Entrepreneur Richard Branson’s remark, ‘if you aim higher than you expect, you could reach higher than you dreamed,’ might apply to trainer Gemma Tutty running Mostly Cloudy at York.
Despite winning five of his last races, bookmakers and punters believe the 22-1 chance would be better off staying in his stable rather than jumping in the ring with Stradivarius and Trueshan in the Group Two Lonsdale Cup.
“Yeah, just to have a runner at that meeting, in my first season training, is a thrill – but in the race that we are in is mind-blowing really,” said Tutty, who has only ten horses in her yard at Northallerton who have won 12 races.
“If you had told me at the start of the year where you would be with him now, I wouldn’t have believed it.”
Since taking over the trainer’s licence from her mother Karen in April, after partnering 75 Flat winners, Tutty has been on a remarkable journey with a horse that she doubted had any ability. Despite failing to impress on his only outing for Andrew Balding, Tutty believed the colt was worth a punt when sent to the sales.
But she admitted having reservations when the 23,000gns purchase failed to fire with her in the saddle at Wolverhampton last year. The colt was more intent in trying to buck her off than race.
“He’d posted a decent sectional time for Mr Balding,” explained Tutty. “In the last three furlongs he absolutely flew, suggesting there is an engine in there, that’s why we bought him.
"But at the start of the year, after I had ridden him in a race, I was scratching my head, thinking, ‘is this horse going to be any good?’ as he was so slow.
“He was very inexperienced but the improvement in him has been remarkable.
“He obviously has shown that he stays but also has got faster and faster.”
This is backed up by the massive 33lb hike on official handicap figures. That has not gone unnoticed by the Australians as they are offering serious money for the colt.
Unlike his ground-dependent rivals – Trueshan requiring soft and Stradivarius good to firm – Tutty has no reservations about the conditions. “Nobody thinks we are going there to win this race,” she explained. “But we think he deserves his chance.
“The plan has chopped and changed so much but we’ve ended up sticking to it.
“York was the plan if he won the Brown Jack at Ascot, where he couldn’t have won more impressively and the second and third have since won. How much more has he got to do?
“I’m not going there thinking I’m going to beat these superstar stayers but he has a decent weight-for-age allowance on his side. If he finishes last and doesn’t get tailed-off we’re not going to be disappointed. He’s been an absolute star for us, and we think he deserves his chance.”
“There’s no shame in getting beaten by Trueshan is there?”
Tutty might come across as a realist but she has allowed herself to dream.
