(Moved over from the View from the Fence blog - I'd write more of these if I had the time.)
Early Years
Maylane was born in May 1994 and is a son of the classy Mtoto and has Irish Derby winner Shareef Dancer as dam-sire.
Trained by the late Alec Stewart, Maylane ran three times as a two-year-old winning on the third occasion, a seven furlong maiden at Lingfield ridden by Michael Roberts who had also partnered Mtoto.
As a three-year-old
As regally bred as Maylane was this was to be no Classic year. Short of top class, he was to be gelded early in the season. Stewart explained why: "He had to be gelded because he tried to savage a filly alongside him at Newbury and unseated Michael Roberts."
The first win of the season was to come on his third outing, seeing off favourite Atlantic Desire by half a length in a nine furlong limited stakes race at Goodwood in June. It was to be the start of a purple patch as the win was followed by second in the Duke of Cambridge Handicap at Newmarket, beaten a head by Henry Cecil's Memorise trying to give nine pounds to the winner. Maylane lost ten lengths at the start, came bursting through to win his race, but then hung left near the line and threw the spoils away.
Two more victories soon followed. The Tote Gold Trophy back at Goodwood at the end of July over a mile and a half was first (Memorise among the vanquished this time) and then taking Epsom's September Stakes over the same distance. Last year's Derby and this season's Coronation Cup runner-up Dushyantor following Maylane home.
The result was all the more remarkable after Maylane dwelt again at the start. "He came straight out of the gate and tried to plant himself. He must have conceded at least 10 lengths" said Roberts. "At least, I'm ready for it!"
Famous last words. Maylane's next race was the Cumberland Lodge Stakes at Ascot and saw the horse up to his old tricks again. Half a stride out of the traps, the well-fancied 7-2 shot jinked to the left and sent Roberts crashing.
"We've got to do something about this. There's punters money involved and he can't behave like that too often," said Stewart.
"He's got a kink. We may have to fit him with a cupped blinker on the left- hand side, which is the way he comes out of the stalls."
At four and five
In 1998 Maylane began his season with a trip to Nad Al Sheba for the Dubai Turf Classic but finished well down the field in eighth in a race won by Saeed Bin Suroor's Stowaway.
Surprisingly the horse's next target was the Ascot Gold Cup. The two and a half mile trip slightly extended when Maylane gave his rivals a 15-length head start! The horse rallied to finish seventh, beaten, yes 15 lengths, by fellow Godolphin runner Kayf Tara.
Frankie Dettori revealed why he chose to ride Kayf Tara over Maylane: "I knew Maylane was a so and so, and that cut my choice down to one."
Maylane was entered for the Irish St Leger and consideration was given to running him as a pacemaker for Kayf Tara but the horse didn't run and finished the season with just two runs to his name.
It was to be thirteen months before Maylane was back on a racecourse, returning for a listed handicap at Goodwood. Back with Stewart after a season at Godolphin the trainer explained what had kept the horse away from the track: ''He had tremendous foot problems last year and when he came to me at the start of the year he had laminitis" (inflammation of the innermost layer of the hoof wall - ed.)
''But he is in very good form now. He is working very well and we are very excited about running him again.'' Stewart also described Maylane as being "a young man's ride" and gave Oscar Urbina the job but the Spaniard could only manage seventh, not helped by the loose Redbridge, more than 45 lengths behind Danish Rhapsody.
Urbina was also in the saddle for the next two unsuccessful trips to the race track. First at Epsom (with the assistance of expert stalls handler Yarmy Dyble, a Monty Roberts loading rug and first-time blinkers) with a decent three and a half length third of five to Yavana's Pace in mile and a half Group 3 and then fifth in the Dubai ArcTrial behind Fantastic Light at Newbury.
Roberts was the jockey when Maylane returned to the course a month later for a Haydock Class C condition Stakes and partnered the horse to a fifth career victory. The main scare came after the race when the horse shied when applause rang out around the winner's enclosure. After the victory Roberts called Maylane "one of the most quirky but talented horses I've ever ridden".
Richard Hughes was the next jockey to take the difficult ride in a Doncaster Listed race and he became the only jockey other than Roberts to be successful on the horse with a two-length win over Badaayer (conceding ten pounds). It was to be Maylane's last victory.
Later years
Maylane was back in April 2000 for the John Porter Stakes at Haydock but could only manage eighth, Yavana's Pace the victor again.
The race was to set the tone for a disappointing season. In five further races Maylane finished last twice and second-to-last on another two occasions. Several of these were creditable efforts in listed races but with Maylane reluctant to race at Leicester for Michael Hills and making slow starts in other races the quirks were still evident.
Despite a poor season Maylane was back as a seven-year-old in June 2001. It was history repeating at Leicester though as the horse was reluctant to race once again (for Roberts this time) and was beaten a distance by Zindabad.
What proved to be the horse's last run was on 30 June at Newmarket in the Fred Archer Stakes. Slowly away again Maylane raced keenly and then weakened two furlongs out for Willie Ryan finishing last of seven, 21 lengths behind Mubtaker.
Maylane had won six of his 25 starts with two seconds and three thirds and earned £101,254 in prize money for connections. But that wasn't the end of the story...
Future Champion?
One of the Punters (no names Cod!) was adamant that Maylane was a Champion Hurdler in the making but the horse's hurdle record couldn't be further from that of a champion. Raced twice, refused twice.
Before Maylane's debut over the obstacles trainer Brendan Powell said "Maylane is the type of horse that will get bored with doing the same thing all the time,"
"He has coped well with the change of scenery and has jumped our hurdles particularly well - so well that he's even been over our chase fences!
"He's been here for about three months now, and is fit and ready to run. Obviously he was classy on the Flat and if he can translate that form to hurdles he is in with a great chance on Friday."
Powell added: "Racing over the jumps is a different kettle of fish than the Flat. He still has his quirks but he is a darling of a horse."
Ridden by Rodi Greene in the colours of Jebel Ali Racing those hurdle runs came in June and July 2002. The first was at Stratford in a Class 3 Novice Hurdle worth £3,679 to the winner. The race was won by Lunar Crystal (who went on to finish down the field in the 2006 County Hurdle). Maylane, a 6/1 shot, refused to race.
Explaining what went wrong at Stratford, Powell said: "He was all set to go with the others but unfortunately a horse got kicked and there was a gap of a minute and a half while the vet looked at him. When I led Maylane in the next time he didn't want to know."
Three weeks later the sights were lowered at Worcester in a Class 4 Maiden Hurdle worth £2,940 to the winner and won by 25/1 shot Tarski (who was only to win twice more in 18 low class races). Maylane, at 9/1 this time, again refused to budge when the tape went up.
Timeform's Chasers and Hurdlers 2002/3 said the son of Mtoto was "thoroughly temperamental...one to avoid" and was awarded not the single but the double 'squiggle' (so temperamentally unsatisfactory as to not be worth a rating).
In a recent Guardian article Maylane featured at number five in a list of most frustrating racehorses (behind Harwell Lad, Green Green Desert, Vodkatini and Amrullah for the record) but is surely number one in a list of the Boozy Punters' most memorable racehorses.
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