JC / Railbird

Chris McGrath

Opening

How Chris McGrath begins an article on Steinbeck missing the July Festival:

John Steinbeck once claimed that his own profession made “horseracing seem a solid, stable business”, but the colt named in his honour seems determined to charge the writer with exaggeration.

A foal from the first crop of Footstepsinthesand, Steinbeck looked a brilliant prospect when beating previous winners on his debut at Naas in May, and is already quoted no better than 14-1 for next year’s Stan James 2,000 Guineas. But while a series of targets have been proposed in turn, he has failed to resurface since, and last night his trainer, Aidan O’Brien, disclosed that Steinbeck is now unlikely to be seen before the autumn.

No real point, other than to share such a superb lede.

Posted in Media on July 7, 2009 / Tagged Chris McGrath, Independent, Ledes, Reporting, Writing