AROUND 3:30 this afternoon Tony Dobbin, one of northern racing's most prolific jockeys, will enter the weighing room to rapturous applause from his colleagues as he retires from race riding. Typically, he will be hoping he walks through the door a winner.
Dobbin, who famously won the 'Monday Grand National' on Lord Gyllene in 1997, 48 hours after the race was delayed by a bomb scare at Aintree, gets the leg-up on Peter Niven's Fistral in the 2:45 before taking the reins for the last time aboard Ballyv
oge, who is fittingly trained by his boss, Nicky Richards. The latter will bring down the curtain on the popular jockey's career in the appropriately-named Dobbs Finale & Future Best Wishes Novices' Chase.
However, the 35-year-old Ulsterman who has also partnered the likes of One Man and Monet's Garden to high-profile successes, stresses it will mean as much to him to bow out at the track closest to his heart.
"It would be really nice to go out with a winner but that's something you can't guarantee and it's more important for me that I finish at Carlisle," explained Dobbin.
"It would of course be great to get a winner and I've got a couple of chances to do that. Ballyvoge deserves a win. Going right-handed should help him and it looks a winnable race."
Win, lose or draw, Dobbin is looking forward to the future as he intends to assist partner Rose Davidson at a purpose-built yard, which is likely to be up and running late next year.
In the interim he will gain first-hand training experience with the likes of Aidan O'Brien, Adrian Maguire and Kevin Ryan, and plans only a low-key celebration this evening.
"I've got some of my family over so I think we're all going for a bit of dinner afterwards and I'll maybe meet a few of the lads out later," he added. "It's a very exciting time really and I'm going to be working at a lot of different places over the coming year.
"Everybody has been very kind in offering me the chance to work. I'm still enjoying my riding but I just feel I'll gain more experience for what I'm going into by doing that than I would from riding for another year."
Meanwhile, Brendan Duke is preparing Openide for a crack at the Coral Scottish Grand National – although it depends on the rub of the green.
The seven-year-old, a runner-up at the Cheltenham Festival last month, sits on 9st 5lb in the weights for the extended four-mile event next Saturday. "It's very much the plan, although there are a couple of flies in the ointment," explained the trainer.
"Number one is the weather, which leads to the other fly, as there is a chance that Alan King will run Halcon Genelardais and that would leave him 9lb out of the handicap. I hate running horses from out of the weights but if the ground got to being good to soft, I would claim 5lb off him and run."
The full article contains 525 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
