Robinson revels in Holding Court

TALK of racing's fickle finger rarely flatters the twofaced digit.

It is normally mentioned with reference to someone, who is flavour of the month one minute, but out of luck and friends the next. Riding high in April, shot down in May, as Frank Sinatra once put it.

Last month, Philip Robinson was on the right end of the gun. The 39-year-old has picked up three foreign Classics in three weeks. First, it was the German 1,000 Guineas, run on the same day as the Newmarket equivalent on Clive Brittain's Crimplene.

Nothing too outrageous about that, you might think. The Fatherland's football team may be hard to beat, but their horses aren't of world renown.

But then people had to take note when the filly beat representatives from the Newmarket Guineas in the Irish 1,000 a fortnight later.

He was not so much back on top as still there in June, driving Holding Court to an impressive six-length win in the Prix du Jockey- Club at Chantilly eight days ago. Though the run didn't stretch to the English Derby meeting, three Classic races over five weekends is enough to be going on with. But Robinson knows this sort of thing, though far from easily come by, can all too easily go.

He said: "You just enjoy the highs and accept the lows and keep working.

"You know through experience you can't keep a high. It's the old story that it's easier to get up there than stay there.

"At some stage you haven't got the ammunition or the top horses, so you just have to work best with what you've got and wait until the better ones come along again. At the moment I am lucky that a nice little bunch seem to have come along at the same time.

"Crimplene is a very, very tough filly who seems to thrive on her racing - the more she races, the better she seems to get. I thought we were going there with a winning chance with Holding Court, but he impressed me with the ease with which he won and the distance he put between himself and the other horses.' "Crimplene is likely to tackle Royal Ascot, while Holding Court heads for the Irish Derby."

Robinson was taught at an early age to take nothing for granted. He was two winners into his career as a 17-year-old apprentice when he lost his father Peter.

He was a successful lightweight before becoming Newmarket trainer, and was always the boy's mentor, but he suffered a fatal heart attack as the pair returned from Salisbury races one afternoon.

Frankie Durr took over the running of the yard and Robinson, whose work-rate has stayed constant since the early days, took the apprentice titles in 1978 and 1979.

Soon afterwards began the enduring link with Brittain. Robinson was retained by Captain Marcos Lemos, one of the stable's richest patrons and owner of Pebbles before Sheikh Mohammed bought her.

The filly and Robinson won the 1,000 Guineas in 1984, and a link with Mick Ryan meant he took the Irish version on Terry Ramsden's filly Katies. An offer in 1986 to ride in Hong Kong was too good to turn down, and Robinson took his young family out to the colony.

Riding in that most competitive environment for five seasons, he won two jockeys' championships. On his return to Newmarket in 1991, Robinson worked for Mark Tompkins, riding Bob's Return to win the 1993 St Leger.

Three years later he once again flew to work in Hong Kong, but came back after one season as his children failed to settle second time around.

Aware, unlike so many within it, that there is a world outside racing, the jockey took off the best part of a year.

He admitted: "It was dead on 20 years since I began riding, and I thought it would do me good to take a complete break from it, freshen up and recharge the batteries before starting again.

"I really enjoyed the time I took out. I hardly ever picked up a racing paper, I hardly ever watched racing on television, I just totally got away from it. I don't think I bought a Racing Post in the 10 months I had off. I went fishing, I took out the kids - nothing to do with racing."

Now in his third year back and riding better than ever, Robinson is finally getting the recognition he deserves, and is ready to savour the moment as a taster does a vintage claret.

He added: "This is what you are working for. Even when you are down in the lows, you are looking for those good ones to come along. When they come along, there is a lot of jubilation and satisfaction. They don't come along very often, so you must make the most of them when they do."

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