Marmite Racing

I have to admit I am a fan of the well known yeast extract product which people are said to either love or hate.

Marmite also links three of the most contentious subjects in racing, namely Derek Thompson, Matt Chapman and The Shergar Cup.

Derek Thompson or, as he likes to be called, Tommo seems to have found a niche presenting “Tommo TV” where he acts as a general all round entertainer and, like him or not, he does have this uncanny knack of engaging with the crowd, something even his most vocal detractors will grudgingly acknowledge.

Last week he was plying his trade at Brighton’s three day festival of racing – giving away freebies (of course none financed from his legendary deep pockets) and hijacking any likely looking suspect be they in a restaurant or by the parade ring, especially if they happened to have long legs and breasts. Personally, I don’t mind Thompsons brand of bonhomie . . . . in moderation.

I agree the Tommo approach and style is no good for the big festivals and major meetings but for the increasing number of family fun days he is the ideal host and he can engage with the first time racegoer. More seasoned racegoers can find him too much and even though I can cope with him in moderation, I had a period last year when I was at the same course as him for five consecutive days and towards the end I almost had to be restrained from doing something deeply unpleasant with his microphone.

By some perverse design the other two Marmite subjects were both at Ascot last Saturday as Matt Chapman co-hosted Shergar Cup day.

I have to confess I am on the “don’t like” side of the fence when it comes to Chapman, give me an afternoon of Tommo any day.

Although, with regards Chapman, I could so easily become a convert.

One area where he is exceptionally good, when he decides to take it seriously, is in interviewing jockeys and trainers, yes he can ask the odd inane questions but on the whole he asks the right questions, and he is actually quite knowledgeable.

Where he goes wrong is he has allowed his public persona  to get in the way.

 He seems to see himself as the natural successor to John McCririck, in he seems to nurture this arrogant, controversial public persona which deliberately sets out to court controversy.  

In the case of McCririck it is a façade, as away from the cameras he could not be more different. The trouble is with the façade McCririck puts up he is viewed in many quarters as, at best an eccentric, at worse a buffoon, which is a great pity as he does have some very pertinent points to make about this sport of ours,

I have only met Chapman  twice and I have the feeling he too is a different personality in private.

If he spent more time trying not to be so controversial, not fostering gimmicks like the ridiculous “Yeehaaaa”  he would be taken more seriously and, like McCririck I believe he has some valid points to make.

By saying don’t be more controversial the last thing I am saying is don’t stop pointing out what you see as wrongs but go about it in a more measured way, without the histrionics and you will more likely be taken more seriously, instead he is in danger of turning into a caricature of this monster he has created.

Now the Shergar Cup . . . . if you believed some of the things you read on the forums you would think the Shergar Cup is the end of racing as we know it.

I confess am a Shergar Cup convert - I loathed it initially but am now a great fan.

I accept it is an anathema to many - we are all entitled to our opinions and we all have our likes and dislikes but disliking something is no reason for banning it.

After all I hate artificial surface racing with a vengeance but I accept it has a place and its fans, so I would not call for its abolition (a reduction maybe but not an abolition).

Some say the Shergar Cup is useless for betting, that’s as maybe. It is but one meeting out of 1,480 fixtures in the year and there were three other meetings the same afternoon for those who really cannot survive without having a bet and who did not want to bet on this event.

Some will argue that having a team competition is against the rules and spirit of racing but where is there any evidence of their being team tactics in the Shergar Cup.

Indeed the prize of a silver saddle and £3,000 in cash for the best individual jockey on the day will easily focus the mind of jockeys towards looking after number one.          

The racing was competitive, with some cracking finishes. There were ten runners in every race and there was a rare chance to see some decent overseas riders who would not normally be seen in the UK.

 
In terms of the team competition it really did go down to the line . . . . and those who backed Ireland at 10/1 going into the last race will certainly not be complaining about the afternoon.

The team colours, whilst still not perfect, were infinitely better than they were last year. I was certainly able to follow all the races first time.

Many of the crowd may well have been there primarily for the concert but many were also interested in the racing. I spoke to several first timers during the afternoon and yes, shock horror, some said they really enjoyed the afternoon and would come racing again.

Look at it another way, without the concert many would not have been there at all, so there would be no chance otherwise to try and attract them to the sport.

The area in front of the stands were packed for the actual racing and it was always busy, as busy as at any Ascot Saturday meeting, round the parade ring.

I personally believe the Shergar Cup can hook in far more new racegoers than any number of Ben and Brian initiatives.

It wasn't all perfect, having Matt Chapman as the co-presenter was a mistake - but then again I am biased on that front, so I am probably not an objective observer on that one.

The "opening ceremony" was too soon before the first contest and the runners in the first were notably more fractious, I suspect because of what was going on in the parade ring.

I have just spent a week away from racing and have survived it reasonably well, although the week off was far from relaxing.

It was also bought home the nothing should be taken for granted.

My final days racing before my break was Shergar Cup day at Ascot, another successful renewal of the contest with the atmosphere not even spoiled by the showery weather.

The excitement lasted all afternoon with neither the team, nor jockeys title being decided until the final race.

Indeed, going into the final race, any one of the four teams could, mathematically, win the contest. Although, realistically, it was a two horse (or should that be two team) race with Ireland and Europe battling for the final honours.

Europe won the final contest but with Ireland finishing in three of the points winning positions they ensured sufficient points to claim the title and Fran Berry’s second gave him enough points to win the riders title, prompting him to say “I have never been so pleased to ride a second.”

There was, however, a dark cloud over the meeting and it wasn’t from the weather. Shortly before racing news began to filter through that this years wonder horse, Harbinger, had suffered a career, possibly life, threatening injury.

Here was a horse who had astounded the packed Ascot stands with an awesome performance in the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes just two week earlier. Now his career was about to end.

In a moment his canon bone suffered a hairline fracture, ending a career in an instant. He left good memories but also left unanswered the question, how much better could he have been.

At least he did not pay the ultimate price and he can, hopefully, look forward to a future at stud.

The fragility of life and how everything can be changed in an instant was re-enforced less than 48 hours later.

On Monday afternoon I received a text from my nephew in Australia saying he and his wife, who is English, would be returning to the UK in the next couple of days as his father-in-law had passed away.

The news was completely unexpected and a shock to all, even worse for my nephews wife being the other side of the world and unable to get back to her family quickly.

Her father was a lovely man, a gentleman in every sense of the word.

He had parked his car opposite his place of work and was about to cross the road when he collapsed and died. No inclinations of ill health, it just happened – he was only sixty.

In a split second his whole families life was turned upside down, never to be the same again.

The above also tie in, loosely, with my week off and that too has an indirect racing connection.

Each August my parents come and stay with us for a week. It gives them a complete change of scenery and it gives my Mum a complete break as she is not allowed to lift a finger or do anything when they are here.

Normally we spend the week going on day trips but these were to be limited this year as my Dad, sadly, is in failing health so long days out were out of the question.

I did have one very special treat in store for him though.

I know we have had glorious weather in the past few weeks and it is easy to forget just how bad the weather was back last January and early February, when racing was decimated.

All-weather racing did come to the rescue but I don’t know about you, there is only so much AW racing I can take so I had to find something else to fill in the time, so I decided to work on my family tree.

I don’t come from a huge family. My mother was an only child and neither her maternal Aunt or Uncle had any children. On Dad’s side he had a elder sister but had lost touch many years ago.

Anyway, to cut a long story short, I managed to trace the family back six generations in the three weeks I worked on the research.

More importantly I actually managed to track down my cousins on my fathers side and, even better, discovered his sister was still alive.

I visited my cousins and met my aunt for the first time since I was a baby (and believe me that was an awful long time ago) – it was before man in space, indeed even before the first satellite had been launched. Before jet passenger aircraft. Dad had not seen his sister for, at least, 44 years.

My cousins and I then decided we needed to get Dad and his sister together again.

Plans were progressing well but then had to be put on hold when Dad became ill. The biggest problem my parents live on the South Coast and his sister and her family live up North.

Anyway we decided to try and aim to arrange the meeting for when my parents were staying with us and we decided the best compromise would be to meet halfway between my house and theirs.

A look at the map showed Wolverhampton to be an almost half-way house.

We seriously considered Horizons Restaurant at Wolverhampton races but the only meeting last week was on Monday afternoon and it did not fit in with everyone’s schedule.

We decided to aim for Wednesday and a well known rose gardens just north of Wolverhampton.

The meeting was in doubt until the actual day but luckily Dad was having one of his good days on Wednesday and we set off.

Neither Dad or his sister, nor indeed my Mother, knew what was in store that day. All they knew is they were going to visit some rose gardens.

We arrived about ten minutes before the northern party, indeed they drove past us as we were walking in from the car park but Dad was oblivious to the discrete wave my wife and I gave them as they drove past.

The meet was contrived by us walking into the gardens then doubling back before “accidentally” bumping into one another in the gardens.

When they finally met it took a few seconds for the penny to drop but there were then soon tears all round and the plan had come to fruition.

All the worries and sleepless nights had been worth it.

We had a table for twelve booked in the restaurant and to see 85-year-old Dad and his 90-year-old sister sitting at the table holding hands, and with huge grins on their faces was absolutely priceless.

I am so pleased we have managed to get Dad and his sister together again after all these years and we all hope we can get them together again soon.

I know I really moaned and complained when all the racing was cancelled back in January and February – now I am so, so glad it was – it has resulted is something very special – something money could not have bought.

The Floodgates Open

I suppose it was not the greatest surprise that Harry Findlay’s ban was reduced on appeal but, nonetheless, it is not a good day for the sport.

It seems, sadly, that threatening to throw ones toys out of the pram results in a massive climb down by the disciplinary panel.

I am not going to rake through the details of what Findlay did, they are more than adequately documented elsewhere.

The bottom line is Findlay broke one of the rules which is fundamental to the integrity of the sport. His assertion it was a genuine mistake defies belief …. he is an experienced, professional gambler. These men know the rules inside out and they know the loopholes and they certainly do not make the naïve mistakes Findlay claims to have made.

In my view Findlay thought he could get away with flouting the rules because of who he is – frankly he thinks he is bigger than the sport.

The rule is quite clear, owners cannot lay their own horses – a very simple black and white rule – no ambiguity.

It matters not if Findlay stood to be an overall loser or winner with the lay bet. The bottom line is he fragrantly broke the rule and he should be punished with the full force of the regulation.

Allowing for mitigation in matters of integrity should be a no-go area. Any breach of the rules of racing that impact integrity should automatically have a ban – regardless of who the individual is.

After Findlay received the initial ban he threatened to walk away from the sport in the UK – let’s hope he still sticks to that threat, although I somehow suspect he will not.

Racing does not need the likes of Findlay.

More importantly the findings of the appeal committee have blown a massive hole in the bid to maintain the integrity of racing.

Despite the assertion by the appeal committee that Findlay’s case is unique and a one off, this has set a precedent.

Any half decent lawyer will be able to quote this case as a precedent in any future hearing – thus opening up a massive can of worms.

The decision of the appeal hearing has done racing a great disservice, another nail in the coffin of the sport.

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Last week I had a blast at what I called the “spineless cowards” of internet forums, interestingly despite a couple of thousand hits not one individual has contacted me to “defend” their position although I have received many mails supporting my stance.

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One of the “marmite” meetings of the year is a mere three weeks away, I refer to Ascot’s Shergar Cup meeting, racings only team competition.

Now I am the first to admit I was the meetings biggest critic when it was first mooted, now I am its biggest fan.

It is a different day out, it may not be a betting medium but there is more to racing than betting. The meeting now attracts a crowd in excess of 50,000 each year as it grows in popularity.

Far too much money has been spent on Racing For Change (RFC), an initiative that has delivered nothing for the money invested. Ascot has done more with the Shergar Cup to involve and attract new racegoers than anything achieved by RFC.

Jockeys are accessible, there is a competitive edge added to the racing with the team competition, which provides fun and entertainment throughout the afternoon.

This year there is a new change, which will be a nightmare for race-readers and commentators, in that jockeys will wear full team colours. Previously runners have worn owners silks with caps and breeches being the distinguishing features.

This year, in consultation with the owners association there will be full team colours worn.

The three jockeys riding for Great Britain will wear red and white, those representing Ireland will sport green and white, jockeys riding for Europe blue and white, while the Rest of the World team will carry black and white silks. In order to differentiate, distinguishing caps and sleeves will be worn.

A good change which will surely enhance the afternoon.

To those who knock the meeting and call it a disgrace the answer is simple - don't watch it, if betting is so important to you then there are another five meetings that day.