It Was Not The Same

Those of us who watch racing from the privileged position of the press room sometimes forget how fortunate we are.

Notwithstanding the thrill of being present at the race meeting there is also the additional access which comes with having the coveted press badge.

Access to the key players, a chance to get up close to the magnificent horses.

The chance to see the special bond that exists between the handlers and their horses.

It is something to so easily take for granted and something I appreciated all the more last week.

For me Cheltenham is the highlight of the racing year, it is a meeting I love attending. Yes it can be crowded, especially on the Friday but the atmosphere is something really special, something intangible.

The racing is invariably of a high standard, there is no such thing as a non-trier at The Festival and the feeling, the “I was there” feeling when something special happens is something money cannot buy.

I was there when Big Bucks won his third World Hurdle, I was there when Master Minded destroyed the field, I was there when Denman won his Gold Cup and when Kauto Star regained his title – so many memories.

This year was different – due to illness I couldn’t make it to Gloucestershire and I had to settle for watching the Festival from the “comfort” of my armchair.

Let me tell you it was not the same.

It was an enlightening experience, more so following the confirmation today that Channel Four will have exclusive terrestrial television rights to the festival from 2013.

Let’s deal with the irritations first and they have to be focused on the advertisements. I appreciate Channel Four is a commercial broadcaster and paradoxically it is the deregulation of bookmakers advertising which has provided the income to allow Channel Four to bid for the exclusive terrestrial rights.

However the advertisements are a major distraction – in particular the Paddy Power adverts which seemed to top and tail almost every commercial break.

These are meant to be humorous advertisements, that in itself is debatable, but when exactly the same advertisement is shown at the beginning and end of every commercial break it quickly becomes a major irritation.

The sort of irritation which will put off the casual, once a year, viewer when Channel Four picks up the crown jewels.

Then we had the advertisements where the Channel Four pictures continued to be shown as a picture in picture – does this imply an endorsement by Channel Four?

The answer is probably not but it could easily be perceived to be that way.

Finally there was the bookmaker advertisement, shown throughout the week, whereby one of the Channel Four team were endorsing a bookmaker whilst he was appearing in the program during which the advertisement was screened.

Surely that cannot be right?

Notwithstanding the advertising, a necessary evil, the program itself was just about OK.

Sure enough individual presenters can evoke different reactions in different people and it is wrong to judge a program on personal preferences for individual presenters.

What I did find particularly impressive was some of the background features.

The Kauto Star story with Simon Holt chatting to Paul Nicholls, shown over all four days, was excellent.

I really enjoyed the interview with Trevor Hemmings but the icing on the cake was the chat with racings “odd couple” Hen Knight and Terry Biddlecombe.

Presented a tribute to Best Mate the interview also showed something of the relationship between the most unlikely couple, not only in racing but anywhere.

It was a lovely insert into the program without being overly sentimental.

Turning to the racing coverage itself there was coverage of the horses in the parade ring but there could have been more. Although it should be noted in a couple of races they did not have time to get through all the runners.

The paddock commentary wasn’t exactly informative,  more a rehash of form figures. I would prefer the paddock analysis to come from seasoned paddock observers.

Coverage of the races was my biggest complaint though.

There were too many crowd shots as the runners circled at the start. Indeed, the start of a couple of races was missed as the cameras were showing irrelevant scene setters.

Channel Four relied on Simon Holt for their commentary but I think it is too much to ask one commentator to call all the races at a meeting this size.

Indeed I’m sure even Simon himself, usually the most reliable of callers, will admit the Cross Country was not his finest ever call.

It would be better if Simon was added to the on-course commentary team and Channel Four then took the course feed.

If they are to take the course commentary they should also take the Racetech course pictures as well. Arty shots are all well and good but there was too much focus on the “big names” rather than showing the race develop.

By all means have the arty shots, the close ups, but save them for the replays, not the race itself.

 I don’t want a close up of Big Bucks – I want to see the race developing.

When the race is over we then have to endure the immediate post race interview.

What purpose does it serve?

If I was the owner I would not want my rider debriefing the media before he had debriefed me.

What do the broadcasters expect from these interviews?

Of the 20 races shown by Channel Four the only immediate post race interview with a rider I found insightful was the one with AP McCoy after winning the Gold Cup. That’s a pretty poor percentage.

What the coverage did not do, indeed in fairness it cannot do, is give a real feeling of what the atmosphere is like at Cheltenham.

Earlier on I was critical of Simon’s call of the Cross Country race, to redress the balance his call of the Gold Cup was sublime and it was the nearest Channel Four came all week to properly convey that special Cheltenham atmosphere.

Moving on Channel Four should seize the  chance to revamp its coverage of the sport.

For what it’s worth my “dream team” of presenters would be as follows.

Presenters:

Clare Balding and Nick Luck, the two best in the business by a country mile. Appreciating they cannot cover every week I would have a “reserve” team of Richard Hoiles, Stewart Machin, Lydia Hislop and Alastair Down

Form Experts:

Personally I think form experts are a waste of time, if people want form then they can by a Racing Post and read the Spotlights (other form sources are available)

Paddock Commentators:

Much more coverage of runners in the paddock is required and, as importantly, analysis of how the runners look whilst parading. For me David Cleary and Ken Pitterson are the two best paddock observers in the business.

Betting Ring:

There is no need for a betting reporter, yet alone two. All that is required a sidebar or screen scroll which can graphically display betting and betting moves.

Commentators:

Just use the on-course commentary, having separate commentators just for TV is an unnecessary expense.

Christmas Will Not Be The Same This Year

Surprisingly, even though it is half a century ago, I can still remember my childhood days when the year revolved around Christmas – the long build-up, the excitement, the anticipation.

The sleepless night, especially Christmas Eve, then Christmas morning and what you had waited so long for, the pile of new presents awaiting you on Christmas morning.

Innocent excitement, happy memories.

But of course nothing lasts forever and reality replaces the fantasy.

Priorities and expectations change – after all it would be deeply concerning if, as a middle aged man, ones year revolved around the arrival of a jolly fat man, with an overly strong attachment for young children, bearing sacks of gifts.

Of course, being creatures of habit, us humans like to have some cycle to our life. Some people I know are eagerly awaiting next weekend and the start of the new F1 season.

I once knew somebody whose whole year was focused on getting hold of and drinking a bottle of Beaujolais Nouveau on the vary day it is released.

For those of us whose obsession tends to focus on horse racing it tends to be particular races, the Grand National or The Derby for example.

For me it’s the festivals.

My summer treat is Royal Ascot, top quality flat racing and, to be controversial, I adore the sense of occasion, the formality and the dressing up and, yes, I admit I like looking at attractive fillies as well (although looking at the less attractive fillies who think they are attractive can be equally amusing).

I adore Longchamp in October, two days of top class racing, six group one races on the Sunday, culminating in the Arc. Add in French chic and a setting in one of the most beautiful cities in the world and we are talking near racing heaven – but only near.

However, having a preference for National Hunt racing, there is only one Festival that really counts and that’s the one at Prestbury Park, Cheltenham in the middle of March every year.

For me it is Christmas, Diwali, Eid and Hanukkah all rolled into one.

Four glorious days racing. 27 races, all of which have their own story.

It’s not just the racing though. It is the atmosphere, a unique atmosphere. Yes the drink, especially the Guinness, flows but there doesn’t seem to be the same edge as at other meetings. Most are there to see the racing, the racing is central to the occasion, not an incidental.

The majority of those at the course are actually there because they want to see the racing, as opposed to some of the summer “festivals” where racegoers wouldn’t recognise a horse if it turned round and looked them in the eyes.

For many it is the culmination of the NH season, indeed it could be argued it should be the end of the NH season but that’s another discussion.

I think you get the message now, I love Cheltenham, I love the build-up, the intrigue as to what will run, what will be fit, what will not.

I love the final days leading up to it as the final running plans begin to emerge. As we have the, seemingly now mandatory, scare or controversy.

Like the child me in the build-up to Christmas I find myself getting increasingly excited as the festival approaches. I can’t remember when I last had a good sleep on Cheltenham Eve.

I love arriving at the course at around 9:00 on the Tuesday morning, just as the finishing touches are being applied. It is a privilege to be allowed inside the course before the public but to walk around in almost surreal isolation is something special, especially when you know what is going to ensue a few hours later.

It is just special.

Sadly, for me, Cheltenham 2012 is only going to be a dream.

I remember one Christmas as a child when I was not well, one of the usual childhood illnesses, but I ended up being confined to bed over Christmas – it was still Christmas but it wasn’t the same.

Last weekend I went racing at Huntingdon and the weather was horrible, rain, sleet, snow and wind – an absolutely foul afternoon.

That evening I felt ill but just put it down to an afternoon in the cold.

One sleepless night later I felt like death warmed up, I had the ‘flu, yet in a perverse way I was pleased. I thought “at least having it now I will shake it off in time for Cheltenham.”

That was the theory as the week progressed I wasn’t getting better as quickly as I hoped. They say it takes longer to recover as you get older and that is true, in so many ways!!

By the end of the week I was beginning to have doubts about getting, at least, to the opening days of the Festival.

I thought back to that Christmas when I wasn’t well where despite feeling ill I still tried to convince my Mother I was fine and could get up for the big day.

Here I was fifty-odd years later convincing myself I will be fit for Cheltenham.

Indeed going to bed Friday night I was actually beginning to feel quite good in myself, there was hope.

Then Saturday morning it all went wrong again, I’ll spare you the gory detail but it had gone to my chest and I ended up having to get the medics to help.

It was then the inevitable began to dawn on me – I could end up missing all of Cheltenham.

Like that child all those years ago I tried to convince myself it wouldn’t be a problem, I could cope.

Sadly with age does come some wisdom as I also remember what working the Festival is really like.

The days are very long, having to battle through the crowds is physically demanding and it actually is very hard work. Even when fully fit I finish each day exhausted and the whole week absolutely shattered – if I’m like that when going into the week fit, is it really sensible to even attempt it when nowhere near fit as I am now?

My heart says "keep on trying" even if it is just for one day, my head says "don't be so stupid".

The head is going to win - it's time to accept reality, accept I'm not as young and as fit as I used to be, accept if I do try and go to Cheltenham I will only make things worse.

I am going to have to settle with watching Cheltenham 2012 on television. Yes I will see the racing but it will be nowhere near the same.

It is like a child waiting for Christmas Day only to wake up to find, at the end of the bed, not a huge pile of presents but a photograph of a pile of presents – it’s not the same.

It’s enough to make you want to cry.