Harbinger

According to Timeform ratings, which are widely accepted as a definitive measure of the relative merit of racehorses from different generations, Harbinger was on a par with Shergar, Dancing Brave and Sea The Stars, but raced just once at the highest level.

In the King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot in July, 2010, he beat a field that included Workforce, the Derby winner, Cape Blanco, the Irish Derby winner, Youmzain, second in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe the previous October, and Daryakana, winner of the Hong Kong Vase the previous December, by 11 lengths. Sadly, Harbinger suffered a fractured left foreleg in a routine gallop on the Limekilns in Newmarket shortly afterwards and, although the injury wasn’t life-threatening, he never raced again.

Owned by Highclere Thoroughbred Racing and trained by Sir Michael Stoute, Harbinger was a slow maturing type, who didn’t race as a two-year-old and, frankly, didn’t appear to have any aspirations of becoming a bona fide Group 1 contender until he turned four. His three-year-old campaign started promisingly enough, with an impressive win in a maiden, over 1 mile 2 furlongs, at Chester in May on his second start, followed by another convincing victory in the Group 3 Gordon Stakes at Goodwood, on his first attempt at 1 mile furlongs, when next seen in July.

However, despite starting 13/8 favourite for the Group 2 Great Voltigeur Stakes at York the following month, he trailed in last of the seven runners, beaten 27¼ lengths, behind Monitor Closely. Given another short break, he was dropped back into Group 3 company for the St. Simon Stakes at Newbury in October, but could still only finish third of 11, beaten 6¼ lengths.

Harbinger blossomed as a four-year-old, though, striding clear for an impressive 3-length win over subsequent Yorkshire Cup winner Manifest in the John Porter Stakes at Newbury on his reappearance in April, followed by further convincing victories in the Group 3 Ordmonde Stakes at Chester and the Group 2 Hardwicke Stakes at Royal Ascot. Before his injury, he was already hot favourite for the Juddmonte International Stakes at York and the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe but was, tragically, the highest rated horse in the world for just two weeks.

Where, and what, is Tattenham Corner?

Strictly speaking, ‘Tattenham Corner’ is the local name for a residential area, more correctly known as Tattenhams, or Great Tattenham and Little Tattenham, in Epsom, Surrey. However, ever since the distance of the Derby, run at Epsom Downs Racecourse, was increased from a mile to a mile-and-a-half, in 1784, the name Tattenham Corner has been synonymous with the sharp, downhill, left-handed bend on the upper, or eastern, section of the racecourse, which leads runners into the three-and-a-half furlong straight.

The Chipstead Valley Railway, which originally terminated at the village of Kingswood, was extended to Tattenham Corner Railway Station – so-called because of its proximity to that part of the racecourse – in time for the Derby in 1901. It would appear as if the use of ‘Tattenham Corner’ to describe the residential area in the vicinity arose from the name of the railway station, rather than the other way around. For more horse racing questions and answers visit the racingquestions.co.uk site.

Multiple Bets

In the days before the abolition of off-course betting tax in the early years of the twenty-first century, a multiple bet, typically in the form of a double, on two short-priced selections, was a legitimate way for horse racing punters to avoid paying tax on the second selection. Of course, betting tax is long gone, but multiple bets, in the form of doubles, trebles and accumulators, remain a carrot that bookmakers dangle in front of small-stakes betting shop and armchair punters.

The prospect of a large, possibly colossal, return for a small initial outlay is undeniably attractive. Nevertheless, punters should remind themselves that they are betting at multiple odds, in the first place, and be prepared for losing runs consummate with the odds attempted. Winners will often go astray and control over the ebb and flow of any betting bank will be diminished, at least to some extent. Those following horse racing at YesBets and the like, can also take advantage of free bet offers, of 'best odds' recommendations to tip the balance and the odds further in their favour

Of course, a multiple bet must be placed with a single bookmaker, so punters are limited to the prices offered by that bookmaker, rather than having the pick of the market prices, as would be the case with a single bet. Many bookmakers now offer ‘best odds guaranteed’ on most, if not all, horse races in Britain and Ireland, which means that pricing is less of an issue than it once was. Even so, a difference of half a point, or even a quarter of a point, in the price of any selection(s) can make a huge difference to the total return once multiplied throughout a bet.

From the bookmakers’ point-of-view, multiple bets are an excellent money-spinner. Double, treble or even five times the odds for a single winner in popular multiple bets, such as the ‘Lucky 15’, ‘Lucky 31’ and ‘Lucky 63’, has become the norm, as have bonuses of up to 25% on all-correct versions of those and similar bets. By contrast, single win bets are the bookmakers’ biggest loser, which is why you rarely, if ever, hear anything about them in advertisements and press releases.

Workforce

Bred by Juddmonte Farms, owned by Prince Khalid Abdullah and trained by Sir Michael Stoute, Workforce was a bay colt by 2,000 Guineas winner King’s Best, famous for winning the Derby and the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe in 2010. In fact, Workforce won just four of his nine races between 2009 and 2011, but his two successes at the highest level contributed to total career earnings of over £3.2 million and were sufficient for him to be named Cartier Three-Year-Old Colt in 2010.

Having won his maiden at Goodwood in September, 2009, with consummate ease, Workforce was beaten 3 lengths by subsequent Irish Derby winner Cape Blanco in the Dante Stakes at York on his reappearance the following May, although his cause wasn’t helped by the bit slipping through his mouth in the closing stages. In any case, he was sent off 6/1 joint second favourite for the Derby at Epsom three weeks later and, having collared pacemaker At First Sight with over a furlong to run, drew away to win by 7 lengths. In so doing, he broke the track record set by Lammtarra 15 years earlier.

The King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot in July was his next target but, despite starting 8/11 favourite against the older horses, he ran the proverbial ‘stinker’, trailing in fifth of six, beaten 16¾ lengths, behind the 4-year-old Harbinger, also trained by Sir Michael Stoute. Sir Michael said afterwards, “I didn’t know which was the better horse. I’ve never pitted them together. It was just a question of which horse had progressed the most since his last run.”

Workforce wasn’t seen again until the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe at Longchamp in October where, in a rough race that saw the eventual seventh, Planteur, disqualified for causing interference, he ran on strongly to beat Japanese challenger Nakayama Festa by a head. In so doing, he gave Sir Michael Stoute his first winner of the race. Stoute said, “I'm thrilled to have won it with this horse, especially after he was so brilliant in the Derby and inexplicably disappointing in the King George.”