Another Year Over

Well as we slowly skid our way towards the end of another year it is traditional to look back at another year and I am going to be no different.

I suppose if we are going to be pedantic I could say it is a look back at ten months of racing as both the January and December fixture lists ended up being decimated by the weather.

Indeed it could be argued that Mother Nature is doing what the BHA have singularly failed to do, namely cut back the fixture list.

2010 saw an embarrassing dithering and the exemplification of how divided racing is, with the 2011 fixture list farrago.

With a realisation there would be a massive reduction in the Levy yield it soon became clear the BHA board had no plan B in terms of funding or how to manage the situation.

Out came noises that the 2011 fixture list would face a massive pruning, not before time said many of us. Yet when the fixture list was finally published the reduction was minimal, so small it would hardly be noticed.

What would be noticeable would the a massive reduction in prize money with minimum prize values being reduced or even scrapped.

All the fiasco did was underline how impotent the BHA is when it comes to running the sport and it again underlined how much power the bookmakers have as they continue to leech the sport.

The situation at the BHA is not helped by the attitude of its Chairman Paul Ray, a man with a such a massive ego he has, himself, become the story to the detriment of the sport. Indeed Roy must be the biggest single obstacle to a meaningful Levy replacement being negotiated, yet he somehow manages to remain in post.

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At the beginning of the flat season it was being asked if 2010 could surpass the excitement of 2009 where Sea The Stars became the 21st century’s first flat equine superstar.

The atmosphere was quite low on Epsom Downs the first Saturday in June as we gathered to view, what looked on paper, to be a sub-standard Derby.

Even as Ryan Moore crossed the line seven lengths clear on Workforce the initial reaction amongst us media cynics was “impressive, but what has he beaten.”

It was only when judge Nick Bostock announced he had won in a course record time that we suddenly began to ask were we watching another equine superstar?

The illusion was shattered at in the King George VI at Ascot when he put in woeful performance, coming home fifth of sixth, even his handled Sir Michael Stoute was at a loss to explain the drop in form.

His next appearance was at Longchamp where Stoute was bullish about his prospects although many, myself included, had our doubts.

It is, of course, dangerous to question Sir Michael as was shown as he returned to take the Arc, winning what was a very rough renewal.

Stoute admitted after the victory he had managed to get the horses training wrong earlier in the season.

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Over the sticks we had another round of the Kauto Star / Denman battle as we headed towards the Gold Cup.

Again the weather has some say as after three and a half days of lovely weather the rain arrived just before the big race. However it could not dampen the spirits of the sell out crowd, many of whom were adorned in either Denman or Kauto colours.

The burning question was which of Paul Nicholls stars would prevail.

Of course the joy of racing is the horses do not read the script. Kauto Star had one of his bad jumping days, eventually falling four out, having blundered earlier on.

Denman was prominent and finished best of the Nicholls four but offered no challenge to Imperial Commander who came home an impressive seven length winner although he still has his detractors.

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Another case of the script not being read came at Churchill Downs when the wonder horse Zenyatta attempted to end her career undefeated and ensure her place in racing folklore. She will still remain in the hearts and minds of many but Blame came and spoiled the party and her immortality was denied.

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When you have been champion jockey for 15 years where else do you go?

Well AP McCoy showed us this year as he finally overcame his Grand National hoodoo and, in the process, proving wrong those who said he was unemotional.

His year was crowned, literally, by becoming the first jockey to win the BBC’s Sports Personality Of The Year.

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On a negative note Racing For Change continued to be a waste of money and resources.

The few excellent ideas it has had have not been followed up, whilst they continue to pursue pointless exercises and, worse of all, take the credit for things they have not achieved.

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On a personal note I, once again, set myself the target of visiting every UK racecourse in 2010.

Due to a combination of bad weather, volcanic ash clouds and family problems I failed by five courses.

Is it worth trying again in 2011?

Probably not, this is the third year I have attempted to achieve the “full set” in a calendar year and the third time I have failed.

This year being the most spectacular failure of all, the previous two years I failed by one and two respectively …. perhaps if I don’t deliberately set out to achieve it in 2011 I may end up doing it.

An Almost Perfect Day

When you spend as much time going racing as I do you tend to get into something of a rut, when run race just seems to be like any other, almost a merry-go-round of racing, some ups, some downs and plenty of nondescript stuff in the middle.

Occasionally you will get a race which will make you sit up and pay attention, a promising newcomer, a great turn of foot, a Houdini escape from a seemingly impossible position.

Even more rarely you will get one of those special, “I was there moments.”

Day’s like the first Sunday in October last year, at a racecourse at the top end of a forest in the centre of Paris. The day when Sea The Stars extricated himself, with the assistance of Mick Kinane, from seemingly impossible position to win the Arc. It was an unbelievable performance which had to be seen to be believed, it was a scene that had tears rolling down the cheeks of many a cynical hack, myself included.

You came away privileged at having witnessed such a fantastic race live, coming home knowing you have probably experienced a once in a lifetime race.

If somebody had said to me that day in October that eight months later I would, once again be watching a race in total awe, I would have laughed at them

Yet on Saturday, on a triangular track at the bottom of The Queen’s rather large back garden there was an equine performance which left those who watched it standing there open mouthed, not believing what they had just witnessed.

I am referring, of course, to Harbinger’s demolition of a small but very select field in Ascot’s King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes. He beat two Derby winners but that was not what caught the eye. It was the manner of his victory and the emphatic manner in which he accelerated down the home straight under Olivier Peslier.

To emphasise how good a performance it was he broke the course record for good measure and all this under what was effectively a third choice rider.

Stable Jockey Ryan Moore had the choice of riding Harbinger or Workforce and he settled with the Derby winner.

Moore is not renown for showing his emotions but one look at his face after Saturday’s race said it all …….. he knew he had made a really bad choice.

The ride on Harbinger had also been offered to Frankie Dettori but he opted, instead, to ride at York, so the ride went to Peslier and what a ride he gave the horse.

The race was eloquently summed up by Alistair Down when he said, “I cannot believe what I have just seen.”

Nor could any of us in the press room at Ascot, even the handful of us who had gone against the “perceived wisdom” and had thought Harbinger had the beating of Workforce and backed our belief with hard cash. Even we could not believe the manner of victory.

The near sell out crowd at Ascot also appreciated the performance and horse, rider and trainer all received a rapturous welcome after the race.

It was almost, but not quite, perfect.

So what was wrong?

Well Ascot probably has one of the most stunningly impressive parade rings, not only in this country but in the world and it was packed before the race with racegoers wanting to see the six magnificent horses before the race.

They waited and they waited but the runners did not appear in the parade ring until less than ten minutes before the off, meaning they had barely had the opportunity to do one lap of the parade ring before the bell went for the horses to mount.

This surely is not enough, especially with such a big race. Racegoers have the right to see the horses parading properly in the parade ring, not just a token appearance.

I’m told it was to ensure the race went off on time because of the television coverage. We are talking BBC television coverage here, coverage that has been so decimated one actually wonders why they bother. Yet it seems they can still dictate timings, even if it is to the detriment of the paying punters.

It is a shame racegoers at Ascot were short changed on this one.

Speaking of the BBC it was a pleasant surprise to see Radio Five Live giving top billing to the meeting, even presenting Sport On Five from the course and providing live commentary on all the races.

Clearly they could not find any minor county league football to cover live or there wasn’t a tiddlywinks competition begging for live coverage and I suspect the early finish of the Pakistan / Australia test match helped as they had more time to fill.

Whatever the reason, full marks for giving the meeting prominence, even if it did mean having the inane utterances of Kevin Day, who is allegedly some sort of comedian, rolled out to dumb down the coverage. I can’t remember the exact question but as I was caught in traffic trying to get to the course I remember listening to Day chatting to commentator John Hunt. One of the questions Day asked Hunty was so stupid, so inane, had it been put to me I would not only have told him but I would have provided a practical demonstration as to where he should stick his microphone.

Why do broadcasters feel the need to dumb down to the level of a moron.

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Despite it having been my local course for the first thirty odd years of my life, and having been a frequent visitor to the course, I have never actually attended a Glorious Goodwood meeting. Hopefully that will change tomorrow.

I am told the atmosphere is really good (and the racing isn’t that bad either) so I am really looking forward to my first visit to the festival.

This week also sees one of Ireland’s biggest festivals, the Galway Festival. By all accounts you need a very strong liver for this particular as the racing apparently takes second place to the partying. Another Festival I have yet to visit, although I should have perhaps visited a few years ago when I was a drinker.