Platinum Racing

IN WHAT READS LIKE A DICK FRANCIS racing thriller story, two of Britain's promising apprentices were burned to death in a fire that was deliberately lit in their block of apartments on Friday night in Norton, close to the North Yorkshire training centre of Malton. Two other apprentices living in the two story block of apartments excaped certain death by jumping from the top floor windows of their apartment, suffering minor burns, smoke inhalation and abrasions.

While Yorkshire police have not released the names of the two apprentices killed in the inferno, racing bloggers and "tweeters" were reporting on Saturday in the UK that pormising apprentice James Kyne was one of the two killed. Rumours swept all the racecourses in Britain yesterday as they prepared for what was a huge day on the racving calendar and jockeys observed a minutes silence on all racecourses for the two apprentices.

Police have arrested a 30 year old man in connection with the fire.

SEA THE STARS WAS SIMPLY emphatic in winning his fifth consecutive Gr 1 race when he took out the Irish Champion Stakes on Saturday evening prompting champion jockey Mick Kinane to declare him the best horse he had ridden - and Kinane has ridden some of the world's great horses. In fact, Saturday's win on the John Oxx-trained half brother to Galileo was Kinane's seventh in the Irish feature.

Once again Ballydoyle's Aiden O'Brien turned the race into high farce with a posse of pacemakers, designed to set the race up for his Irish Derby winner Fame And Glory. But, as in every other attempt the Ballydoyle team have come up with the unsettle or test the stamina of Sea The Stars, they failed. Even Mastercraftsman, who chased Sea The Stars home in the Juddamonte at York, was battling with three furlongs to go.Johnny Murtagh was probably forced to a little earlier than he wanted on Fame And Glory as the pacemakers collapsed on straightening with three furlongs to go, but no sooner had Fame And Glory reached the lead Kinane and Sea The Stars loomed ominously. When Kinane hit the "go button" it was all over in a twinkling and this wonderful racehorse simply charged away to win as he liked.

He is the best horse in the world, and will no doubt start a pronouced favourite for the Arc at Longchamps next month with bookmakers already having installed him 7/4 favourite for Europe's premier weight for age challenge.

CONTROVERSIAL JOCKEY KEIRAN FALLON cracked it for a win at his 13th ride back since returning to the saddle after an 18 months drug ban when he landed a winner at the night meeting at Wolverhampton in England last night.

Fallon rode at both day and night meetings in England on Friday and yesterday.

THE CONNECTIONS OF PERENNIAL BRIDESMAID in group one races, Youmzain, would be pleased to see Fallon back in the winner's circle as he will travel to Baden Baden in Germany today to ride Youmzain in Germany's premier race, the Gr 1 Pries Von Grasser over a mile and a half.

Youmzain, who certainly should have an Arc on his mantlepeice and has been luckless in other Gr 1 features, looks very hard to beat in today's race. Fallon has only ridden Youmzain once previously, winning the Gr 1 Europa at Cologne in 2006. Godolphin's Eastern Anthem (to be ridden by Frankie Dettori) will also make the trip to Baden Baden to contest the race.

KIRKLEES WILL BE GODOLPHIN'S representative in the Caulfield Cup, and possibly the Melbourne Cup. The juggernaut's racing manager Simon Crisford announced the five year old would go into quarantine to prepare for the trip down under afgter an emphatic win in yesterday's Gr 3 win at Kempton Park.

Kirklees started 7/4 favourite in yesterday's race and Frankie Dettori rode the horse to victory. Godolphin won last year's Caulfield Cup with All The Good.

AUSSIE TRAINER JOHN MEAGHER got a victory out of much travelled galloper Slow Waltz when he won the Kranji Stakes in Singapore on Friday night, with Englishman Mark Gallagher in the saddle. The much travelled galloper started his career in Sydney under John Hawkes, where he won the Darby Munro Quality on Golden Slipper day. He then went to Hong Kong and John Size prepared him to win the Gr 1 Hong Kong/Macau Trophy. His owner, Mr Lee then sent him to Meagher in Singapore.

He won over $130K when racing here, added another 1.3m (HK) to his bank in Hong Kong and Friday saw another 100K (Sing) jump into his bank account. He has been a handy horse.

THERE ARE RUMOURS THAT FRENCH ACE Christophe Soumillon will be lured to Hong Kong permanently following his highly publicised split with leviathan owner The Aga Khan. Soumillon has for some seasons been a real star of the Hong Kong season, riding there for brief stints during the northern hemisphere's racing hiatus. Ironically he has lost his position as the Aga Khan's stable jockey over one of the trainers for the French owner, Andre Dupree-Royer using Gerald Mosse for many of the stable horses.

Mosse too, has ridden with great success in Hong Kong for many seasons.

OLIVIER DOLEUZE has been reinstated as the rider for the season for the champion galloper Good Baa Baa following a lunch meeting with controversial owner John Yuen in Hong Kong last week.

Yuen, who made the headlines - again - for another "out of left field" trainer change with his champion galloper when he recently moved the horse from Andreas Schutz to Derek Cruz, citing "bad feng shui" as the reason for the stable switch, has assured Doleuze the booking is for the entire campaign on the horse.

Doleuze, himself sacked last year from the horse in favouro of Christophe Soumillon, told the media he would never ride for the owner again after his unceremonious and very public dumping. This week, the flamboyant Frenchman recanted, saying he was "being professional" about the issue but he had told Yuen he would not ride the horse unless he had a surety that he remained the rider for the entire season.

Doleuze claims to have received that assurance.