Pearson still loving his horse racing life
Daventry horse race owner: Tim Pearson. 26/01/12
RARELY in life can anyone call horse racing a predictable, easy science.
Relaxing and an absorbing day out, then yes.
Simple to fathom and predictable, definitely not.
Take the recent experience of Tim Pearson for example. Easydoes it by name (this is a Pearson runner), though certainly not by nature.
At a time when most 76 year-olds settle for quiet life in front of the screens for a regular sporting fix, racehorse owner Pearson is haring off to Warwick or Leicester, or possibly an all weather dose at Southwell or Wolverhampton.
Even Easydoesit, his four year-old given a possible entry to run today over hurdles at Taunton, cannot drop a big enough hint.
Two weeks ago he firmly planted himself at the start at Warwick and refused to go anywhere, fast or otherwise.
This all happened at a track which the horse apparently likes, after finishing second there on his previous three runs.
Anxiously scrutinising his wayward tendencies at the Warwick start, I idly wondered whether the form figures of 2-2-2 should actually be 6-6-6, even though the fixation was made more apparent by his number ‘two’ on the race card. Certainly, Pearson has been having a devil of a job winning with him and I’m sure Noel Fehily would concur, the jockey having been dropped on the turf on his way to the start the previous time.
The proximity of the two mile start to the racecourse stables means Easydoesit will not be going back to Warwick, yet last Saturday’s Sandown option was aborted in the weekend freeze-up and it now seems more likely he will heard to Chepstow at the end of the month if the Taunton option is not seized.
Daventry-based Pearson has seen most things on a race track but keeps faith to a laudable extent in expecting a ‘big run’when Easydoesit does return to action, saying: “This horse is all right and is ready to go. If there is any chance of him going to Cheltenham he would have to win, for his rating has to rise.”
However, I am learning absolutely nothing in this game is predictable so it is hardly a surprise to belatedly hear the owner of the four year-old Tony Carroll-trained gelding is not actually called Tim at all.
Try Tom instead! You invariably learn something from history, and a basic exploration of the Pearson archives is no exception. Both his father and son were also christened Tom, so a subtle shift has helped overcome confusion down the years.
Pearson said: “My father also worked with horses in the Royal Service Corps at Weedon at the Equitation School where people learnt to ride before the war, and he then went to Iceland pursuing a similar path…”
Racing is in the blood of the one-time Nene Group boss although to call him retired is misleading, as he still combines repairing Dyson cleaners from home with his racing trips, two or three times a week. Son Tom and daughter Linda Steele are now at the sharp end of the family’s business concern.
Always though, he has the fixation with racing. “My wife and daughter have just come back from a holiday in South Africa but I didn’t want to do that again this year. I have always been hooked by racing. When Easydoesit was due to run at Warwick on Thursday I simply fitted in all my other appointments for Wednesday or Friday...
“The ownership began in 1986 when I had my first horse in training with George Kirkland,” he explained. “My best horse was probably Robert The Brave who won five times with Paul Webber although Quick Silver Boy was a grand old campaigner winning three and being placed seven times between 1993-1996.”
Pearson has other horses currently in training, although last year’s star Royal Box was sold last week, hopefully to stay in Dai Burchell’s yard at Ebbw Vale.
The owner laughs when he recalls Royal Box was initially claimed from the Queen after a race at Lingfield in November 2009 at which point he was in the care of Richard Hannon.
Pearson said: “Royal Box won three times for me last year, the most valuable race being at Chester in September when he won a handicap for amateur riders over 6f.”
Fifth at Wolverhampton on his last start 10 days ago, Royal Box was also successful at this track last year as well as at Chepstow on heavy ground on the turf in June and could still be one to follow for his new connections when he encounters these conditions.
Pearson has had horses with Burchell, himself 75 last Saturday, since 1988 and Captain Loui was expected to run today at Wolverhampton in a 1m 1 1/2f handicap with his owner saying: “The idea is for him to run on the flat until the ground improves and then to bring him back over hurdles so I suppose this is a sort of ‘prep’ run for that.
Symphony Of Space, who is now eligible for a handicap mark after an all weather outing last week, is with the Nottinghamshire trainer Alan McCabe while Beat Of The Blues will appear from Michael Appleby’s yard in Leicestershire as Pearson spreads his net in the quest for success.
In fact if you spot a horse with the word ‘Symphony’, chances are it is part of a breeding offshoot which now plays a part in the strategy. Pearson says: “My two mares Flying Lion and Echo Star are both in foal to Sulamani who stands at the Yorton Farm Stud in Shropshire. Although we are in our fifth year of foals, we have only had one colt so far.
“I also have a couple of fillies named Symphony Of Stars (cutely named by Observatory) and Symphony Of Dreams which should run on the flat with Dai this summer. I call all of my horses ‘Symphony’. It means they group together in the catalogue and form book. Simple!”
After all of that, it really is quite simple then. I walk back to the car at Warwick humming a 1980 single by a little known band called The Toys… Easy Does It.
It somehow seems appropriate.
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