Almost There

Thirty odd years ago I attended my first live race meeting at Fontwell Park, taken there by my friend Tony, who had himself been taken there as a child by his Grandfather.

In those days we were usually skint so the racing was invariably in the Silver Ring, now no more at Fontwell and indeed no more at most other courses.

We may have been away from the main enclosures and unable to see the runners in the parade ring but we were close to the action and it was no surprise I was immediately hooked.

Since then Tony and I have spent many days at the races, mostly at Fontwell , although not as much as we would have liked to have done as now living in different parts of the country and with work and family commitments it has never been easy coordinating diaries.

My most memorable racing trip with Tony actually involved a trip to Sandown, when we both still lived in the Portsmouth area. It was, again, in the days when neither of us were well off and before I had a car but Tony had an old classic motorbike with a top speed of about 50mph.

It was Tingle Creek day and bitterly cold, I’m sure racing must have been in serious doubt but we set off all the same. Being a regular rider Tony had all the gear, I didn’t. On the pillion seat I was inadequately and inappropriately dressed. All I had on my hands was a pair of woollen gloves.

We arrived in Esher after what seemed an eternity and I was frozen to the core, I’m sure I must have been clinically hypothermic. I was so cold, my fingers were actually paralysed and I could not bend or straighten them to get any money out of my pocket. I recall we found a chippie in Esher High Street and I had to wrap my fingers round a bag of chips to defrost them.

To rub salt into the wounds I don’t think we backed a single winner between us that day.

As regular readers will know I had planned to finish the end of December but the racing has become increasingly less enjoyable the past few weeks.

I will admit the decision has also been hastened by one sad, toxic mouthed individual.

Our paths would have crossed some point over the coming weeks, so to avoid what would have been the inevitable unpleasant scene had we met, I felt it more prudent to walk away now.

Of course in their particularly warped view of the world they will think they have “won” - nothing can be further than the truth as time will invariably tell.

To be honest I almost, but only almost, feel some pity for them as they do live a sad, lonely life, which probably explains why they have nothing better to do than spout utter stuff and (factually incorrect) nonsense and wallow in their own self-pity.

Thankfully most of the messages I have received in the past few weeks have been very kind, generous and supportive and for that I am genuinely grateful.  

I briefly thought about finishing after Kelso last Saturday as Kelso was, a few years ago, the course that completed the full set of UK courses for me and that would have been a rounded finish.

I then remembered Fontwell is racing this coming Sunday and thought it would be a perfect way to complete the circle. When I contacted Tony to see if he could make it and he said he could the decision was made.

On Sunday I shall be back where it all began.

Will I regret walking away?

Who knows but life is too short to have too many regrets and there are plenty of other things to do out there.

I’ll let you know how I feel on Monday morning.        

Striking A Duff Chord

In the past few weeks I have begun to wonder if I am a Racing or an Arts Correspondent as almost every race meeting I have attended seems to have a post-racing concert attached.

In the past few weeks I have had the opportunity to see a range of entertainers from international stars like Tom Jones and The Beach Boys through to tribute bands like Mowtown In Motion.

This coming Saturday sees what is fast becoming the Grand Daddy of the lot where Ascot have no fewer than ten acts from the 80’s performing after racing. Acts as diverse as Jason Donovan, Kid Creole and The Coconuts, Paul Young, Toyah, Altered Images etc. etc.

Undoubtedly these concerts are a success for the racecourses with gates increasing beyond the courses wildest dreams. It is interesting to note that courses also seem to be reluctant to release the attendance figures for their concerts.

Sandown usually attract around 3,000 for their mid-week evening meetings yet there were easily 12,000 at the meeting where Tom Jones appeared.

Newmarket’s Friday evening race meetings with concerts attract up to 20,000.

So you can see, even after paying the performers costs, why the courses are keen to have the concerts after racing as with such a captive audience associated catering and, especially, bar takings will go through the roof.

Also where the performer is a “name” it also gives the course an excuse to charge inflated admission prices . . . .at most courses where there is a big name entertainer performing after racing you will be looking at admission prices starting in excess of £30.

Therein lies the problem. Sticking a concert after racing and inflating the prices accordingly is going to alienate the regular racegoers.

With the notable exception of Newmarket, who do make an attempt to stage some half-decent racing on concert nights, many courses seem to program frankly appalling, low quality racing to accompany the racing. Indeed you are left with the feeling the racing is an irrelevance and the racing is staged to allow patrons additional drinking time before the concert begins.

Epsom seems to be the champion at staging sub-standard racing on concert days, take last Thursday when Blondie was performing after racing. By all accounts a huge turnout crowd wise, with tickets in excess of £30 but in terms of the racing the six races had field sizes of 5, 5,4, 6, 7 and 6 respectively.

Would any racing fan, not interested in staying for the concert, pay in excess of £30 to watch that racing?

More courses have, this year, clearly demonstrated that racing is of secondary importance to the concert.

Again Epsom is a prime example. If you do not know Epsom racecourse the land in the centre of the track is common land to which people have free access.

Canny locals turn up on concert nights and are able to watch the concerts for free.

To make life more difficult for these “freeloaders” who of course provide no income for the tracks, the Epsom management have this year turned the stage around so it faces away from the Downs thus depriving those of the centre of the course a free view of the concert.

That sounds reasonable but in doing so they have positioned the stage in such a position that racegoers in the stands are unable to see a fair chunk of the final furlong.

Even the commentary and press positions high on the roof of The Queen’s Stand have an obstructed view of the racing if the runners come stands side.

Epsom is not alone in the ill thought out positioning of stages obstructing viewing of the racing. There have, to my knowledge and experience, been similar complaints at both Doncaster and Newbury.

I have heard many complaints from regular racegoers about the adverse impact the concerts have on their experiences, yet the courses do not seem to care.

At Newmarket last Friday evening there was a boy band called The Wanted performing after races – the audience at the track was predominantly adolescent females. They had no interest in the racing but their presence made it almost impossible for me to work at the course. Indeed by the fifth race I gave up trying to fight through the crowds to get from the press room to the parade ring.

I can see, from a financial perspective, why courses have the concerts. They provide a welcome and no doubt substantial increase in income in these particularly tough times.

However in doing so the courses are risking alienating their core customer base, those racegoers who attend rain and shine, concert or no concert. I know of more than one racegoer who already have or intend to cancel annual memberships as a result of a courses policy with concerts.

The courses will undoubtedly retort the concerts will attract some new racegoers who would not otherwise have discovered racing. That may be true but are these numbers more than those who will be lost due to alienation?

It is interesting to see at least two courses this season Newbury (Rod Stewart) and Hamilton Park (Westlife) have been honest enough to admit the concerts are the cash cow and more profitable than racing. They held their concerts without having a race meeting attached, still attracted big crowds and everyone was happy.

Perhaps other courses should learn from their example.   

- - - - - -

Last Tuesday’s Sussex Stakes at Glorious Goodwood was billed as the Duel On The Downs, in reality it turned out to be a Massacre On The Downs as it turned into a procession with Frankel putting in an awesome, imperious performance. Granted Canford Cliffs did not run to his best but even if he had there is no way he would have matched Frankel. 

We have been spoiled in the last couple of years. Many though Sea The Stars was a once in a generation horse, now it seems we have another great equine superstar to admire and watch open mouthed.

Injuries And Starts

I’m returning to one of racing’s thorny issues, one some people in the sport would rather be swept under the carpet, the issue of what happens when a horse is badly injured in a race.

My regular reader will know last time I covered this subject it resulted in getting Hexham to stop using a flatbed trailer for removing fatally injured horses from the course, I’m not sure I will be able to achieve the same level of success this time, as this issue is far more complex and, indeed, does not have a “right or wrong” answer.

There was been a great deal of Tweeting last weekend following Dansimar breaking down in the Handicap Hurdle at Sandown on Saturday afternoon.

It was after the final hurdle on the first circuit that Dansimar broke her leg and was pulled up and dismounted by her rider.

The map shows where the screens were (S) and where the horse pulled up (H) (image © Google Earth)

Anybody with a basic knowledge of physics will know it is impossible, without a collision, to stop immediately, so it was quite a few yards after the hurdle that Dansimar eventually pulled up. This resulted in it taking a while to actually get the screens to and up around the stricken horse.

Putting up the screens was further hampered by the combination of the screens being a large size, strong winds and there only being two lads tasked with handling the screens. As a result it, arguably, took longer than is ideal to put the screens up and, when up, they struggled to keep the screens in place.

There is actually no time specified for the mounting of screens, the BHA guidelines say it should be rapid and, taking into account the position of the stricken horse and the prevailing conditions I don’t think the screens could have been erected more rapidly. The only possible improvement there could have been is more people available to handle the screens from the outset.

It is a very difficult situation when a horse is stricken in front of the enclosures and there is a delicate balance between doing what is necessary to ensure the horse suffers as little as possible and the “sensibilities” of the spectators.

When a horse is injured on the far side of the course or away from spectators then it is possible for the vet to despatch the horse even before the screens are put up.

In front of the stands this is clearly more difficult.

I can still vividly recall Joe Lively breaking his leg in front of the stands at Cheltenham on New Years’ Day and it took far longer than at Sandown for the screens to be erected, yet I don’t recall any outcry about the delay and Joe Lively’s injury was “visually” far worse than that of Dansimar. Perhaps the fact Dansimar was a lovely grey tugged at the heartstrings more than had she been a plain bay?

There are other issues around putting horses down when close to the crowds. There was a vet on scene very quickly but she did not seem to have the means to put Dansimar down and it was not until after the race, a good four or five minutes after the injury occurred, another vet arrived and did what was necessary.

Even then it seems they opted to put her down using an injection rather than shooting her. Even though the gun has a silencer there seems to be a reluctance to shoot horses when the injury has occurred in front of the enclosures. Indeed looking back over the years I can only once recall hearing the “crack” of a gun when a horse has died in front of the stands.

I suppose the issue is what should be the greatest priority? Should it be ensuring the horse is relieved of its suffering as soon as humanly possible or is it acceptable to delay in order not to upset the sensibilities of the crowd?

The “simple” answer would be to ensure the horse is relieved of any suffering as soon as possible but life, of course, is not that simple.

I recall attending a French provincial meeting where there were no screens on site at all and a horse had to be put down in front of the crowd – it was a thoroughly unpleasant, distressing sight, especially as it was injected rather than shot.

So I would not advocate putting a horse down in front of the stands before the screens were erected.

However I would question whether delaying putting a horse down to avoid having to shoot it is a good idea. Most racegoers are realistic and when they see a horse with a serious injury they are aware of the consequences. With a properly silenced gun there would only be a small crack and, again I think most racegoers would “accept” it was a necessary thing to do.

In this country we do have some of the best, if not the best, racing welfare conditions in the world, be it for horses or jockeys. There is little, if anything, fundamentally wrong with the system we currently have.

Sadly fatalities do happen in racing, it is something we as followers of the sport have to accept. It does not mean we have to like what happens when horses are hurt, nor should we become desensitised to it . . . . indeed, if the day ever came when I was not moved by a horse being killed or injured, then I would know it was time to walk away from the sport.

Just a couple of suggestions which could, perhaps, be considered.

• Courses should consider having extra sets of screens available, away from fences but in front of the enclosures so they can be erected more quickly.
  

• When conditions are windy then extra staff should be utilised to assist with erecting and holding up the screens.

• When a horse does need to be put down the vets use the quickest means available to do the job, even if that does entail using a gun in front of the stands.

Sandown’s meeting on Saturday provided another controversial talking point, that of fair starts.

Of course this particular controversy just happened to happen before the big handicap of the afternoon.

The controversy began when one of the fancied runners, Lush Life, spread a plate and had to be re-shod at the start.

As an aside a large number of observers seem to see no issue with runners being re-shod whilst at the start.

I must confess I have reservations.

Is it fair that his 19 rivals had to continue walking round at the start, still with riders on their back, whist he was re-shod? As I said though, that is another issue.

Once he was re-shod she walked away from the field , presumably to trop-up to get accustomed to the new shoes.

He was still off the main group of runners when the starter let the field go, effectively ending any chance he may have had of winning the race.

So, in effect, the race was delayed to allow a leading fancy to be re-shod, yet the tardy start effectively nullified the reason for the delay – another embarrassing moment for the sport and featured on terrestrial television as well.

The Stewards held an enquiry, the findings of which revealed little and the matter was referred to the BHA.

Now if this were a one-off it may, just may, be excusable. However barely a week goes by where we do not have some form of farcical start on the NH circuit, where either a runner “gets a flyer” or where the field are really badly strung out, even before they set off.

Now some will argue that in, say a three mile chase, those who get left behind at the start have plenty of time to regain the lost ground. That may or may not be the case, it certainly is not the point.

Does it not look amateurish, indeed just plain incompetent, that in an event where the result can be decided by a matter of a single pixel in a photo finish, runners are allowed to set off with a 10, even 20, length advantage?

Like the issue of dealing with injured horses there is no easy solution. Starting stalls are clearly a no brainer for national hunt racing.

So what is the answer?

How about - at courses where runners circle on the track itself, why can’t a tape be stretched across the track a specified distance behind the starting tape, just as they do behind the stalls in flat races. Whilst not completely eliminating staggered starts it should certainly reduce some of the extreme cases.

For courses that use collecting areas, ensure the exit from the collecting area is within a maximum distance from the starting tapes and, again, have a tape to ensure runners cannot go too far back on the track itself.

I accept the latter suggestion may require courses to make some configuration changes, or even some minor tinkering to race distances but I would have thought it achievable with some thought and discussion.

What price credibility?

An Enduring Relationship

It was my friend Tony’s 50th birthday last January and to celebrate his wife organised a delightful dinner party for close friends.

When we were chatting after dinner Tony made the observation that, apart from his sister, he has known me longer than anybody else in his life. That’s a hell of a long time and thinking about it we have now been friends for nigh on 40 years.

We are not the sort of friends who live in one another’s pockets, we live in different parts of the country for a start but we are, I hope, always there for one another if needed.

When my father was diagnosed with a serious illness a few months ago it was Tony who was first on the phone offering support.

Certainly an enduring friendship and as well as being a good friend Tony is undoubtedly the reason you are reading this, as it was he who first took me racing.

He began going racing at an early age, when his grandfather used to take him to Fontwell Park, that idiosyncratic figure-of-eight course in Sussex.

I had picked up an interest in racing from watching racing on the television, my earliest racing memory is watching Nicholas Silver win the 1961 Grand National, yet for all the years of watching racing on television and, once I was old enough, betting I had never actually gone racing.

It was in 1984 that Tony rang me one day and asked if I fancied going racing at Fontwell and I thought that sounded a good idea, why not?

With my racing experience until then being from the television, where it was mainly the big courses which were covered, I expected a massive complex of stands and was quite taken aback by how small and, almost intimate, Fontwell was – but I was smitten.

Being young and poor we were confined to the Silver Ring but that did not matter. We were close to the action, you could hear the jockeys shouting to one another as the field thundered past and you were close to the action and atmosphere, something you can never pick up on television, even watching in HD.

Going to the intersection of the figure-of-eight course you can get so close to the fences and really get a sense of the speed, bravery and sheer power of horse and rider.

The Fontwell intersection is still, for me (and I know for many others), one of the best places in the world to feel the true excitement of a chase “up close and personal.”

That day was the first of many visits to the races for the two of us, invariably Fontwell as transport was an issue and our only other nearby course, Goodwood, was a) only flat racing and b) far too expensive for us.

Although, as we both begining our careers, getting to Fontwell was difficult as, in those days, all their meetings were midweek, so it meant having to take time off work and flexi-working had not been invented then.

However these early visits led to a lifelong affection for Fontwell.

It is quite amazing how many people I know who began their love of racing at Fontwell – I was chatting to commentator and Raceform racereader Lee McKenzie at Fontwell last weekend and he tells me his first racing experience and his love of the sport came when his father used to bring him to Fontwell, parked in the picnic car park, far away from the stands.

It is strange we also both remember our first meetings being called by Bruce Friend-James, for many years the voice of Fontwell.

Tony and I did have the occasional foray elsewhere, the most memorable being a trip to Sandown for Tingle Creek day, I think it was either the 1986 or 1987 meeting. What I do remember is it was a bitterly cold day and we went on Tony’s near vintage Triumph motorcycle, a journey of about a sixty miles from Portsmouth, where we lived. Of course being a keen motorcyclist Tony had all the gear, I didn’t …. least of all I only had a pair of woollen gloves to keep my hands warm in the freezing cold.

I can still remember arriving at Esher to discover my fingers were so cold, so frozen, I could not even bend them - they were actually paralysed. Tony had to pick my pocket to get my admission money out.

Those were great days though.

Since then days I have, of course, been to more race courses. Having a "day job", which frequently entailed being on-call evenings and weekends, meant it was difficult to go racing as often as I wanted and by the time it came to my 50th birthday I had only visited around 23 of our race courses.

For my 50th birthday, the present from my wife was a weekend at the Arc, a meeting I had always wanted to attend. She also made a throwaway comment about me visiting the remaining racecourses.

It was a good challenge and a year to the day after my trip to the Arc I was at Kelso completing my full set of UK racecourses.

Since then a lot has happened, I have been to every UK course at least twice - I finished with the rat race, took early retirement and a pension and went and trained as a journalist. The rest, as they say, is history.

Having visited all the UK courses, quite a few of the Irish ones and plenty of international courses, I still have a very real affection for Fontwell and am always happy to return to what I consider to be my racing home.

I must also admit to having a certain degree of "possessiveness" when it comes to Fontwell.

For years it was privately owned and, being honest, it did begin to decline. It was eventually taken over by Northern Racing and I have to admit to having initial fears of the entire site being painted in their corporate green colours, something that thankfully did not happen.

What was announced next had me in fits of apoplexy though – Northern Racing wanted to demolish the old members stand and replace it with a new facility.

For those of you who have never been to Fontwell, the old stand had character, more importantly behind the stand you could find some of the most beautiful gardens at any racecourse in the country.

I (and many others) had visions of the entire character of this beautiful course being wiped away in the name of “progress” …. I was even quietly vowing never to return to the course again.

Well the work went ahead and the new stand opened in August.

I went to last Sunday’s meeting to see the end result, expecting to be dismayed …. I was wrong.

The new grandstand, whilst unarguably modern and designed more for the corporate racegoers, has not spoiled the character of the course at all. Indeed it has actually enhanced the character.

There is a patio at the rear of the stand, with tables, offering views across the gardens, which still remain, and towards the old house which still sits imperially in the grounds.

The inside of the stand is spacious, bright and airy with a range of bars and food outlets – even selling salads and healthy food options.

The front of the stand only has limited tiered viewing but it does have some much needed seating, something which was sadly lacking previously.

Although he will not have heard it, I apologise unreservedly to Fontwell’s General Manager, Phil Bell, for all the names I called him when the rebuilding work was first mooted. I even considered commissioning voodoo dolls of those behind the decision. I am more than happy to admit I was totally wrong and my fears were unfounded.

Fontwell had now set the benchmark in showing it is possible to modernise a racecourse without destroying its inherent charm and character – well done to all concerned.

In the days of the late Stan Clarke, the father of Northern Racing, Uttoxeter was undoubtedly the Jewel In The (Corporate) Crown, today I believe Fontwell Park has taken over that mantle.

From a purely selfish point of view it means I can still continue the enduring relationship with my favourite course. Next time I visit Fontwell I must take Tony and show him the new stand.

Cheers And Tears

Balance is the essence of the universe. The Chinese call it Ying and Yang. Without balance nothing exists.


In life it is generally only the very young do not have an awareness that life is an emotional rollercoaster. If a child has been fortunate enough to have had a stress free childhood, then as soon as the teenage hormones begin flowing they will soon realise life is an emotional roller coaster and, unlike at Alton Towers, it is a ride that never stops.


Racing is, of course, no different. One moment there can be adrenalin induced highs resulting is resounding cheers, the next that gut wrenching feeling you have in the pit of your stomach when something goes seriously awry and the tears begin flowing.


Saturday’s racing at Sandown Park was one of those days when both sets of emotions came to the fore.


The cheers came for two horses, one giving the first indication of his potential, the other underlining the potential he showed last year.


In the Henry VIII Chase all Free World had to do was turn up and the race was his – well that is what most thought.


Trained by champion trainer Paul Nicholls and ridden by the champion jockey AP McCoy. The only conceivable danger could have come from Alan King's Araldur, ridden by Robert Thornton.


As they came to the last the pair were well clear of their rivals and Free World seemed to have the edge over his rival.


Then it happened, Thornton actually managed to out-McCoy McCoy.


Ask any jump jockey what they fear most in a race and they will probably respond 'McCoy in a driving finish'. He is not the greatest jump jockey ever for nothing and his ability to ride a well timed, powerful, finish is second to none.


Yet, here at Sandown, in one of the toughest and unforgiving finishing straights in the country Robert Thornton was doing to McCoy what McCoy has done to so many of his rivals. He was outriding him.


In one of the best riding displays seen in a long time Thornton, metaphorically, carried his mount over the line to beat the odds-on favourite and champion jockey by a neck.


AP had been well and truly McCoyed.


The excitement was accentuated by the roar of the Sandown crowd. It is said to be impossible to beat the roar of the Cheltenham crowd, but from my vantage point high up in the Esher grandstand, I think the Surrey crowd gave the Gloucestershire / Irish mob a good run for their money.


Barely 35 minutes later the big race, the Tingle Creek, was underway. Usually a very competitive affair this year the star attraction was Master Minded. Another Paul Nichols charge – the one who left racegoers open mouthed in awe at his 19 length win in Cheltenham’s Queen Mother Champion Chase last March.


His only serious rival was Howard Johnson’s Tiday Bay and possibly his stablemate, last years winner, Twist Magic.


Yet it was neither of these who turned out to be his greatest threat. An obscure German raider called Fiepes Shuffle turned out to be the greatest danger.


The raider fell at the first fence but was soon on his feet and the loose horse decided to keep the front running Master Minded company as they turned out of the home straight.


AP McCoy, probably still stinging from his previous race defeat, was Master Minded’s controversial jockey at Sandown and I’m sure he, like many of us viewing from the stands, must have had flash backs to Clan Royal being taken out by a loose horse in the 2005 Grand National.


Eventually this loose horse decided to take the hurdle course and Master Minded was left to give a master class in a contest that was anything but a race.


Of his rivals Tidal Bay just wasn’t at the races and his stablemate fell at the second last when in second place but never likely to challenge the leader.


Again the Sandown roar did its utmost to lift the roof off the stand. This time in admiration of a class horse rather than a thrilling contest but the roar was just as heartfelt.


So we had the Ying aplenty, from two horses. One already an established star the other showing great potential. All being well Master Minded and Araldur are two names that will be discussed in years to come.


Now where there is the Ying there is also the Yang.


The Yang at Sandown came in the last race, the inaugural running of the London National.


Blue Splash will not be a horse familiar to most racegoers, trained by Peter Bowen his form figures coming into Saturday’s race were run 17, won 4, placed twice.


Nobody knew it when the runners set of at 3:35 but this was to be Blue Splash’s last race. His ending provided more than enough Yang to balance out the earlier Ying and it was to produce enough tears to balance out the earlier cheers.


Blue Splash was pulled up by Seamus Durack after the final fence on the first circuit. Durack quickly dismounted and started leading the horse back to the stables. Initially he looked sound and was walking back OK but slowly.


It was when he was walking past the stands that I saw out of the corner of my eye that he seemed to have "gone wrong" behind - it's strange how you suddenly notice these things, even when not actually consciously watching.


When I next looked a few second later Durack was removing the saddle and at the same time Blue Splash started showing the "classic" signs of a horse having a heart attack.


Unfortunately he collapsed right in front of the packed enclosure, no more than five or six feet from the rail.


In terms of getting to the horse it happened in the worse possible place - the vet was with him very quickly but she could do nothing to help alleviate the horses suffering until the screens arrived. Unfortunately it was the most inaccessible place for the following vehicles to get to and it seemed an eternity before the truck with the screens arrived.


The screens that could allow the horse some privacy and dignity in his final moments.


In a perverse way it was a blessing it happened so close to the rail as most racegoers would not have seen too much of what was unfolding on the course - although for those by the rail it must have been terrible and there were families down there too.


It was distressing seeing the horses life coming to an end so publicly and I am not ashamed to admit I had tears rolling down my cheek at what was unfolding before me.


One couldn’t help thinking what must have been going through the horses mind at this time – do they have any concept of what is happening to them? I hope not.


The incident also brings home the danger of the sport we follow so closely. How the competitors, occasionally human, more frequently equine, sometimes pay the ultimate price.


Although it was not pleasant to view, I can also see some positives from what happened so publicly on Saturday. It will remind some racegoers who forget (or choose to ignore), in particular those morons who cheer when a horse falls, that the sport is fraught with dangers and our enjoyment comes at a price.


The horses are not just objects provided for our entertainment, they are living creatures. They are generally loved and very well cared for, none more so than by the lad or lass who looks after them every day.


One scene that always upsets me at a racecourse is a lad or lass walking down the course, nearly always in floods of tears, carrying the tack of a horse of theirs who will not be returning home.


By all means cheer at the Ying but please never forget the Yang.


RIP Blue Splash born 23rd April 2000 died 6th December 2008