TEAMWORK MAKING THE DREAM WORK FOR BETHELL FAMILY, WEDNESDAY 24 MARCH 21

James Bethell is playing a different role in the Moss Gill (IRE) story these days as the No Nay Never gelding is now in the care of Edward Bethell, who inherited him after his father decided to call time on his 46-year career.

James formally retired on January 1, having worked to sharpen Moss Gill’s skills over the last few years to turn him into the impressive sprinter who finished third behind the brilliant Battaash in the Group 1 Coolmore Nunthorpe Stakes at York last August.

The 69-year-old is back to overseeing Moss Gill’s progress as Edward’s ‘unofficial’ assistant in Dubai and is expected to give the leg-up to Daniel Tudhope, who will ride him in the US $1m Al Quoz Sprint Sponsored by Azizi.

Ironically, Moss Gill’s appearance in the 1200m dash will be James’s second ever runner in a Group 1 after the aforementioned Nunthorpe. Can you imagine what it would be for him to win? What a swansong that would be. Again, only if you can call it a swansong.

“This is a very big opportunity. I retired from the job at the end of last year and have been put in the job as assistant and I’ve got quite a big gig coming here which is good,” James joked.

“Ed couldn’t come because he would need to go into quarantine (on returning to England) and it would just take too long and too much time off.

“I had a licence for 45 years and thought it was time the younger people took on. I thought I’d get away from the stress but I don’t think it’s quite worked out like that.”

James will be as anxious as Edward when Moss Gill lines up in the field of 13. He might have quit the role, but you can tell he hasn’t left the job.

“I used to get up and feed the horses at half past five every morning before I retired,” said James, who has a pair of Group 3 level wins to show on his resume.

Those were achieved by Rich Ground in the 1996 July Stakes at Newmarket and Strawberry Dale, who won the Middleton Stakes at York. Both events have since been granted Group 2 status.

James added: “I miss it! I don’t do that anymore. Someone else does that; Edward does that now, so that’s that otherwise everything else is pretty much the same.

“I still go to the gallops and we are a very good partnership. I think it’s better that the young people are at the front of racing. They are better with social media, which I am not very familiar with. Ed’s very good at that and very good at finding staff which was never one of my strong points.

“Ed’s thought of nothing else, it’s been his dream. We thought we’d lose him and he’d want to train at Newmarket or something, but then he decided Thorngill in Middleham wasn’t a bad place to train a racehorse.

“It’s very much still a team – a team effort with me criticising him rather than him criticising me at the moment.”