Cheltenham Open Meeting 2008

Well last weekends Open meeting at Cheltenham was both controversial and dramatic.

Let’s start with the dramatic and Ruby Walsh’s fall on Saturday, when after hitting the deck he was then kicked in the stomach, resulting in having go have emergency surgery to remove a ruptured spleen .

Incidents like this exemplify the risks taken every day by both riders and horses.

It also throws the spotlight on a couple of morons at Wetherby on Saturday, who cheered the falls of both Gold Heart and Knockavilla at Wetherby, who would do well to bear in mind the risks that are taken. (The former of which looked to be a sickening fall, from which the horse happily walked away.)

Presumably these idiots cheer because the fall will work to the advantage of the horse they have backed.

Clearly, also, they have no love or respect for the sport they claim to be following and their ilk have no place on our racecourses.

The only mercy is these idiots form a very small minority.

Now the controversies from the open meeting still rumble on.

The first occurred in the very first race at the meeting. Just in case you have been on planet Zog for the past few days, jockey Jason McKeown had dropped his whip and asked a rival jockey, who was dropping out of contention, if he could borrow his whip – which was lent to him.

He then went on to win the race.

The stewards held an inquiry and decided there was not a rule to cover such an eventuality, which is correct.

However allowing the winner to keep the race cannot be correct.

If a rider drops his whip then it is tough luck.

There is no doubt that without the whip the “winner” would not have run the race. Taking this situation further had McKeown “borrowed” a whip from a jockey riding for the same stable he would have been “done” under the team tactics rule.

It is anomalies in the rules such as these which make a mockery of and undermine confidence in racing.

That the winner was allowed to keep the race is nothing short of a disgrace.

There are some who have compared the two day ban given to McKeown with the 20 day ban given to Lester Piggot when he grabbed a whip in a race in France.

There is, however, a big difference in that Piggot actually snatched the whip from a rival as opposed to asking for it.

The other controversy is another shot in the foot for the racing authorities and again poses some interesting questions.

Again if you had not returned from Zog by the time the cross-country race was run.

In the race jockey Davey Russell appeared to cut a corner, thus saving ground, when riding Dix Villez, to a hard fought victory. With the “short cut” having made all the difference.

However the short cut turned out to be legitimate. Russell had done his homework and he even checked with the stewards beforehand that his planned route was legitimate.

As he said after the race, "I spoke to the stewards before the race because shortcuts make all the difference in races like these.

"The bushes are not markers, I paid particular detail to it. It was totally premeditated."

So full marks to Russell and well done on his initiative and for learning the course.

The question is why did the other jockeys not realise the shorter route was legitimate?

Indeed by taking a longer route could they not be done for not riding to the best advantage.

However Russell’s initiative does mask an underlying problem in there should be no doubt as to the correct course to take.

It is very easy to take the wrong route on Cheltenham’s cross-country course and the penalties for taking the wrong course are high. So much so there are a number of “senior” jockeys who will not ride the course.

Officials must look at a better way to mark out the cross-country course so there is no ambiguity and it is easier for the jockeys to determine which route should be taken.

There are many who would not give a second thought to scrapping cross-country races and debacles like Friday’s just give them more ammunition.

Those of us who like the variety these races provide want to see some more credibility.

2008 Flat Season Review

Well another flat season comes to an end and it has been quite a season.


Aiden O’Brien and his Ballydoyle machine has had a brilliant season winning a majority of the Group One races. Clearly losing Kieran Fallon has not had a detrimental effect and in Johnny Murtagh they seem to have found an able substitute.


Of course the winning streak has not come without its critics. Firstly us Brits love to knock a winner then there has been the controversy surrounding the use of team tactics and, on more than one occasion, team Ballydoyle have fallen foul of various teams of stewards around the world. Of course there has also been the pocket talking criticism from losing punters who just cannot accept they picked the wrong horse and they need somebody else to blame.


Talking of controversy the biggest controversy of the season must surround the “will he, won’t he” saga of New Approach’s Epsom Derby participation. The ins and outs have been discussed ad-nauseum elsewhere and I don’t intend digging them up again. Suffice to say it is my belief that Jim Bolger is an inherently honest man and the behaviour of certain members of the media in this matter has been nothing short of a disgrace.


After the excitement of last years jockeys championship which, went to the last race on the last day of the season, the 2008 renewal was something of an anti-climax. Ryan Moore, who has a hate / hate relationship with the media, regained the title with some ease, after missing most of last season through injury. There is no doubt he is a competent jockey and he lets his riding do the talking. However he would do well to remember a little humility and civility would go a long way to making his life easier.


The big festivals came and went, although York didn’t even get off the ground due to flooding.


The end of the season was, however, sullied with more scandal. Following a BHA inquiry trainer Paul Blockley and jockey Dean McKeown, along with some other unsavoury characters, including a pretty obnoxious owner, were warned off for cheating. The implementation of the ban was delayed for seven days in the case of McKeown and in that time he was referred to the BHA for another offence under the non-triers rule – you couldn’t make it up.


The plaudits for me:-


Trainer of the year:- a tie between Aiden O’Brien and Jim Bolger (with a special mention for Sir
Michael Stoute who finally won that elusive St Leger)


Horse Of The Year:- another tie between Derby winner New Approach and Conduit who after winning the St Leger went and beat the Yanks at the Breeders Cup)


Jockey Of The Year:- Ryan Moore (with special mentions for Kevin Manning and Johnny Murtagh)

Breeders Cup - World Championship?

This coming weekend sees the Breeders Cup, modestly dubbed racings “World Championships.”

World Championships – please don’t make me laugh!!!!

Although, for the first time, this years races take place on a synthetic surface instead of the usual dirt, a surface alien to most runners elsewhere in the world.

Then again our American cousins are no strangers to Hyperbole – their rounders, sorry baseball, championships are called the world series yet only North American teams enter.

Although anyone who has ever spent any time watching US news bulletins will soon realise that in American eyes the world ends once away from their shores so their concept that any American sporting event is a world event is perhaps understandable.

Nonetheless there is frequently a decent overseas challenge, notably from Europe and these forays have not been without success, although notably less so when the event is held on the west coast, as is the case this year.

At the risk of offending our US cousins why don’t the worlds racing authorities get together and do something really radical and talk to one another and organise a proper world championships.

It could go something like this.

Held annually the event would rotate between one of three racing areas each year, US / Canada, Europe and Far East / Australia.

Possible locations in each area are the current Breeders Cup venues in the US / Canada. The Curragh, Ascot, York and Longchamp in Europe, and Changi, Sha Tin, Tokyo and Flemington or Caufield for the far east / Oz..

Races would be over the range of distances from 5f through to 2m and the host authority would decide the surface to be used.

Each race would have a maximum of twelve runners, three from each “region” plus up to three “guest” runners from the “rest of the world”.

Priority would be given to the “top rated” horses from each division, which should again attract the best horses.

The event would be held over two days allowing for two courses to be used for different surfaces if need be.

OK with changing surfaces it will be difficult to compare like with like over the years but it gives horses a chance to compete in different conditions and in different environments.

Surely a true champion can act on any course?

OK there are plenty of holes to pick in my plan but it is at least a starter and certainly better than what we have now.

From a very selfish viewpoint it would also give me an excuse to visit more of the worlds great racecourses.

So come on racing authorities get talking - it would be much better than a Sovereign Series!!!

I Love Paris .....

As Cole Porter wrote, “I love Paris in the springtime,” if, however you are a racing fan the second line of the perennial favourite song is more apposite, “I love Paris in the fall.”

Or, perhaps, to be more precise “I love Paris on the first Sunday in October.”

If you happen to be reading this on another planet, the first Sunday in October sees Paris host the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, one of the greatest flat races in the world.

Longchamp racecourse resides in the bottom corner of the Bois de Boulogne.

For those of you unfamiliar with Paris the Bois de Boulogne is, by day, a beautiful park in western Paris and, by night, home to prostitutes and transvestites (sometimes one and the same).

The course lay on special, free, shuttle buses from nearby Metro stations making it easy to arrive by public transport and certainly one heck of a lot easier than driving.

If you come to Arc day expecting a French ambiance you may well be disappointed, the predominant language amongst the racegoers is English and although an international crowd the Brits predominate.

Indeed my trip was just a day trips and both the outbound and return flights were full with the vast majority being racegoers and the same is true on most other flights and train crossings. It has to be said the majority of Brits make a weekend of the event.

Longchamp is a grand course in every sense of the word. Massive grandstands, manicured lawns and of course its famous parade ring, which now looks sadly dated after Ascot took the concept of its arena design and improved upon it.

It is sad the other meetings held at this magnificent course only attract a few hundred spectators.

But on Arc day we are talking tens of thousands and the place is heaving which invariably means queues, queues for food, queues for drink and, of course, queues for the toilets. Although, as always the queues for the ladies seemed a hell of a lot longer.

The most important thing to do is find a place on the grandstand steps and mark it as being your territory – viewing space is at a premium. If there is a group of you then saving a space is easy.

If, like me, your are on your own ingratiate yourself with your neighbours so they will kepp your space when you have to move off occasionally.

In my case it was a group from a pub in Warwickshire.

The days racing begins with a handicap, a sort of gentle introduction to what is coming later.

Race two is the Prix de l’Abbaye, a five furlong sprint. Now the five furlong, or as they say in France 1,000 metre, course is situated somewhere over the far side of the racecourse. If you can imagine the spring course at Sandown then move it half a mile further away you will have a feel for how impractical it is.

OK I exaggerate slightly when I say it is half a mile away nut it may as well be. Located in the centre of the course the considerate course management then construct a tented village between the stands and the track. As a result from most of the stands you cannot see any of the track and from where I was only the last 50 yards, including the finishing line was visible.

After Equiano was virtually carried into the stalls by the handlers the race was off – or it wasn’t – or it was half off.

Something didn’t look right – some of the runners were going hell for leather, some seemed to be slowing down. Then there was a quick shot of a horse in orange stuck in the stalls, momentarily it looked as though it was the favourite Marchand D’Or but one soon realised the jockey with the bemused look was Ryan Moore.

Confusion abounded, nobody around me had any idea what was going on. Then I saw the red “false start” lights.

I then had a text from the UK – “What happened?”

How the hell do I know – I’m only on course. The female course announcer had lovely sexy French voice but the “there has been a problem with the second race,” was frankly unhelpful.

In the end the only was to find out what was going on was for me to phone back to the UK and pass the information back to the racegoers around me – it was nice to be a public information service.

Eventually it was ascertained the race would be re-run at the end of proceedings but didn’t placate many racegoers who had to get away sharpish to catch coaches, flights trains etc.

Perhaps it wasn’t the beast time to tell them Eurostar were having problems and they may not be getting home anyway!!!

Anyway racing continued, impromptu parties were taking place on the stands. The next party but one were getting more and more lively with the “ladies” bursting into songs from Mamma Mia.

One of my new found friends from the pub in Warwick confided in me that the “ringleader” of that group was on her fourth bottle of Champange.

As the afternoon progressed the volume was pumped up - every time Frankie Dettori rode past the stands her was cheered – win or lose. Every time a losing Ballydoyle runner rode back after a race they were resoundingly booed.

Then came the big race and what a race it was Zarkava showed what a great filly she was. Those around me who had kept faith with the filly were dancing dances of joy and, to their credit those who did not fancy her (myself included) recognised what a great performance she had shown and cheered her back.

The stands also remained packed for the Arc presentation, a magnificent affair where a huge stage is drawn down the course by four great shire horses. Then the winning connections are driven from the parade ring to the presentation dais in a landau. After the presentation the national anthem of the winning nation is played and with France winning it was a home win. It also showed just how few French spectators there were as they were easy to spot – they were the only ones singing along.

The crowds started to thin out after the big race but there were still two contests remaining, plus the l’Abbaye re-run.

The Arab race, which followed the Arc produced a spectacular finish – a three way photo, very much “on the nod.”

By now the Mama Mia chorus had departed but my Warwick friends were still going strong, none more so than the pub landlady.

I was watching the runners going down for the final handicap and she started engaging me in conversation.

“Where do you live?”

I told her. “That’s posh and expensive isn’t it?”

“Not really. I replied”

“I bet you pay a lot of council tax,” she retorted.

“It’s not too bad,” I said intently staring at the runners milling behind the stalls, hoping she would take a hint.

“I bet drink is expensive,” she carried on, not taking the hint, “how much is a drink there.”

“I don’t know,” I replied, “I don’t drink.” Wishing at the same time she didn’t either.

“That’s good,” said my drunken landlady, then a pause.

“So what do you drink?” she carried on, as the runners were going in the stalls.

“I told you I don’t drink,” was my snapped reply.

“I know that but how much do you pay for a soft drink?”

“I DO NOT GO IN PUBS, I ONLY DRINK AT HOME.” Hello, message received I was thinking.

They’re off, I turn to her and say, “I’m very sorry but I need to watch this race.”

“That’s alright,” she says.

Then my worse nightmare, her right had hovering somewhere around the level of my crotch she says “Put it there.”

I almost drop my binoculars, I look down and thank goodness she is just holding out her hand for me to shake it – I just wish she wasn’t holding her hand so low.

Anyway a handshake later and I was left in peace.

Well seven and a bit races down just the re-run to go. It was getting late. I was, luckily, booked on a later flight so I wasn’t quite panicking about the time.

The l’Abbaye went off at 6:50 in very poor light. I’m glad I stayed as Marchand D’Or turned out to be my only winner of the afternoon.

After the race it was a quick dash to the big tree by the entrance to meet my travelling companion for the day. I travelled to and from the course with one of the representatives of a leading bookmaker. It was her first Arc – her reaction – “I can’t wait to come back next year, what a fantastic day.”

And it was. The journey back was very efficient, plenty of shuttle buses. Although advertised as a service every ten minutes, the busses were lined up and as soon as one filled up it set off and the next one was there.

What we feared may have been a tight trip back to the airport was comfortable, although a major disappointment as we were both hungry, was there was no hot food to be obtained in terminal 2B.

As on the trip out the flight was full of racegoers, most of them very tired racegoers.

If you are ever at a loose end the first weekend in October may I suggest a trip to Longchamp.

Make a weekend of it with your loved one or just a day trip. It will be an unforgettable experience and you will get to see some bloody good racing as well.

Team Tactics

So the BHA in their wisdom have fined trainer Aiden O’Brien £5,000 and have given jockeys Johnny Murtagh and Colm O’Donoghue seven day bans for breaking the rules on team tactics.



Just as it looked as though the BHA was starting to put their house in order and seem to be distancing themselves from the bumbling incompetence that was the Jockey Club, they come up with this decision.



I am not disputing the rule on team tactics was broken, lets face it O’Donoghue pleaded guilty to the charge. What is so farcical is that such a rule is in the rulebook at all.



It is not necessary.



If an outfit wishes to run more than one runner and adopt tactics that help one of their runners to win, then so be it, as long as no other rules of racing are broken in the process.



If the authorities really are so keen to stop team tactics then why not ban the use of pacemakers - is running a pacemaker not a team tactic?



Provided each runner runs to its merit and to its ability. Provided no interference is caused to other riders. Provided no other rules are broken. Then what is the problem?



If the "team tactics" break any of the other rules (and lets face it the rulebook extends to 501 pages) then use those rules to deal with the matter and punish the offenders accordingly.



So if in moving from the rail to allow another team member through, another horse is interfered with then punish the offending rider under one of the existing rules.



If, in moving over, no interference takes place then what is the problem?



In the race in question no other runner was interfered with. No other runner was disadvantaged. The winner won on merit.



Most of the opposition to what the Ballydoyle team did has been pocket talk from punters who are looking for an “excuse” for backing yet another loser.



In some of the forums people are crowing that Ballydoyle and Coolmore have had their comeuppance. To me this stinks of the politics of envy. That grand British trait to knock anything that is successful, the insidious politics of envy.   



The BHA have made great strides to improve the image of racing, they can take an even bigger stride in abolishing Rule 153 (iv) which, in itself, does more to bring racing into disrepute than the events at Newmarket in August.

BMW Drivers and Drunks

Time for another rant this week, one racing related the other not.

So let’s get the non-racing one sorted out first of all.

One of the disadvantages of going racing as often as I do is the number of miles that have to be covered, invariably by road. It is also the most tiring aspect of racing as you need your wits about you with some of the idiots you find on the road.

Now I am probably going to risk alienating a number of readers here by saying the worse car drivers on the road seem to be those who drive BMW’s.

I’m not saying all BMW drivers are equally culpable but if there is some idiot hogging lane three of the motorway it is a fair chance it will be a BMW driver.

If there is a car tailgating you have a look when it goes past and it’s a fair chance there will be a BMW manqué on the vehicle.

Queuing somewhere, to leave the racing or when lanes merge on a motorway you can bet your bottom dollar the car trying to push in will be a Beamer.

I have come to the conclusion that BMW stands for Brainless Moronic W*nker, as that seems to sum up the attitude of a large number of BMW drivers. It is almost as it they have a superior arrogance that makes them think they don’t have to follow the same rules as everyone else.

You think I’m making it up – just take a look next time you are off on a long drive.

If the marketing guys at BMW were switched on they could have the strapline “a frontal lobotomy free with every car.”

Speaking of frontal lobotomy’s that brings me onto my next moan – drunks at the races and I’m not talking about jockeys who fail an on-course breath tests.

No I’m referring to those simple minded idiots who seem to be unable to do anything without a drink in their hand and in so doing inflict their boorish behaviour on others.

The extreme instance is an outbreak of fighting of which there have been recent cases at Sandown, Newmarket and Newbury. Thankfully not that too frequent an event but once is too often.

At the next level there are loud boorish groups who pour beer down their throats and become rowdy. Some may think chanting of football songs is cool – maybe it is at a football stadium - it is not appropriate behaviour at a racecourse. On one level it is not pleasant for the majority of racegoers who are there to enjoy the racing.

There is also the safety concern that a jeering crowd could spook a horse leading to a nasty accident. OK it hasn’t happened yet but I’m sure that is down more to good fortune than anything else.

The raceourses do not help matters. Granted they are not charities and they need to make money and believe me having once been a licensee of a social club I know exactly how much profit can be made from booze sales. However the courses actively encourage drinking.

At one of the meetings where there was recent violence there were innumerable young lads walking round actively selling beer to racegoers. I lost count of the number of times I was approached and asked if I wanted to buy some beer. The look of incredulity when I said I didn’t want a drink had to be seen to be believed.

The trouble is some racecourses actively encourage their customers to drink as much as possible – they then shrug their shoulders and tut tut when there are problems as a result.

Indeed there are some courses who actively encourage heavy drinking – there is more than one course who encourages customers to by their drinks in two pint containers – one even pushes beer in four pint jugs.

It is actually illegal for a licensee to sell alcohol to a customer who is drunk – yet at most courses this rule is not enforced. This isn’t helped by the fact that most of those selling the alcohol are barely 18 themselves and do not have the confidence to refuse to serve those who are intoxicated.

There are those who will argue that drinking at the racecourse is not a big problem, it just reflects what happens on most high streets on any Saturday night. Does that make it right?

I avoid high streets on Saturday nights because of drunken morons, why should I avoid going racing to avoid them?

I have no problem if people want to have a drink as long as they don’t make a nuisance of themselves.

The RCA / BHA should implement (or should I say enforce) the following rules straight away.

Anyone who is intoxicated at a racecourse should be ejected immediately.

• Anyone who is drunk and disorderly at a course should be banned from all racecourses for twelve months. For repeat offences a lifetime ban should be applied. The banning orders can be enforceable in the same manner as football banning orders.
  
• Anyone who is violent at a racecourse should be banned from all sporting venues for life. Again this can be a legally enforceable ban.
  
• Any racecourse who fails to enforce the rules of its licence should have its licence removed.
  

I want the racecourse to be somewhere I can have an enjoyable afternoon, where I could take a maiden Aunt without her having to come face to face with drunk louts. I don’t care what happens on the high street, I don’t want it happening on my racecourses.

Tarnished Sovereign

On Wednesday, with a great fanfare, the Sovereign Series was announced.

This is a series of ten of the top flat races which will have funding of £10 with a substantial prize going to connections of the horse which scores most points in the series.

At first glance it sounds a brilliant initiative, a huge injection of funds into racing, a chance to raise a profile of the sport in the eyes of the general public. A large number of whom think there are only two horse races a year, The Grand National and The Derby.

Of course it is very easy for the marketing men to grab a quick headline but, as often happens, the devil is in the detail.

It has to be said the more you look at the detail of the proposed series, the more difficult it becomes to justify the series.The most serious show stopper surrounds the terrestrial broadcasting rights.

The powers that be want the series covered by a single terrestrial broadcaster. The proposed races are currently shown by both the BBC and Channel 4. These is also an expectation that the terrestrial broadcasters will have to bid for the rights.

Quite how this fits in with the Channel Four financial model where they are currently being paid to broadcast racing every Saturday is not clear.

Should they obtain the rights to the Sovereign Series would they still wish to show the “bread and butter” racing the other weeks.

Another major issue is the BBC currently hold the rights to Royal Ascot. Ascot racecourse have said they are not prepared to have terrestrial coverage of the Royal Meeting split across two channels. I can’t see the BBC being wiling to give up their Ascot coverage, one of the “Jewels In The Crown”.

Will the BBC therefore bid for the entire package?

Looking at how they have drastically reduced their coverage in recent years I cannot see that happening.

Again the question will need to be asked if the BBC get the rights will the C4 walk away.My suspicion is whichever terrestrial broadcaster doesn’t win the rights will almost certainly walk away from coverage of racing – that will not help the sport at all.

There are also questions surrounding the races that have been selected for the series.

With such large sums of money at stake, what will be the impact on the non-Sovereign races?

The one that immediately springs to mind is the Champion Stakes at Newmarket, which is the same weekend as the Arc. If a leading horse is in contention for the Sovereign Series big prize will they potentially by-pass the Arc to run at Newmarket. Arguably the Arc is the far superior race.

Why aren’t all the classics being included in the series?

Will the series be supported by all of those in the sport? This will be a showcase series and it will, hopefully, put the sport in the public eye. With that comes responsibility. Those involved, owners, trainers and jockeys need to be accessible. What the series cannot do with, is surly jockeys whose stock answer to general questions from the media is to respond with a two word reply the second of which is off.

Finally I do have one other concern, which may not go down well with the public. We are currently experiencing a credit crunch, people are being asked to tighten their belts. Yet they then see racing launching a £10 million, ten race series and when encouraged to actually come racing and watch the racing live they are charged extortionate amounts to enter the racecourse.

Also the question has to be asked – can the money not be better spent? Certainly there are more pressing needs outside racing but that is another issue. There is talk of a £2m prize to the horse that wins the series – the chances it will go to one of the big stables and the question is do they need the money?

Are there not other areas in racing where the money could be better spent?