All In A Day's Work

ALL IN A DAY'S WORK 
The springy, ancient turf of Newmarket Heath is strewn with blue Forget-me-nots at this time of year, a floral memento of the champions whose hooves have graced these cushioned acres over generations. 
Early on a Saturday morning three weeks before the Derby, the Limekilns–a vast flat swathe of grass gallops on the Bury side of town–switches from sleepy green to a kaleidoscopic blur of color within minutes. From the arrival of William Haggas's string shortly after 6 a.m., other trainers and their horses follow in quick succession on this key work morning. 
Generally, most fast work in the town's training center is conducted on Wednesdays and Saturdays, with routine canters in between. For the Racing Post's Newmarket correspondent and work watcher David Milnes, these are informative sessions and, with some of the town's biggest names often galloping simultaneously or within minutes of each other, his encyclopaedic memory of horses' markings and jockeys' skull cap colors is of paramount importance. So too is his relationship with the various trainers. 
“There are 80 trainers and nearly 3,000 horses in this town and they take a bit of knowing,” says Milnes, who has been the Post's man for three years but has been work-watching since 1986 back in the days when he was an electrician at Newmarket Hospital. “Most trainers will tell you what's working, some won't, but I go out and take my own notes and get to know the main horses.” 
Partnered by a variety of jockeys including Seb Sanders, Liam Jones and the recently retired Hills twins, the Haggas horses work up the Long Gallop on the Limekilns. As they depart, Ed Dunlop and team 
arrive and Frankie Dettori is hoisted aboard the stable's G1 Irish 1000 Guineas hope, Amazing Maria (Ire). Dunlop opts for the Round Gallop on the far side of the Limekilns and is relaxed and chatty as his grey daughter of Mastercraftsman (Ire) steams by, followed by members of his string that include the globetrotting Red Cadeaux (GB) (Cadeaux Genereux {GB}), who, with more than £4 million in prize-money, is Newmarket's highest-earning horse in training. Now eight, Red Cadeaux works in tandem with another elder statesman of the stable, the multiple Group 2-winning stayer Times Up (GB). 
As all eyes are on this talented bunch, Sir Michael Stoute has arrived on the Limekilns with racing managers representing Juddmonte and Cheveley Park Stud, and the first batch of his horses start to stream up the Trials Ground on the opposite side of the gallops. This is where Milnes' homework comes into play. 
“Yep, that's Estimate leading with the sheepskin noseband,” he says after snatching up his binoculars. 
We watch The Queen's G1 Gold Cup winner stretch out with ease in the distance, and she and her work companion are soon followed by another pair which includes the GI Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf winner Dank (GB) (Dansili {GB}). 
“I love seeing Dank as she always seems to be really enjoying her work,” says Jean Bucknell, another regular member of Newmarket's work-watching brigade. 
For the hardy few out observing racehorses on the Heath in all weather, their knowledge of key horses' quirks and temperaments during daily exercise is second only to the trainers themselves. Their judgement on individual performances is all in the eye and the memory. 
“There's not much in the way of technology,” says Milnes. “The gallops aren't timed, though some trainers use GPS trackers on the horses. For me it's just a notepad and my binoculars. 
“I'm out on the Heath five mornings a week, but if it's the week before the Guineas or the Derby there'll be something going on all the time so I'd be out more.” 
There's plenty going on this morning, too, as no sooner have Stoute's bluebloods pulled up than John Gosden's equally well-credentialed string has taken to the Round Gallop. 
Gosden himself appears, flanked by bloodstock agents Richard Brown and Tom Goff–the latter a former Racing Post Newmarket correspondent himself–and after watching the Juddmonte horses in the Stoute string, the operation's racing manager Lord Grimthorpe joins the group to see Kingman (GB) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) in action. 
Before we have a chance to see the 2000 Guineas runner-up, however, the red-hot favorite for this year's Oaks, Taghrooda (GB) (Sea the Stars {Ire}), streaks past. A strong, deep-girthed filly, she travels well under Sheikh Hamdan's retained jockey Paul Hanagan. 
Next comes Kingman, who has another crack at Guineas glory this weekend at The Curragh, leaving his workmate, the listed winner Dick Doughtywylie (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}), trailing in his wake. 
The big names just keep coming as the unbeaten Western Hymn (GB) (High Chaparral {Ire}) appears under Gosden's stable jockey William Buick and completes another training gallop in his countdown towards his appearance at Epsom in the Derby field. 
The town's trainers are making the most of the fact that heavy rain the previous weekend has freshened up the turf, leaving the grass gallops in perfect condition. Another few dry days like the more recent spell will soon mean they are too firm for galloping, but Newmarket's extensive training grounds also host a range of synthetic tracks as well as a watered gallop adjacent to the Rowley Mile racecourse, plus specially tended peat moss gallops, which give extra cushioning to East Anglia's natural ground. 
As trainers Ed Walker, Jeremy Noseda, Ed Vaughan and Luca Cumani now arrive at the Limekilns, Milnes signals that it's time to head over to the other side of town to catch some other strings in action. 
“We'll have missed Marco Botti, he's usually on Racecourse Side at 7:20, but we'll catch Michael Bell at 8,” he says, his knowledge of the trainer's habits every bit as detailed as his recall of their equine charges. 
With perfect timing, Bell pulls up behind Milnes at his favored spot and ambles amiably with the reporter towards the Peat Moss gallop where his horses are working. 
Along with William Haggas, Bell is one of the few trainers in town to have trained both a Derby and an Oaks winner–Motivator (GB) and Sariska (GB)–and with John Gosden aiming to add his name to that list with Taghrooda is a few weeks' time, Milnes' thoughts turn to the man whose Epsom record is without equal in the modern era: Sir Henry Cecil. 
As the first anniversary of Cecil's death approaches, his absence from British racing's HQ is still keenly felt. 
Milnes says: “One of the highlights of this job used to be when Henry Cecil was out on a work morning. 
There'd be about 50 people, just enthusiasts, who would turn up and make a beeline for Henry. He'd play to the crowd and tell everyone what was working. It was quite an occasion. He was a one-off in that regard.” 
Cecil's final years in the town in which he'd trained from 1969 were of course marked by the almost celestial presence of Frankel (GB) (Galileo {Ire}). 
“With Frankel, we just couldn't believe what we were seeing,” adds Milnes, who still proudly sports a baseball cap bearing the name of the racehorse whom many believe to be the best ever. 
“His early work before he won his maiden was all done mostly in hand but then Henry had to start to use older horses to lead him and he couldn't find anything good enough. His lead horse was flat to the boards from the start and they couldn't get Frankel off the bridle. That was when we realized we really were looking at something extraordinary.” 
It won't be long before Frankel's sons and daughters start to populate Newmarket Heath but for the work-watchers, concentrating on the current crop of stars is of primary concern. 
“It was very special to be around the horse and the people with him, but it's important not to dwell too much on him as it takes the gloss off what we have around at the moment,” says Milnes. “Henry Cecil is sorely missed in Newmarket but there's the next generation coming through now, trainers like Marco Botti and Roger Varian. 
“I've been really lucky to have been able to turn what was a hobby into my job, and to be doing a job that I love. It's a privilege.” 
No lover of horseracing who stands transfixed as streams of Thoroughbreds flow across Europe's largest expanse of mown grassland, with only the muted rumble of hooves disturbing the morning's peace, could disagree with that sentiment. It's a privilege indeed.