When the April Fool is you

Few men have more experience of the racing world than our very own Tony Calvin but even he was caught hook, line and sinker by a Ditcheat ruse

I think you will agree that anyone who falls for an April Fools joke these days has to be pretty dim.

So step forward Tony Calvin of Betfair for the prize of Ditcheat's plonker of the week.

I slipped it into conversation with him on Thursday afternoon that we had a big exclusive for Friday's column and, after a chat this morning, he wrote up the article below.

I tried to give him every chance of realising it was a wind-up - Goodwood, Ruby doing 9st 2lb - and he eventually got there.

But he was rather slow to cotton on.

I can't repeat here what he called me after it finally dawned on him. Suffice to say plenty of the words ended in "...er."

Mind you, he thinks the last laugh may be on me as he sent the article on to Andy Stewart and said it was a rather convincing case for him to run Big Buck's at Ascot.

Fortunately, no-one can take him seriously now, though.

At what point of the story would you have realised your leg was being pulled?

* * *

We announced here earlier in the season that I had taken out a Flat license, and since then it has been mooted that we will aim Celestial Halo for Royal Ascot.

And nothing that Celestial Halo has done on the track since has dissuaded Andy (Stewart, the owner) and myself from going down that route.

He bounced back to his best when only failing by a nose to give Mille Chief 4lb in the Kingwell and then he won the National Spirit by 6 lengths just eight days later.

He was a 110+ horse on the Flat, finishing seventh in the St Leger on his final start on the level, and I think he will give the stayers plenty to think about at Ascot.

We could go for the Ascot Gold Cup with him, or maybe go down the easier route of the Queen Alexandra Stakes on the Saturday.

We will probably take the softer option as I don't think he has any chance of beating one horse in the Gold Cup.

Luckily, I train that too - because it is Big Buck's and I can reveal here that he is going for the race. And I'll definitely be training that pair of hurdlers for Ascot!

Providing Big Buck's comes out of Aintree fit and healthy, then myself and Andy, a course regular and member of the Royal Ascot Racing Club, could have some fun on the Thursday.

And a look at last year's Gold Cup has to fill us with hope.

Rite Of Passage beat Age Of Aquarius by a neck in the race last year (the pair pulled 6 lengths clear of the third).

That was undeniably a brilliant training performance by Dermot Weld, but the winner went into that race after finishing third in the Neptune.

Big Buck's is about a two stone better hurdler than Rite Of Passage, and I am told there aren't any outstanding stayers around since Yeats retired.

Of course, many will think that Big Buck's, who has never run on the Flat, won't have the pace.

But I can tell you now that Big Buck's works like a Flat horse at home and Andy is the most sporting of owners, so I guess we will see, won't we?

I wouldn't rule out the Goodwood Cup for Big Buck's afterwards, before being prepared for another season's hurdling.

Ruby says he is going to try and make the weight to ride at Ascot but, as that will mean getting down 9st 2lb, I think he knows it is April 1st.

Paul Nicholls / 31 Mar 2011