The Camel's Back Is Creaking

Yet again a day which should have been good for racing turned out to be a day which will be remembered by many for all the wrong reasons.

I refer, of course, to Saturday’s King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot.

A race where the post race  talk should be of Nathaniel becoming the first three-year-old to beat his elders since 2003. It should be remembered as a good tactical ride by young William Buick, a young man who would have been forgiven for having half a mind elsewhere after the tragic events which unfolded in his native Norway less than 24 hours earlier.

Instead it will be remembered for the incident which resulted in the death of Rewilding.

Some have described his loss as tragic, that is simply hyperbole. Yes to lose a horse is sad but it is not tragic . . .  the loss of almost 100 young lives at the hands of a madman some 24 hours earlier in Oslo is tragic so let us have some sense of perspective.

That does not mean, however, we should not be moved by what happened at Ascot on Saturday – indeed it was very upsetting, I admit I shed a tear myself.

I have been following horse racing more years than I care to remember. My earliest racing memory goes back 50 years when I can recall watching grainy pictures of Nicolaus Silver winning the 1961 Grand National.

My preference is for National Hunt racing and therefore I accept the inherent risk that horses are going to be injured and, yes, pay the ultimate price.

Fatal injuries are, thankfully, rare on the flat.

If you choose to follow the sport you have to accept the inherent associated risks.

If, morally, you cannot accept those risks then the answer is walk away from the sport.

That doesn’t, however, mean you do not question your conscience. Indeed it is good to question your attitudes and incidents like Saturday’s are fair triggers to ask such questions.

Sadly I have seen many horses pay the ultimate price but not all fatalities are equal, some conspire to really hit home.

Any equine loss upsets me, it matters not one iota if it is a lowly selling plater or a superstar. Indeed the day I fail to be moved by the death of any horse will be the day I definitely walk away from the sport.

Whilst all equine fatalities are regrettable it is human nature the impact is worse when it is a horse for which you have a soft spot.

For me Rewilding was such a horse.

I was at Goodwood on 19^th May last year where he made his British debut and I immediately impressed with his attitude and the manner in which he took the race, to the extent I immediately backed him for The Derby. He was only third, but not disgraced, in The Derby.

He was back to his best when taking the Great Voltigeur at York. He flopped in the St Leger, although I still cannot see why he was even entered for that contest.

This season he showed he was as good as ever and his controversial win at Royal Ascot was not undeserved.

So, for me, the fact he was a favourite horse did make it all the worse.

The other factor making his loss worse was what happened after he broke his leg. Usually the horse stands there waiting for the inevitable. Not with Rewilding he got up and ran two furlongs in front of the packed Ascot stands before he was finally captured.

Watching him running down the track, his broken leg flapping was distressing. The gasps from those who could see were audible.

I know I was just standing on the press balcony repeating no, no, no, no – not believing what I was seeing.

“Fortunately” he ran down the track close to the stands rail, so many in the crowd did not see what was happening.  Those in the more elevated positions in the stands were not so fortunate.

As I said it is unusual, but not unique, for a horse to carry on running after sustain such an injury. That he ran on in front of packed stands made it all the worse.

For me there are two matters the racing authorities should look at as a result of what happened on Saturday.

Firstly, is there something which can be implemented to make catching loose horses easier and quicker. More staff, outriders? I don’t know if there is an answer but there is nothing wrong in asking the question.

Secondly, where a horse is obviously so seriously injured should vets wait for the screens to be erected before putting the horse down? Which is more important, alleviating the suffering of the horse or pandering to the sensibilities of the crowd? To the vast majority of the crowd the end result was inevitable.

One other aspect of events on Saturday has disturbed me and that is the “spin” which has been put on what happened in some quarters.

A statement on the matter from the BHA was worded in such a way that those who did not witness what happened would have been left with the impression the horse was captured and put down immediately. That was not the case, he ran free for over two furlongs and when the screens were eventually put up it was a couple more minutes before he was put down.

Some press headlines also implied the horse was put down almost immediately.

Such spin actually does more harm than good to the sport as it implies racing is trying to cover up what happened.

What happened on Saturday once again made me think long and hard about whether I can morally justify to myself my following of the sport.

In the end Saturday’s incident becomes another straw on the back of the camel. Not quite enough to break it but it is certainly beginning to creak.

Sublime Cartmel and Rod Street

By all logical measures I should abhor Cartmel racecourse.

Set in the middle of nowhere, accessible only by single track country roads and with awful viewing of the racing it seemingly has little going for it. Certainly if Cartmel racecourse did not already exist and it applied to a licence to operate it would quickly be shown the door by the BHA – for heaven’s sake it still has dry stone walls along the edge of the track?

Yet Cartmel is a course I adore and one, all being well, I will visit again and again for many years to come.

With years of practice the “issues” have been addressed. There is an effective one-way traffic management system in place which means you will not meet oncoming traffic in the country lanes. Indeed, even after racing, the system is so efficient you will be very unlucky to encounter any traffic issues when leaving.

Yes viewing is poor but, probably uniquely at any British racecourse, punters line the rails of the entire course and are able to get close to the action. Many arrive early just to be able to park-up by the running rails. There is always the big screen and Iain MacKenzie, who commentates at most Cartmel meetings, does adjust his commentating style to provide a more descriptive account of what is happening.

However Cartmel has that certain something extra. The setting is sublime, set in a lovely village. The local village store, renowned for their Cartmel Sticky Toffee Puddings (although I prefer the Sticky Ginger Pudding), also have the ideal supplies for the picnic lunches and barbecues which predominate at the course.

Indeed at last week’s meeting there was even a prize for the best barbecue.

The atmosphere is magical, very informal, no airs and graces, like a super point-to-point meeting. The staff are friendly, you get the impression the entire population of the village (apart from those working in the shop and pubs) are at the racecourse to make your day all the more enjoyable.

You won’t find many fearsome jobsworth’s at Cartmel, indeed what looks like organised chaos is actually a very well run, efficient operation.

Last Thursday I bumped into ATR’s Robert Cooper, making his first ever visit to the track. His reaction to the place “I’m smitten” and that is the reaction of most who visit this Cumbrian idyll.

From a working perspective it is not the easiest course, race reading has to be done from the television and the Press Room serves as the Groundsman’s hideaway the remainder of the year and on a hot sunny day it is like the black hole of Calcutta – but you know what I don’t care one little bit.

If you have never been to Cartmel you will not realise what you are missing out on – visit once and I am quite certain that, like me, you will want to return again and again and again. I also have a strong feeling I shall be bumping into Robert Cooper there some time in the future as well.

I have given Rod Street of Racing For Change (RfC) a great deal of stick over the past year or so about some of the initiatives from RfC. However it is only right to give credit where credit is due.

Rod recently took questions from members of The Racing Forum and the frank and full answers he gave to the questions, most of which were critical of Rod and RfC, were most enlightening and I must admit the respect I have for Rod increased dramatically from what I read.

(A link to the Q&A session can be found at the bottom of this page)

Indeed he has almost won me round to what RfC is doing, it has certainly giving me a greater insight into the aims of RfC – it may not go amiss if RfC were to include some of the Q&A’s in their next news sheet.

OK I still have some doubts.

I still believe they were very lucky the semi-finals of The Filly Factor did not go pear shape (by the way the final is at Ascot this coming Sunday).

I also have reservations about Champions Day, although not for the reasons given by many.

I have no problems with the meeting moving from Newmarket to Ascot as Ascot is far better able to stage such a big meeting.

My two main concerns are around what seems to be the excessive level of prize money, which seems hard to justify in the current climate.

My biggest concern, however, is the impact on the meeting that already exists and serves the function of the perfect end to the season – namely Longchamp’s Arc meeting.

For me that meeting is the climax to the European Flat season. With the Sunday seeing six Group One races over most of the main distances, culminating in the Arc itself. It would be a crying shame if the proposed new Champions Day took any of the quality or glamour away from Longchamp.

Here is the link to the Q&A session on The Racing Forum     Rod Street Q&A