A Week At The Races - Friday

For those of you with nothing better to do than follow my blog all this week I will begin with an update on the “dongle” situation.


I am now the proud owner of a brand new dongle and am therefore able to once again send copy from the racecourses who still do not have wi-fi.


In the end it was actually an anti-climax. I was expecting a big battle, in the end they said “yep it’s broken.”


I had already told them that.


“It cannot be repaired,”


Yep I could have told you that as well.


“So have a replacement.”


Thank you – but why couldn’t you have given me a replacement straight off in the first place?


Anyway today was another “working from home day”.


It gave me a chance to catch up with yesterday, writing a course review for Thurles. Updating yesterdays blog and finally finishing off the race cards for Cheltenham.


Oh yes doing the homework for Doncaster tomorrow – and this is how I spend a “day off”!!!


People say to me “it must be great fun being a racing journalist?”


Well, yes it is but it isn’t all glamour. The hours are long. There is a lot of travelling involved.


Working conditions are variable.


So what is involved?


There is a great deal of prep work involved. It isn’t just a matter of turning up at the racecourse and reporting what goes on. You need to do the prep work. Having the background info makes all the difference.


Prep takes two or three hours and is normally carried out the evening before. This involves producing race cards with areas for recording the race reading. Checking form and trying to identify winners.


On the day travelling can take a fair part of the day depending how far I have to travel. The aim is to arrive about 1½ hours before racing, two to three hours at the big meetings.


On arrival it is a matter of catching up on the latest news. Finding the clerk of the course for the latest going. Finding out any changes, non-runners and the like and, if time, walk the course.


Then, depending on the course, a quick bite to eat.


Down to the parade ring to see the horses for the opener, then off to find a vantage point to watch the racing.


During the race it is a matter of making notes about what is happening during the race.


As soon as the race is over it is back to the press room to write it up. If there are up to ten runners and no incidents the race report can be written up pretty quickly. For larger fields or where there has been an incident it is a case of watching a replay on the press room TV.


The aim is to get the report written and uploaded and still have time to get to see the runners for the next race in the parade ring.


Sometimes there is a grand debate in the press room over an incident which results in a discussion and takes a great deal of time.


…. And the process continues for each race.


Sometimes if there is time I will try and get quotes from connections.


After the last race it is then decision time. If escape is easy it is a case of writing up the last race and escaping as soon as possible.


If there is a big crowd or exit is difficult then it is a case of staying for about an hour to miss the crowds. Using the time to prepare for the next day.

A Week At The Races - Thursday

A long day today, alarm off at 5:15 – all the more depressing as it was still dark, I hate dark mornings.


Isn't it funny how one becomes complacent about things.

When I first flew anywhere I used to make sure I was at the airport in plenty of time. Always aiming to arrive at least two, usually three, hours before the flight.


Now I am a frequent flyer the novelty of hanging around airports has worn off and I can get the trip down to a fine art now, especially with online check-in.

Now I aim to arrive at the airport 45 mins before departure. Of course there is a risk with this strategy, you need a clear route on the roads but so far it has not let me down and I have three or four different routes worked out so I have alternatives.


I have mixed feelings about low cost airlines, they have certainly made flying available to the masses and, if you buy at the right time, you can get some incredible bargains. My return flight from London to Dublin next week is costine me a grand total of £13.02, even less than it costs me to go to London by train.

I must admit I go online and check every day to see what offers are available.


However, the airlines (or at least a certain Irish carrier), do seem to recruit some “interesting” cabin crew. Take today’s flight from London to Shannon.


The senior flight attendant was, as usual, making the announcements.

It was immediately clear that English was not his first language. However it soon became abundantly clear that it was not his second or third language either – it was impossible to comprehend 80% of what he was saying, his English was so bad.

That may not be a problem if he was trying to flog you Duty Free. However, in an emergency, he would be responsible for making the safety announcements and if nobody can understand what is being said the potential does not bear thinking about.


Anyway the flight arrived safely and after a Full Irish breakfast in the airport restaurant it was off to pick up the hire car.

On arriving at the rental office it was deserted – a land locked Marie Celeste. Shouting, banging on the counter produced no response.


Eventually, after about ten minutes, this chap strolls in, all smiles, “are you being attended to?”


“No, I have been standing here like a bl**dy statue for ten minutes,” was my somewhat ungracious response. At least my complaining got me a free upgrade to a slightly larger rattling tin can.


Even after 30 odd years racing I still get more than a twinge of anticipation when I visit a course for the first time, wondering what will greet me. Although I have to confess with most Irish courses there is also the nagging doubt about actually finding the course and whereas my sat-nav conveniently has all UK racecourses in its memory bank, it appears horse racing in Ireland does not exist.


In the UK virtually every course has either a brown sign or if not that, temporary AA signage on racedays. Whereas in Ireland any signage seems to be the exception rather than the rule.


You can therefore imagine my delight that as I approached Thurles I found myself behind a horse box, although I don’t think the chap in the car behind me was too impressed as he was wondering why I did not want to pass this slow horse box when there was plenty of space to overtake him.

The withering look as he eventually over took myself and my guide would have frozen the surface of the sun. Then again he was driving an Audi so there was a certain delight in slowing him down.


I must confess without my horse box guide I would have struggled to find the course easily but soon, after passing the Greyhound Stadium, I caught my first glimpse of running rails.


The next think I looked for was the Grandstand, which usually gives a clue as to where to park. All I could see, however, was what looked like a truncated Nissan Hut plonked on top of some concrete steppings – yep Thurles was another of those beloved rustic courses.


I have to be honest and say that despite the somewhat decrepit facilities Thurles is one of those courses where you really do enjoy the racing. Viewing is excellent and there was a very strong betting ring with over forty bookmakers standing.


Despite it being a midweek afternoon meting there was also a very healthy crowd, so busy it was almost impossible to get close to the parade ring to see the runners.


The fields were invariably big and there were several shock results with all four odds-on favourites getting turned over and some spectacular falls, not least in the first race when the first two in the betting were battling it out for the honours and both fell, independently, at the last fence.


It was, as is often the case, a very enjoyable days racing in Ireland, where the crowds are friendly and, win or lose, rain or shine, you invariably have a good day.


The only disappointment is there were some Cheltenham prospects being touted before the meeting – I’m afraid none of the runners on display this day will be gracing the winners enclosure at Prestbury Park in a couple of weeks time.


The journey home ended up being quite surreal as well and it shows how little thinking goes into what some airlines do.


As part of the sales pitch, there are a great deal of sales pitches on low cost airlines, they were selling copied of The Irish Independent, with a flight attendant walking up and down the aisle showing the front page on full display.


Unfortunately, dominating the front page, was a huge photograph of a plane that had crashed the previous day in Amsterdam. A plane of exactly the same type we were about to fly in.


Very clever!!!

A Week At The Races - Wednesday

Funny isn’t it?


You would think having a day off from going racing would be a heck of a lot easier – yet today I haven’t actually stopped.


First of all this morning I had to go and buy a new digital camera. I have, or had, two - a digital SLR which is my “for best” camera and a compact which I use for day to day. Unfortunately I left my compact in the car when we had the recent cold snap and the minus five temperatures actually shattered the sensor in the camera rendering it useless. As I am visiting a new course tomorrow and I want some photos, but don’t want to lug the SLR around I have had to buy a new compact.


Well shopping done it was time to track down the weights for the handicaps at Cheltenham and then update the web site – sounds easy but I have been doing the updates for almost six hours now and am only half way there.


Actually I have been doing other things as well, including getting my racecards ready for tomorrow.


As I have already said I am visiting a new course tomorrow – Thurles, over in Ireland. It will mean a long day, setting off at about six for an 8:30 flight and unlikely to be home much before midnight.


Normally I can knock up my racecards in about 45 minutes but with Irish cards it takes longer, not least there invariably large fields, plus reserves. This also presents the challenge of trying to get each race on a single A4 page.


In between all that I have had to do things like check-in for the flights, print off boarding cards, print off car hire paperwork, find the counterpart for my driving licence, not forgetting the passport. Oh yes and print off the letter of accreditation from the racecourse just in case I get questioned in the press room.


Ideally I should have an early night tonight, I somehow cannot see that happening.

A Week At The Races - Tuesday

Well day two of the all week blog and racing today is at Leicester, a much less fraught journey than yesterdays.

However before any racing I have some unfinished business from yesterday and getting the dongle sorted out.

It is very interesting in mobile phone shops. When you go in as a potential buyer it is all smiles and nothing is too much trouble. Go in to complain and the smiles soon disappear. The conversations went something like this:-

Him: "I will check to see if you are eligible for an upgraded dongle"

tap, tap away

"It is good news and bad news - you are eligible for an upgraded dongle but not until the end of March"

Me: "That doesn't help me much now does it?"

Him: "No. It will have to go away to be checked and they will decide if it can be repaired or replaced."

Me: "Will I have to pay for the repair?"

Him: "It depends if it is covered under the manufacturers warranty."

Me: "... and you can't do the upgrade a month early?"

Him: "No we have no flexibility."

Me: "Well I am telling you now if you cannot repair or replace it free of charge I will cancel the contract."

Him: "You cannot do that."

Me: "Me - you watch me. If you are providing equipment on an 18 month contract it must be durable enough to last the period of the contract."

Him: "You still have to pay the full contract amount."

Me: "I don't think you will find I have to. Indeed I will cancel the account and actually invite you to take me to court to claim the balance."

Him: "May I give you the number of our customer services department?"

Me: "No, but you can give me the number of your legal department if you wish."

Anyway the Dongle has gone off so I will see what they have to say in three working days and I will let you know.

Back to more important things, I’m not sure if people know something I don’t but I have never seen the press room so busy here – nothing stands out looking at the card.

The opening race was a real bummer from a reporting perspective as it was one of those races where, barring an accident, the result was never in doubt.All that needs to be said is Song Of Songs won without even breaking sweat.

From the sublime to the ridiculous after a four runner opener we had a sixteen runner contest. The press room at Leicester isn’t any good at all for watching racing – it is one of those which offers no view of the racing whatsoever.

The options are watching on the television in the press room, which I hate doing – or watching through bins. I opt for the latter but with no big screen you really are pushed when the runners are running away from you in the mist.

I think it should be obligatory for all courses to provide big screens. Anyway I managed to produce something resembling a report with my notes made in running and a quick look at a replay on TVof the .

The rest racing wasn’t really worthy of not, until the last anyway.

When you have a tight finish in which one horse is being ridden by a five pound claimer and the other by AP McCoy then there will be some inevitability in the result.Indeed McCoy’s mount Matcho Pierji did prevail but only by half a length and full credit to David Cullinane who was not fazed by a battle with the champ.

That was it, a typical Tuesday afternoon meeting with a small crowd.

After the fraught journey home yesterday I was hoping for better today – it almost wasn’t but fortunately the travel news on Five Live saved me. There had been a major accident on the M1 at Leicester but with the help of the sat-nav I was able to avoid it.

Well tomorrow is a day working at home – the Cheltenham handicap weights are due to be published so they will have to be added to the web-site.

A Week At The Races - Monday

Seven days, seven updates, I though I would be self indulgent and record a weeks working as I travel across the UK and Ireland.


So we will begin with Monday and the day began with a dilemma – where to go? Three meetings, although only two choices as the all-weather at Wolverhampton was quickly eliminated.


So it was a choice between Hereford and Plumpton and, in the end, the decision was an irrational one. Last time I went to Hereford I ended up having to be towed out of the car park after getting bogged in the mud.


So Plumpton it was and with a new train service from my local station which means I can get there avoiding crossing through London I decided to go by train.


That was almost a mistake as, how shall I put it, a discussion ensued with a very prickly lady in the station ticket office as to whether the train I was catching was off-peak or not. I won!


One advantage of going by train is you get the chance to do some work whilst travelling to the races, the disadvantage is it seems to take an age – not helped by the fact there is only an hourly service to Plumpton itself.


2½ hours after setting off it was the stroll from the station to the course.


A kind lady showed me to the press room, then the problems began. First of all there is no wi-fi in the press room. No problem - I have wireless mobile broadband, which works brilliantly and gives response times as good as at home. Once technical aspect though, you need a signal and there isn’t one at Plumpton.


So all the travelling and unable to file any updates – what a bummer?


Hopefully when I get somewhere nearer civilisation I will be able to get a signal and upload the reports.


The racing isn’t brilliant – typical Monday afternoon fare. The sandwiches in the press room are going fast – I need something hot. A nice chilli instead.


As expected the racing itself was not earth shattering and the champion jockey – the greatest jockey – proved he was fallible. Coming to Plumpton for just the one ride and he came home a disappointing last.


It just goes to show that even the great McCoy can misjudge a horse as well as the rest of us.


Some excitement in the press room after out fifth race – someone (not me) forgot to press the record button on the video. Needless to say there was an incident and there was quite a debate as to whether Portrait Royale’s departure was a fall or unseated rider. My view was the latter –
I won again!!!


So began the journey home. It started off pretty well – the train from Plumpton was ontime.


First priority was to file my copy – I couldn’t. It seems the problem with my mobile broadband was not a lack of signal but a more fundamental one in that my dongle has broken – and it you have ever had a broken dongle you will know it is not very pleasant.


So it looks like a trip to get a replacement tomorrow morning.


That was only the beginning of the fun. I had to change trains at Clapham junction – can there be a more depressing station anywhere on the network?


It should have been a 12 minute connection – it ended up a 32 minute wait as a passenger had taken ill on the inbound train and they had to await an ambulance.


Strange isn’t it – the Government tell us we should use public transport but the journey will not take me over an hour longer than it would had I driven.


Well that is day one of the week and I really do hope the remainder of the week is less fraught.

Bring It On

I sometimes wonder what my postman must think as he delivers my mail. Hardly a day goes by when there is not at least one, often more, letters bearing the logos of various racecourses. Most of the time they are mailings from the marketing department with the latest promotions which may be new for the course, but for an old cynic on the mailing list of sixty racecourses is rarely anything new.


Then again I suppose there are only so many themed meetings to go around. Ladies Days used to be quite rare, no every course seems to have one and one, I note, actually has five of the blessed things in 2009.


Of course some Ladies Days are legendary, none more so than day two of the Aintree Festival, when the good (and bad) lasses of Liverpool and the surrounding area come out in their finest.

Trust me their finest also leaves little to the imagination – whatever the reading on the mercury – and for a normal red blooded chap it makes concentrating on the racing very difficult indeed.


Anyway I digress. Luckily not all the mail from the racecourses is advertising blurb and I had more than a spring in my step the other week when there was a louder than usual clatter of mail and I was confronted with a padded envelope bearing a Cheltenham postmark.


It was my badge for the Festival. The one sign that the countdown to the four glorious days in March had finally begun.


The four days which all National Hunt fans wait for with bated breath.


Or so I thought!!!


Some conversations I have had recently, even with racing professionals, have suggested ……


(If you are of a nervous disposition dear reader my I suggest you sit down with a stiff drink before reading this next bit. Although make sure none of the stiff drink is in your mouth otherwise you may splutter it over your PC or laptop.)


… some have actually suggested it may not be all it cracked up to be and – wait for this – they don’t enjoy it.


OK yes the place gets crowded and you cannot get a drink without missing a race. You also need a supersize bladder to cope with the lavatorial queues. It can also take a couple of hours to get out of the car parks after racing.


But so what?


What is it they say, no pain – no gain!!


But the racing is great – well I think it is but even then some digress. One respected sage said to me “each day is two decent races surrounded by dross.”


Dross – when your working life includes trips to the back and beyond, trips to all weather meetings on a wet Monday afternoon, how on earth can you call anything at Cheltenham dross.


Not only is it not dross, it is one the “fairest” meetings of the year. One of those meetings where you know there will be no schooling in public, one of those meetings where you know every single runner is there to try and win.


There are those who decry the fact the Festival is now spread over four instead of three days. I presume these are the same people who still wish The Derby was run on a Wednesday and that children were still sent out to work at five.


There are those who are criticising the new Martin Pipe Hurdle. If it is such a terribly bad idea why has it attracted over 200 entries? For connections whose runners do not make the Coral Cup it gives them a chance to still get a run at the festival and why not let the Conditional’s have their moment of glory as well?


For me the Festival is the best, most intense four days racing of the year.


As I write this there are 376 hours to the opening race – not that I am counting of course.


Bring it on!!

A Great Day At Ascot

Ascot’s fixture on Valentines Day seemed somehow appropriate as three horse who I love were on show.


We saw another brave, battling performance from Lough Derg.

If horses won prizes for sheer guts then he would be head and shoulders above the others. He seems to save his very best for Ascot but wherever he runs you know you will get maximum effort, especially if Tom Scudamore is on board. The pair of them together show the ultimate fusion of man and beast.


Lough Derg’s performance at Ascot on Saturday was the perfect illustration of his sheer guts over, arguably, the minimum trip for him. Attacked on both sides in the final stages, after once again leading all the way, he still would not go down without a fight.

Many horses would have folded in the circumstances but he just doesn't know how to give up. In the closing stages he managed to get his head back in front of Dancing Tornado when headed by him and I am pretty sure given a few more yards he would probably have had a bl**dy good go at the eventual winner Serabad as well.


It is good to see connections campaigning him more sensibly this year. Last year in a quest to win the Order Of Merit he was over raced. It is full credit to the horse that last seasons really hard campaign did no long term harm to the horse.

Having eulogised about him so much I still cannot see him winning the World Hurdle at Cheltenham - I would rather see him go next to the Aintree Hurdle.


Of course should he go to Cheltenham and win the World Hurdle there will be nobody at the course with a broader smile than me, indeed I may even have a tear or two rolling down my cheeks.


Two more of my favourite horses were running at Ascot yesterday.


The first is Carruthers, a real star for the future and one to watch.


The other is the one who is probably destined to be my all time favourite horse ever – Voy Por Ustedes.


Voy Por seems to be a horse many are happy to slag off. OK he will never be a Kauto Star, a Dessie, Red Rum or Arkle and probably isn’t even worthy to nail on their shoes. However within his one sphere he is a consistent star.


He doesn’t have a brilliant strike rate, winning 13 of his 29 starts, it is better than most however.

More importantly he runs to form and it is relatively easy to work out which races he will do well in and which he will not.


A champion at two miles it now seems his forte is around two and a half miles. He has fallen one and unseated twice in a 29 run career. He has run on going from good through to heavy, although good to soft looks to be his ideal.


Where he has been beaten it has been by runners such as Kauto Star and Master Minded.


Before the 1996 Arkle at Cheltenham I got on many peoples nerves by telling anyone who would listed to back Voy Por – luckily many did and I was quite popular for a few weeks. My bank manager was pretty happy as well.


The following year I was just as bullish about the Queen Mother Champion Chase and couldn’t believe the SP of 5/1. I must admit one of the advantages of following an unfancied horse is you can often get a decent price.


Last year he was trying for a Festival hat-trick. This time he was 5/2 favourite and we all know what happened next – he met this awesome beast called Master Minded, probably a once in a generation horse. Although next time out he turned the tables over 2m 4f.


Last Christmas he ran in the King George, coming third to Kauto Star and Alberta’s Run over a distance that was clearly too far for him.


This time, at Ascot, he was back down to 2m 5f but on, theoretically unsuitable, heavy going. He sluiced home in, what to my eye, was probably his best performance yet. His jumping was fluent and he seemed to be absolutely spot on.


Next time out will be the Ryanair at the Cheltenham Festival where is 7/4 to record his third festival win. I am lucky I was on him, a few weeks ago, at a far better price.


Bring it on at a course he loves.


Isn’t it lovely to follow a sport where the participants find such a place in your heart?

Tony McCoy - Greatest Jockey

When Peter Scudamore became the first National Hunt jockey to ride 1,000 winners in his career, those ”in the know” said it would be a one-off, never to be repeated.

Now Anthony Patrick McCoy rides his 3,000th winner and I wonder what those sages are thinking now?

As TV pundit John McCririck said after McCoy passed this latest landmark, "I always call John Francome the greatest jockey but I have some doubt in my mind now!"

There is no doubt at all in my mind that AP McCoy is the greatest National Hunt jockey in the history of the sport.

He is also the most driven jockey in the weighing room, he has a ruthless streak on the track but away from the pressure cooker he is one of the nicest guys in racing.

He will try just as hard whether it is the Gold Cup at Cheltenham or a low grade maiden on a wet Wednesday afternoon at a gaff track.

Usually stony faced when riding, he has a great sense of humour away from the public gaze.

To put his achievement into some sort of perspective, let us take a look at the next four in the rankings:-

Richard Johnson 1,862
Richard Dunwoody 1,699
Peter Scudamore 1,678
Mick Fitzgerald 1,295

In any other era, Richard Johnson would be the top jockey in his own right, but against McCoy he is in the shadow of the great one.

He has been tearing up the record books throughout his career.

McCoys achievements are legendry, the landmarks of 500, 1,000 & 1,500 winners were all achieved in record time. He set a record of most winners in a season with 289 in 2001/2. (Incidentally the most winners in a season in either code)

He rode his first winner in 1994 and a year later he was Conditional Jockey of the year, the following year he was champion jockey – and has been ever since. Every season since, apart from his first, he has ridden in excess of 100 winners, in six of then 200 plus.

He has won every major National Hunt race, apart from the Grand National.

The other thing to bear in mind when considering his achievements is McCoy is 5’ 10½” tall and his minimum weight is 10 stone 3 lbs.

What next?

Well McCoy is 35 this year and jump jockeys do not have careers as long as their flat counterparts, who frequently race until well into their 50’s.

Bookmakers are going 5/1 against him reaching 4,000 winners. He took five years to ride his first 1,000.

4,000 at 40 has a certain symmetry about it, doesn’t it?

Meanwhile let us just hail, and rightly applaud, THE greatest jockey.

Well done AP.

What Happened To Denman?

Racing and especially big events like the Cheltenham Festival , can be likened doing a jigsaw without a picture to help you.


At first there is little clarity, you may not even be sure what the picture is but as the various pieces fall into place the picture becomes clearer and clearer, until you eventually have a complete picture.


Saturday, 7th, February, 2009 was the day one of the final pieces of the Gold Cup jigsaw should have slotted into place. Instead we not only had the frustration of finding the final piece was missing, but someone had sneaked in and stolen some of the other pieces as well, when we weren’t looking.


In case you missed it the day saw the long awaited return of “The Tank”, aka Denman.


A convincing winner of the 2008 Gold Cup he returning after a 330 day absence after it was discovered he had an irregular heartbeat.


Reports from the trainer suggested he had been training well, although connections had warned they were not expecting him to win and they would not be backing him.


What happened in the race has already been well documented elsewhere and does not need to be repeated here, suffice to say he came home second, 23 lengths behind David Pipe’s Madison Du Berlais.


So what has gone wrong?


If you want to find conspiracy theorists, racing is an area where they thrive. You only have to visit any of the racing forums to see accusations from the plausible to the frankly absurd.


Was Denman being sent out for a schooling run with no intention of seriously competing?


I have to admit it was a thought that crossed my mind immediately after the race.


However if you were compiling a list of trainers accused of public schooling, Paul Nicholls would appear on few if any lists, even those of the most ardent conspiracy theorists, especially with such a high profile horse as Denman.


I would further rule this theory out by the reaction of both Paul Nicholls and Ruby Walsh after the race. They both seemed genuinely perplexed by his run. If, perchance, it does emerge this run was for schooling in public then Nicholls, surely, must be up for best actor award with Walsh as best supporting actor.


The argument in support of the “schooling in public” case is it sets Denman up for a decent touch. His price having drifted like the Marie Celeste since the race. However as I write this almost 24 hours after the race the prices have held steady.


So if it wasn’t a public schooling run what else is it?


One viable option is he is not as fit as the signals from connections were indicating. The word from Ditcheat was he was schooling well.


But was he?


I have made some enquiries and it seems his schooling was going far from well. Previously he dominated the gallops the same way he dominated his races. I have since found out that since his return to work this was not happening. He was being left standing by horses who previously had only seen his rear end disappearing in the distance.


So if he is not his old self then why?


One theory is his heart problems have had a more significant impact than was first thought. There are some reports that his treatment at Newmarket turned out to be more difficult than was initially envisaged. Has this taken a toll?


There have been cases of human athletes having similar treatments and they have returned to competitive competition but, in most cases, they have never reached the same levels of fitness as before they had the problems.


Could this be the case with Denman?


I believe it may be a contributory factor.


We need to turn to hindsight to find the real reason for his poor show yesterday.


More specifically, to the afternoon of Friday, 14th March, 2008. The day of Denman’s demolition of a high class Gold Cup field


In the adrenalin fuelled euphoria of the day it was all to easy to overlook just how hard a race Denman had that afternoon. Watching the race again the front running tactics took a great deal out of him. He finished the race a tired, no exhausted, horse.


Did that run, where he reached the pinnacle of his career, literally break his heart as well?
Did that hard race trigger the heart problems?


Denman also seems to be a thinking, intelligent, horse. When he returned to the course at Kempton, did he remember the hard slog, the pain, of his Gold Cup win?


Did he turn round and think, “sod this for a game of soldiers?”


You know what - I think he did.


I honestly believe that his greatest victory will also be his last. The race that turned out to be his finest hour will be the one that also, with supreme irony, finished him off as a high class chaser.


Connections say he will be going straight to the Gold Cup on Friday, 13th, March. I am not one for superstition but I sincerely hope it does not prove to be an unlucky day for Denman.


Conversely if he hacks up the Cheltenham hill that afternoon to another glorious victory, I sincerely hope and trust, for the sake of the credibility of our sport, that the connections feet will not touch the ground between Prestbury Park and Shaftesbury Avenue.

Random Winter Musing

It is hard to believe we are already in February, what on earth has happened to January?


More pertinently what has happened to January’s racing, with over 30 meetings being lost to the weather.


February is starting in an even worse manner, with even so called all weather meetings being abandoned.


Isn’t it about time we did away with the misnomer of all weather racing and come up with a more appropriate name?


How about AS racing?


AS being Artificial Surface racing. Some would consider sandpit racing to be more appropriate.


But please no more All Weather.


*****


I have to confess I am feeling something of a jinx when it comes to the current bad weather. As I go racing about five times a week this time of the year I tend to plan my racing in advance.


In January I planned to attend 20 meetings – I actually managed to attend only nine and two of those were last minute reschedules.


For February I have 19 meetings planned and the first of those, Market Rasen on 3rd February, has already been abandoned.


So I have the following offer to racecourse managers. If you want your meeting to go ahead and not be at risk of being abandoned due to the weather, please feel free to make any financial inducement you see fit, so I do not plan to visit your course.


Otherwise the curse of The Beast may hit you.


*****


It is good to see the BHA staging additional fixtures to replace those that have been cancelled.


Let us hope the bad weather does not put the mockers on these additional meetings.


*****


In The Old Beast Almanac I predicted the closure of at least two courses in 2009. Little did I think the first closure would have come so quickly, nor did I think Great Leighs would be the first to go to the wall.


Administrators are looking to sell the course off, let us hope they succeed.


*****


Finally, on a non-racing matter.


I know most parents all think the fruit of their loins are the most wondrous creatures in the universe. However they need to bear in mind that others may not see your children in the same light.


I have just been on a flight where, for almost an hour some parents were happy to let their child run up and down the aircraft aisle, as if it was some adventure playground. They were quite oblivious to the nuisance their child was being.


Indeed they seemed more interested in enjoying their wine.


In the end a flight attendant put out an announcement for the parents to claim their child.


Guess what, they actually seemed miffed they were being asked to look after their brat?


You do wonder is some people should be allowed to breed.