Horse Racing: Soldier's Tale Brings Tears of Jubilee Joy for Noseda

There were a few tears of joy shed among the winners, not least when trainer Jeremy Noseda saw his Soldier's Tale edge out Takeover Target in the big race of the day, the Golden Jubilee, under Johnny Murtagh.

For Soldier's Tale could not have been better named and is Noseda's favorite horse. 'I love him for his heart,' he said as he sheltered from one of the showers that hit the course, before outlining the problems that have beset the horse over the years. 'He has had countless fractures, had to have colic surgery and pieces of his stomach removed. He has to have a special diet and twice we have been on the verge of having to have him put down. It all sounds a bit soppy, but I love him to bits.'

Not many in racing would have had Noseda down as a sentimentalist, but he showed his softer side before having a mild sideswipe at the visiting sprinters from Australia who have helped make this race, and the King's Stand, such international successes in recent years. 'It's great to beat the Aussies,' he said. 'Maybe it will put some of the stuff we have had to read about them to bed.'

Given those circumstances, it has been a quite remarkable effort from Noseda and his team to nurse Soldier's Tale to this success, denting the hopes of the many Australians in the crowd who had come to salute another win for their sprint battalion. Takeover Target did the best of their trio this time, with Miss Andretti and Magnus showing signs that Tuesday's exertions when they were first and third in the King's Stand Stakes had taken their toll.

One of those in Noseda's party was fellow Newmarket trainer Barney Curley, who had also been here on Wednesday to enjoy Manduro's win in the Prince Of Wales's Stakes. Curley said of Soldier's Tale that 'he was a good price, 22-1', suggesting that he had joined in the gamble that forced the price down to 9-1 at the off.

There were more tears, or seemed to be, after Richard Hills had eked out a second successive Hardwicke Stakes on Maraahel, seizing the initiative early and holding off Mick Kinane on the favorite Scorpion by half-a-length in a day of close finishes. But on being asked whether it was tears or sweat he was wiping from his face, Hills replied: 'It's snot, mate.'

It was good to see Lester Piggott, who has ridden 116 Royal Ascot winners, here on Thursday after his recent health problems and had he been around yesterday he would have been impressed by the coolness of 18-year-old William Buick on Dark Missile in the Wokingham in beating Intrepid Jack by a neck. Buick has held a license since August, but has already lost his 7lb claim and could go right to the very top.

Dark Missile is trained by Andrew Balding, whose father Ian has backed Buick at 500-1 to be champion jockey by 2020. 'It was only a tenner, but I would be so happy to see the bet come off,' said Balding snr.

Buick's father, Walter, now a racereader for the Press Association, was several times champion of Scandinavia as a jockey and, not surprisingly, he looked a proud man in the winner's enclosure.

Crowds have been down all week, with the exception of Thursday, and it cannot have been only the showery weather that kept people away. Much more likely is that many enjoyed a far from happy time last year. Ascot has spent another £10million in trying to redress some of the problems, but it does seem odd when you have built a new grandstand that you have to install temporary seating.

Unfortunately, there are design faults with the redevelopment that will never go away. Ascot has now made full use of the extra space behind the stands, something they did not have enough time to do last year, and the Silver Ring has been brought up to a standard some way removed from last year's unacceptable conditions. Yet for many of us the new Ascot lacks the charm of the old.

One regular was unhappy with the situation at the railway station: 'With £200m spent on a new grandstand, you would think they could manage a few pounds to upgrade the station. It takes 20 minutes to get off the platform.'

When the racegoer does emerge from the gloom of the station and muscles their way through the ticket barrier, they are accosted from all sides. First, the ticket touts go on the attack, then the lucky white heather women buttonhole you, followed closely by charity collectors and girls dressed as jockeys handing out fliers for bookmakers.

Another soldier with a tale, Patchy, the perennial busker on the walkway from the station, has got a new coat and eschews his eye-patch, gained as a result of a Falklands War injury, in favor of a glass eye. Like the punters, he has to put the past behind him and embrace the new Ascot. And this year, he had competition from an excellent violinist farther up the hill. One punter paused to hand him a £20 note, saying: 'They played that at my wedding.'

There was a comic moment for those of us who have not been able to find viewing areas to compare with those in the old stand when the course announcer said before yesterday's first race: 'Would bookmakers please lower their umbrellas during the races as umbrellas do tend to obscure the view?' 'What view?' came the cry from the cynics. However, it must be said that things are a bit better and the racing is still the best in the world.

Other sports should watch out. On Friday, I heard a man say: 'To be honest, a day out at the races is better than the football.'