The Gredley family must see sense and get Callum Shepherd and Ambiente Friendly back together

STUBBORNNESS is not what one could call a horrible trait – ultimately, though, it is one that can come back to haunt you.

So the question now has to be asked, when will owners the Gredley family put to one side whatever issue they have and allow the outstanding Callum Shepherd to be reunited with Ambiente Friendly?

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Ambiente Friendly simply has not looked the same horse since Callum Shepherd was replaced ahead of the Derby[/caption]

Don’t get me wrong here, of course the races Ambiente Friendly has been contesting recently have been much more competitive since he hacked up under Shepherd in the Lingfield Derby trial.

But that day at Lingfield, Ambiente Friendly and Shepherd came together as one. You may remember the jockey talking afterwards, and these were his words.

“I’ve been riding him in loads of work and I thought he’s come on so much from his first run back at Newmarket,” said Shepherd.

“He’s a much more relaxed horse. I can’t speak highly enough of him. I am so pleased with how he was mentally.”

That bond is the crucial point.

Ambiente Friendly then went on to run well in the Derby itself, but has gradually got worse and worse since.

Indeed, the son of Gleneagles was back in action in France at the weekend and finished last in the Group 2 Qatar Prix Niel having never been in with a chance of winning. It was dismal.

I don’t know what the Gredleys will do with Ambiente Friendly next, but if they have any sense at all, or any ability to admit that they might have got something wrong, then Shepherd will be back on top.

Since being ditched, Shepherd has continued to grow in his role as the go to man for trainer George Scott.

Maybe the latter is the problem, for reasons which I don’t need to go into here.

But whatever the case, Shepherd and Scott are proving a potent and top combination.

In the last few days they have taken the Group 2 Champagne Stakes at Doncaster with Bay City Roller and the Deutsches St Leger with Prydwen.

Sometimes in life you have to move on. Sometimes in life you move on but eventually go back.

That should be the case with Ambiente Friendly and Callum Shepherd.

Meanwhile… ‘nearly horses’ are underestimated in their importance to the game and so I want to celebrate three in today’s column.

The first is Ghostwriter, who ran in his fifth successive Group 1 of the season when fifth behind Economics in Saturday’s Royal Bahrain Irish Champion Stakes.

The Clive Cox-trained inmate has also been third in the Juddmonte International and Copral Eclipse, fourth in the French Derby and fourth in the 2000 Guineas.

Ghostwriter is clearly a talented animal but his consistency is a dream for handicappers.

He now links form between Notable Speech, Rosallion, City of Troy, Look de Vega and Economics and Auguste Rodin.

Owned by Jeff Smith, Ghostwriter deserves much praise.

In a different role King’s Lynn has been magnificent for Andrew Balding this term but hasn’t won a race since Haydock in May of 2022.

Since then he’s run 21 times with form figures this term of 923425342 during which his handicap mark has hovered from 97 to 93.

Balding has popped him over trips from 5f to 7f and he runs well over all of them.

King’s Lynn is a joy and chased home the gambled on Baldomero at Doncaster yesterday. I can’t wait for him to get his head in front once again.

While we are at it let’s chuck in Emily Upjohn.

Much has been written about the John & Thady Gosden-trained mare in 2024 because the former Group 1 heroine hasn’t landed anything huge.

But she’s actually been performing with huge credit for Kieran Shoemark, with former figures of 542633.

The simple truth is she’s banged against some decent younger horses, but her third to Bluestocking in the Vermeille was terrific, as was her second to the same horse in the Pretty Polly at the Curragh.

Another third behind Content in the Yorkshire Oaks was also excellent.

Let’s support and enjoy consistent horses. They deserve much credit.

Elsewhere, some have called for star stayer Kyprios to run in the Prix de l’Arc de Triumph after his fine success in the Irish St Leger over the weekend.

However, that’s very unlikely to happen.

Trainer Aidan O’Brien told me today: “Probably not Matt”. Enough said.