Calculus, who produced one of the most extraordinary Beverley performances in recent times, returns to action on the Westwood this Friday evening.
The gelded son of Frankel was sent off a 50-1 chance for a mile-and-a-half handicap at the track on June 21, having shown very little promise in five previous starts for trainer Sara Ender.
But once jockey Kieran Schofield allowed the free-running Calculus to move into the lead, the horse suddenly became revitalised.
Schofield’s mount was a staggering 18 lengths clear at one stage, and seemed destined to get swamped by the onrushing field on the dash to the line.
Ender’s inmate, however, somehow kept going and held on by three-quarters of a length for a memorable success.
Calculus will now attempt to complete a Beverley double in the Happy 40th Birthday Harry Handicap (8.23), in which he takes on eight rivals – including fellow course-and-distance scorers Let Her Loose and Violette Szabo.
Sara Ender said:
“I’m still watching the replay of the race – it’s been essential evening viewing every night!
“When he pulled that far clear I thought that it was a complete waste of a run and that we were obviously going to get caught.
“But once they straightened for home, I started to think, ‘Actually, they’re going to have to sprout wings to catch him’, and, of course, they never did.
“That was going to be his last run on the Flat. We were going to school him and give him one run over hurdles. And if he showed nothing after that we’d retire him.
“Thankfully it all worked out well on the day – it was just unbelievable, to be honest.”
The Malton-based handler hopes Schofield will once again be in a position to adopt similar tactics – though not by quite such an exaggerated distance.
Sara Ender said:
“We know the talent is in there. It’s not that he flies up the gallops, but we never wanted to give up on him from what we’ve seen of him at home.
“He’s been so frustrating on the track, though, and we’d never been able to get him to perform until then.
“He’s quirky and does what he wants, but he’s full of it now – bucking and squealing and definitely knowing that he’s won a race.
“Obviously we can’t tell Kieran what to do as it just depends what sort of mood the horse is in, but we’d like to make the running again if we can, but not by quite as far.
“It’s a slightly higher grade of race, but, to be honest, there are similar horses in there as last time so it will be interesting to see how he goes.
“The plan is to make it (the running), but who knows – it’s completely dependent on what the horse wants to do.
“Put it this way, I wouldn’t miss him running for the world.”
Beverley’s six-race meeting – the first leg of a double-header on the Westwood – begins at 6.23pm and also features the hugely popular 70s Bus Stop party troop following the conclusion of the action at 8.55pm.
Tickets are still available online or at the door ahead of one of the busiest fixtures of the Beverley season.
