Final Bell for Motivator
The 230 members of the Royal Ascot Racing Club are infected with hope.
And Motivator, who has all the credentials required to land this afternoon's Epsom Derby, has the bookmakers in a cold sweat.
"I have to say, it is not often you go into a race of this magnitude and greatness and say you'll be disappointed if you don't win," says his Newmarket trainer. "I know it is a tall order, but I will be disappointed if he doesn't win.
"That's an extraordinary thing to say when going into a race of this quality. But we think we are sitting on a champion," Bell adds.
A 75,000 guineas yearling purchase from the Tattersalls sales ring in October 2003, Motivator is by French and Irish Derby and Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe winner Montjeu. He remains unbeaten after three starts and is likely to go off a short-priced favourite for today's Classic.
The bookmakers are bracing themselves and so too is the management at Epsom because should Motivator win, the colt's many part owners - including some well-known figures like Andrew Lloyd-Webber, Simon Cowell, Clement Freud, Ken Bates and Mel Smith - could fill the winner's enclosure five times over.
Harry Herbert, chief executive of Highclere Thoroughbred Racing - the most successful racehorse multiple ownership operation in Europe - also manages the horses running for Royal Ascot Racing Club.
When Herbert and his bloodstock agent brother-in-law John Warren saw the horse for the first time at the sales, they knew he had the makings of a champion.
"Motivator had slightly gone in his coat," admits Herbert. "But he walked very well and had a terrific head - there was something very taking about him. John (Warren) saw him and the first thing he said to me was 'goodness, this horse is going to change out of all recognition in the next few months'.
"Motivator was the perfect example of that sort of horse who might not have been the most obvious to pick out at the sales, but John's eye could see where the animal was headed.
"He was from Montjeu's first crop - we have not been frightened of first crop sires over the years - sometimes it is an opportunity. If they are lovely horses - the athlete first and foremost - and came into our price bracket, then we would not be frightened to have a go."
On this occasion, the gamble appears to have paid off. A maiden at Newmarket in August signalled his stunning arrival on the track - he bolted up by six lengths and was immediately pitched in to the highest grade. Two months later, he walloped Albert Hall by two and a half lengths in the Group 1 Racing Post Trophy at Doncaster.
He strengthened up over the winter, but though a leading fancy for the 2,000 Guineas, he was withdrawn as connections felt that he had the makings of a mile and a half horse.
It may yet prove a wise decision. Motivator won on his seasonal reappearance in the Group 2 Dante Stakes at York over an extended 10 furlongs, coming home a length and a half clear of The Geezer, despite hanging to the right in the final furlong.
Herbert adds: "He has progressed as expected, but we are in a hugely exciting and privileged position to have a Derby favourite and we were thrilled with his performance in the Dante we've asked a lot of him and were very impressed with him. We were not surprised with the way he was working at home.
Now comes the ultimate test. If there is a chink in his armoury, it is that all three of Motivator's starts have come on soft ground. Yet Bell believes the colt is still the one they should all be aiming at.
"Of course, there are a lot of slight concerns about Epsom," he says. "There is the track, the day itself, plus there are thirteen rivals. There are all sorts of things one can worry about.
"Yet I think the evidence points to our horse being the best horse in the race.
"Will he be the best horse on the day on that track? We will find out at about half past four."
Motivator will be ridden by Johnny Murtagh, who looked certain to miss the premier Classic when he picked up a three-day careless riding ban at Lingfield last week.
However, he managed to get the ban reduced by a day on appeal, allowing him to partner the colt in the Blue Riband. "Getting it reduced to two days was a big relief," admits Murtagh, who is seeking a third Derby success, having won on Sinndar (2000) and High Chaparral (2002).
Bell man, affectionately known as 'Ding Dong', rings Irish 2,000 Guineas hero Dubawi as the biggest danger to Motivator.
"If he stays, he'll be a serious threat to all concerned," says Bell. "But I really couldn't be happier with our horse. Touch wood, we've had a charmed run with him and we have to hope that carries on.
"We are feeling the pressure a bit, but it is an exciting time for everyone involved with the horse. I suppose since I am the captain of the ship, it is more tense for me than for some of the others."
One thing is certain. Bell will happily swap his queasy feeling for the guaranteed claustrophobia in the winner's enclosure.
