The orphan's fairytale

Jockey Martin Dwyer and the filly Shadow Dancing could be united in a happy ending at Epsom next month - just like the one in the musical

Little Orphan Annie.

If the script turns out correctly, the pair could have little old ladies and incurable romantics applauding at the end of the Vodafone Oaks on 7 June.

The role of the little orphan girl - who eventually makes it big - is tailor-made for Shadow Dancing. Trained by Marcus Tregoning at Lambourn, Shadow Dancing took her first steps towards stardom at Chester last week after winning the Victor Chandler Cheshire Oaks partnered by Dwyer.

The 26-year-old Scouser with the quick wit, has come up the hard and steady way and it is paying rewards. He is heading for his best season in the jockeys' table and is in second place at present and well ahead of Kieren Fallon, Pat Eddery and Kevin Darley.

Before partnering Shadow Dancing in the Chester race - a recognised trial for the Oaks - Dwyer said: "I think she will win today and then go on to take the big one. She deserves it, as she has not had the best of luck in life."

The filly was bred by former champion jockey Willie Carson and trainer Dick Hern, and was born to Salchow, who herself won the Cheshire Oaks.

But Salchow died giving birth to Shadow Dancing and Dwyer's heroine was brought up by a foster mother, Cleo the Cleveland bay, who worked for the Beamish brewery in Newcastle. "If that hasn't got all the ingredients of a fairytale-I don't know what has," said Dwyer after the Chester race.

The duo won the race from two other Oaks entries, Bright and Clear and Sunray Superstar. Bookmakers rate Shadow Dancing at around 20-1 for the Oaks - which appears excellent each-way value.

Dwyer's rise has not exactly been meteoric. One of four children born to a post office worker and a seamstress in the district of Whiston, near Liverpool, life wasn't easy and you had to be able to look after yourself. "We had no connection with the sport. My dad had his bike nicked from outside the bookies one day. That's the closest he's been to racing," Dwyer laughed.

He left school at 15 and went straight to trainer Ian Balding's stable, where he has been based ever since. He rode out his apprenticeship, and his quiet unflustered manner has since attracted a discerning clientele including Tregoning, who said: "He fits the filly down to the ground. I wouldn't want anyone else to ride her in the Oaks."

Dwyer soon made his mark when arriving at Balding's, winning the stable lads boxing championships which he did by drawing on his ability to look out for himself in tough surroundings.

Since then he has married Claire, the daughter of trainer Willie Muir, and their son, Joseph, is nearly one but he's not likely to follow his father's trade after weighing in at 7lb.

Dad doesn't look much older either. The baby faced horseman found his motor hemmed in by five police cars coming back from York races once because they thought he was a teenage joyrider. Now he drives a royal blue Mercedes.

Last term Dwyer landed four Group races and ended up by winning the Cesarewitch on Balding's Distant Prospect.

"I would name Distant Prospect as the one to watch in the top staying handicaps this season," Dwyer said. "Mr Balding also has a first class crop of two year olds this campaign, many of them yet to run, so keep an eye on his juvenile brigade."

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in