BORDERING ON GENIUS

FLAT racing is usually the preserve of the super rich but now and again the real world gets a look in.

And Borderlescott's fantastic win in Friday's Nunthorpe at York shone like a good deed in a naughty world.

Borderlescott is giant-killer, family pet, Yorkshire icon and grizzled gunslinger all in one.

A year ago he won the Nunthorpe when York's biggest sprint was relocated to Newmarket.

And trainer Robin Bastiman - who Central Casting would send round if you asked for a bluff Yorkshireman - had just one regret, namely that he and his horse were not enjoying their finest hour on Yorkshire soil.

This time Bastiman had his wish as the Knavesmire crowd opened their throats to welcome home their own as Borderlescott blitzed his way to a rare second Nunthorpe victory.

A veteran of seven who has never had an easy season, this horse is a grafter with a golden touch.

His two Scots owners must have been dipped in something potent by the angels at birth.

They paid just £13,000 for their unheralded superstar as a yearling - and he has now won over £600,000.

Mega-star Sea The Stars, who beat Mastercraftsman by a length in Tuesday's Juddmonte, may well be worth the current estimate of £40million and is both one of the best-looking and most brilliant horses of my lifetime.

Yet I am not entirely sure if, with a gun to my head, I wouldn't settle for the plainer pleasures of Borderlescott.

As long as racing can produce a Sea The Stars and a Borderlescott to scorch the same turf just days apart then its abiding attractions of pure class and true romance will keep it safe from harm.

An avid attendee on two days of the Ebor meeting was Sir Alex Ferguson.

And despite Burnley chinning his lads on Wednesday, he could not have been on better form, bounding up and checking something out with me on the Thursday that he had promised to do on the Tuesday. That was helpful and much appreciated.

It would be hard to exaggerate just how valuable racing is to him as a means of releasing the almost insane levels of pressure that come with his Lordship of the Manchester Utd manor.

On the racecourse he can escape all that - he loves the sport and enjoys a punt.

And Sir Alex is lucky enough to move in circles where he can get the odd decent tip. Best of all there is no camera recording his every action. Nor is he is being badgered to death about the last match and the next.

Another major player taking the York air was former champion jockey Kieren Fallon. He was working for the Channel 4 Racing team on all four days.

Fallon weighed in as a paddock judge and race reviewer alongside my colleagues John Francome and Jim McGrath. He is due to to resume race-riding after his 18-month ban on September 4.

And after some first-day nerves he settled seamlessly into his role as pundit. His stint was also a timely reminder of what makes him a blindingly good jockey.

Fallon is astonishingly strong but it is not that which marks him out - it is his racing brain.

Years ago I spent a mesmerising few hours with Kieren as he explained how to ride Epsom - one of his great stamping grounds.

And it was a revelation. Listening to his analysis of races at York, both before and after they were run this week, was to hear an original racing mind at work.

I know that Francome was very impressed with the scope and insight of Fallon's assessment.

He is a very clear and probing thinker when it comes to race riding and for me that is what sets him apart.

Fallon will return to the saddle with the pent-up hunger of a thousand wolves.

If he restricts his headline making strictly to racecourse exploits then the sport will be all the better for having its most successful jockey back at the heart of it.

Read Alastair Down every week in the Racing Post

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