The 20th century finally waved goodbye and, as we stood shoulder to shoulder contemplating the new millennium with hope in our hearts and the froth of 1999’s last pint on our lips, our thoughts turned to Katy Nowaitee. We hadn’t heard anything from our brave little filly for a while, but our connections – Peter Baker and Paulie Inman – calmly assured us plans were in hand and the old girl would be helping us line our pockets again in the spring. Sure enough, it was announced that she was off to Doncaster to contest the Worthington Spring Cup on the second day of the 2000 flat season. We formed an orderly queue at Ladbrokes on the morning of the race and settled down for the wait. Or should that be the waitee? Never mind.
Of course she won, in her now traditional style of running up with the pace before exploding away from the pack in the final furlong, leading home 20-odd runners to win at 7/1. The horse was already becoming noticed nationally, her small stature and massive heart winning over punters all around England (though obviously her ability to win at big prices helped). Trainer Peter Harris announced that Katy would take on the best of the nation’s handicappers in The Lincoln, also at Doncaster later in the month. We steamed in to the ante-post betting market, still euphoric after the Spring Mile and keen to avail ourselves of the 20/1 being offered on Katy by the bookies. I extracted a 50 pound note from the pile of cash in a shoe box in my bedroom – the box marked Katy Winnings – and joined in the fun.
But then disaster struck. Katy Nowaitee was balloted out of The Lincoln – the race was over-subscribed and something had to give – meaning those of us who’d taken advantage of the bigger ante-post odds in an effort to maximise profits were now left scratching our heads and counting our losses. But racing is a sport founded on disappointment, and there were sure to be other chances for our plucky little girl. We just had to wait.
March fizzled out, April came and went, and so too did May. Word filtered through that Katy wasn’t feeling too good. She’d had another throat infection, and it had taken a bit longer for her to recover than expected. She’d probably miss most of the rest of the season, but there was hope. Just like the bad old days before she ran a race, connections were left hoping that the frail little racehorse would come good.
She was entered at an early stage for the Tote Cambridgeshire, the first leg of British racing’s autumn double and one of the four original classics of English Racing – a far bigger proposition than anything she’d faced before. The bookies certainly thought so, and when betting markets opened on the race in July she was quoted as being 50/1. There was no chance of her being balloted out of the Cambridgeshire, so at the end of July I started investing a fiver a week on Katy at the bookies down the road from where I worked. Six weeks later, in mid September, Ladbrokes shortened her to 33/1 – there was a bit of interest in the old girl, so I upped my investment to a tenner a week. As race day approached, the buzz began again in Marlow. Has she got a chance? Have you backed her? Will you back her? Cautious punters kept their counsel, mug punters proclaimed their love for Katy from the highest rooftops... Could she do it?
