him the sack after guiding relegation-threatened Widnes to a 20-16 win at the Halton Stadium last night. The Vikings virtually banished their relegation blues with a fabulous performance while at the same time delivering a blow to Wigan’s hopes of a Grand Final appearance.
Widnes looked to have the game wrapped up when they established a 20-4 lead after 64 minutes but Wigan scored two quick-fire tries to set up a nerve-tingling finish.
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Cricket
AUSTRALIA claimed the Dutch tri-series title in their only completed match with a 17-run defeat of Pakistan on a difficult Amsterdam pitch yesterday.
The world champions looked below par in making 192 for seven after play began 90 minutes late because of a wet outfield. Matthew Hayden hit 59 before Darren Lehmann (40) and Andrew Symonds (36) added 57 together in 11 overs.
With 10 overs left Pakistan were 148 for five but after Yousuf Youhana fell for 43 they tumbled to 175 all out. oSRI LANKA won the fourth one-day international against South Africa in Dambulla yesterday for a 4-0 lead in the five-game series. Chasing a total of 235, Kumar Sangakkara scored an unbeaten 74 to lead Sri Lanka home.
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Bowls
DEVON won the Middleton Cup for the third year running at Worthing yesterday.
Devon raced into a 29 shots lead over Leicestershire in the semi-finals, but squandered their advantage, before scraping home by two shots, 121-119.
In the final, Surrey opened up a lead of 15 shots, but Devon hit back to win 116-110.
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Motor racing
FORMULA ONE hopeful Vitantonio Liuzzi sealed the International Formula 3000 Championship title at Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium.
The Italian made sure of the title when he finished second behind Arden International teammate Robert Doornbos.
Tennis
LLEYTON HEWITT reached the final of the Long Island Cup yesterday when his Russian opponent Dmitry Tursunov retired with a back injury.
The Australian, who was winning 6-3 1-0 when Tursonov quit, will face either defending champion Paradorn Srichaphan of Thailand or Luis Horna of Peru in the final.