Calver still taking the upbeat view; As one stable door closes, another opens for trainers at opposing career poles.

SOME of the affability factor will be lost from the training ranks when Peter Calver retires at the end of the season, and he has one of his last cracks at a big handicap with Perryston View in tomorrow's Great St Wilfrid at Ripon.

A leading vet, Calver has held a licence for 25 years, but the operation is being wound down and another stable stalwart, Forgie, went under the hammer at Doncaster on Wednesday.

Calver, 65, who rents his house and yard from Mark, Marquis of Zetland, says: "The situation has arisen out of Mark's decision that he had to charge a more economical rent for the place. He was told the place was worth X and I'm paying X minus a fair bit. But this is not a case of 'desperate and miserly Marquis'-after all he built the whole place to start with.

"But Mark is going through a period of disenchantment with racing and the parting of the ways is amicable. One or two other things haven't helped-Lloyd's wasn't good for him and, to be honest, the Zetland Stud has been a disaster-and I should know, because I ran it!"

Zetland, a man of great charm and always bristling with ideas, has, sadly, been maintaining a lower profile of late, perhaps dismayed by the realisation that racing is not a speedboat that can turn on a sixpence but a lumbering supertanker that takes miles for even the slightest change of course.

But his friend and tenant Calver is not in the least downbeat about the game and it would be a major surprise if he were not found a couple of constructive roles within the industry.

Calver says: "People say racing is less fun than it used to be, but the only part that is less fun is getting older. I don't think it is much more competitive, either, although you could probably win races with even worse horses 20 years ago.

"Trainers say jockeys' agents are a nightmare, but I don't even agree with that. They put so much into it and know so much about who is on what and what is running where.

"In the old days, you got messed around by jockeys' wives who swore blind their beloved would be at such and such a course, but weren't within 100 miles when push came to shove."

Calver has the occasional punt to keep himself in claret, but says: "The golden days of my betting were when I had Highland Wedding from 1962 to 1965 and we won six point-to-points with him."

Highland Wedding was bought by Toby Balding and went on to win the National in 1969 at the age of 12. Wizened Yorkshire point watchers recall that getting Highland Wedding to win was no problem-getting him beat occasionally, so he was worth backing when he won, was probably rather more difficult.

SOME of Calver's best times were when his great friend Guy Harwood's star was in the ascendant in the 1980s.

"I used to do all Guy's sales vetting," says Calver. "It was enormous fun and a huge success story, as well, and everyone likes to part of that.

"It changed eventually, of course. At one stage, every red carpet used to be run out by vendors at the sales, but the time came when it was a case of: 'Could you come back in 10 minutes? That Mr Stroud is round the corner!'''

And what about front-runner Perryston View tomorrow? Calver says: "The fact is he has won 10 races, been second once and third three times, and that has to tell you a story. Basically, when, or if, they get to him, he says: 'Blast it, if it's that important to you, then you go ahead and do all the work.'

"The fairy story would be getting beat tomorrow and coming back to win the Ayr Gold Cup. But when the ground isn't too fast they don't get to him so quick and I'll be happy to put up with winning the Great St Wilfrid if I have to."