National hunt jockey Charlie Deutsch, 21, was today sentenced to ten months in prison after being found guilty of dangerous driving after leading officers on a 114mph car chase while over the drink drive limit.

Deutsch, who rides for Venetia Williams, had otherwise had a blistering year, riding 55 winners over the jumps and took part in this year’s Grand National on Houblon Des Obeaux. He also won the Grand National Trial at Haydock in the early part of the year on Yala Enki.

Events began on 30th March at Cheltenham. After celebrating the retirement of a fellow jockey at a Cheltenham club, Deutsch made the fateful decision to drive his passengers back home in the early hours of the morning.  Sgt Forbes-George spotted the car they were in driving well over the speed limit.

At the scene after being stopped Deutsch panicked and ran back to his car, forcing the officer to break the car window. Not dissuaded from his course of action, Deutsch than sped off, much to the concern of his three passengers. After a 5 mile chase a police road stinger was deployed bringing an end to his efforts to escape.

Reaching speeds of over 110mph during the chase, Deutsch proved to be over the drink driving limit. His lawyer highlighted his good character as an attempt to illustrate how out of character this episode was. “This was an opportunistic escape born out of panic”

“He is a very sensible and promising young man who has done something remarkably stupid. He made it immeasurably worse by his actions. He is remarkably well liked. He has a good reputation and following in the industry.”

Charlie Deutsch was fined, disqualified from driving and sentenced to 10 months in prison. It’s unknown if he’ll be able to continue his career upon release, but he is a gifted individual in the sport of racing. We’d like to hope that the industry and those linked to Deutsch will be able to look beyond an out of character mistake made at such a young age.

The 1,000 Guineas is invariably overshadowed by 2,000 Guineas, over the same course and distance the previous day, but is usually at least as competitive numerically. The first fillies’ Classic has, in fact, thrown up winners at 16/1, 20/1 and 25/1 in the last decade, along with three winning favourites, so looking beyond the obvious market leaders can sometimes pay dividends.

 

If betting on events such as the 1000 guineas is your thing then we’d reccomend checking out The Winners Enclosure. They have a pages dedicated to providing horse racing tips and insights into all the biggest race events though out the year.

 

With that in mind, while acknowledging that the likes of Happily, September and Clemmie all warrant their places at, or towards, the head of the market, we’ve opted for a small, each-way nibble at a filly that we think could belie huge odds in the ante post market by running well on the Rowley Mile. Our speculative selection is David Simcock’s unbeaten filly Teppala, who has her stamina to prove, being by Camacho out of a Cadeaux Genereux mare, but is priced up at a tempting 40/1 with Ladbrokes and Betfair.

 

She was clearly ‘expected’ on her debut at Lingfield in August and was value for much further than her winning margin of a neck, having cruised upsides the leader in the closing stages, and confirmed that promise with another facile, 4-length win at Kempton in September. Obviously, she (i) needs to improve on her bare form so far and (ii) needs to translate her all-weather form to turf, but it’s not beyond the realms of possibility that she can do both and, at the odds on offer, it’s worth chancing that she does.

 

Selection: Newmarket 3.35 Teppala each-way (40/1 with Ladbrokes and Betfair)

 

Although not quite in the same league as the most professional loser in the history of British racing, Quixall Crossett, Amrullah was described as a “crafty character” – and that was the polite version, I dare say – by his trainer John Bridger. Amrullah was crafty enough, in fact, to compete in 74 races on the level, over hurdles and over fences between 1982 and 1992 without ever winning one.

 

While Quixall Crossett was slow, at best, Amrullah was arguably even more frustrating because he was not without potential, at least not to start with, or ability. He was by High Top, winner of the 2,000 Guineas in 1972, out of a mare by Charlottown, winner of the Derby in 1966, and cost 80,000 guineas as a yearling. He began his racing career at Newmarket in October, 1982, in a maiden race won by subsequent Arlington Million winner Tolomeo and demonstrated, more than once, that he had the ability to win a race is he could ever be persuaded to exert himself.

 

However, he was quickly dismissed as “thoroughly irresolute” by Timeform, who awarded him the dreaded double squiggle “§§”, which is reserved for horses that are so markedly reluctant that they can be described as “an arrant rogue or thorough jade” or, alternatively, “so unsatisfactory as to be not worth a rating”. Nevertheless, despite his form being littered with disparaging comments such as “not run on”, “no response”, etc, Amrullah did manage to accumulate over £26,000 in prize money during his 10-year career.

 

His final racecourse appearance came in a novices’ chases – for which he was, of course, still eligible as a 12-year-old – at Fontwell in March, 1992, where he led after halfway, but weakened to finish last of the seven finishers, beaten 25 lengths. Nevertheless, such was his popularity by that stage that his retirement was an item on national news.