It is baffling why the fixture list is not more strictly regulated. We already had a perfectly good and long established January weekend fixture list that had been subject to gradual, sensible changes down the years but was not in need of sudden meddling. This set of ‘Winter Million’ contests, staged on Friday and Sunday is seeing an overall result of fields not worthy of the prize money on offer.
In the 1970’s the main race on the Ascot card was the Blue Circle Cement Chase, a two mile handicap in which the mighty Bula carried 12st 3 lb to victory in 1975. The following year another class act, Royal Relief, who had twice won the Champion Chase in his earlier years, carried the famous Edward Courage colours to victory, belying his advancing years.
Newcastle had a card on the same day with the 3m 6f Northern Trophy Handicap Chase going to the progressive Forest King, who beat future Grand National winner Rubstic who was at the time trained by Gordon Richards.
After the Blue Circle was discontinued, Ascot hosted what had been one of Haydock Park’s jewels in the crown, the former Embassy Premier Chase final which now carried the name of Lambert & Butler. The first staging at Ascot was in 1981, the race game falling to the hardy Arthur Moore chestnut Royal Bond. Elsewhere on the card a certain Corbiere won the staying novices chase , a race in which another future star Bregawn hit the deck.
There was tragedy too when one of the prominent support players of the greatest hurdling era ever, Kybo, lost his life in the Jock Scott Handicap Chase. The race was won by Henry Kissinger, who beat Bueche Giorod, who both won showcase handicap chases during their careers. Back in third was the now ten years of age Night Nurse, giving away a full two stone to the first two.
Looking through the results in Chaseform Note Book, one cannot help wondering whether the esteemed race reader John Sherratt, who was writing the close ups for Raceform that day, had had a good bet on the Fred Winter trained Brown Chamberlin who was beaten into second by Sir Gordon in the closing novice hurdle.
Those of us old enough to have been fully immersed in the sport at the time may recall that this future Sun Alliance Novice Chase and Hennessy Gold Cup winner, and runner up to Burrough Hill Lad in an above average renewal of the Gold Cup, was talked up right from his early days.
Of the defeat on this day, Sharratt wrote; “ If this is taken at face value, is no more than an average novice for he was slaughtered by the strong gallop of the winner from the second last. A factor in any false assessment, if such it be, is the style of Francome. Like Lester Piggott on the Flat, his mounts so often seem to be on the bridle, with a ton in hand, whereas in reality there is very little left.”
Haydock Park’s Peter Marsh Chase was introduced in 1981 in an era when the North of England had a level in quality of National Hunt horses in training that made it the most powerful region in the sport. That running was staged the week after the aforementioned Ascot card, the race won by Little Owl who would go on and take the Gold Cup just less than seven weeks later.
Richdee beat the enigmatic Derring Rose in the opening Premier Long Distance Hurdle, while the two mile handicap chase was won by a certain Rathgorman who would go on to be victorious in that year’s Champion Chase. The Champion Hurdle Trial saw the previous season’s unfortunate Triumph Hurdle loser Starfen make the most of the seven years in age he received from an ageing great from the seventies, Bird’s Nest.
In 1982 the corresponding Ascot fixture was snowed off but one week later Haydock escaped the elements to see a climbing quickly upwards through the ranks Bregawn take advantage of the 19 lb he received from Night Nurse to claim the prize. However the day is probably better known for more solemn reasons.
In the Haydock Park Champion Hurdle trial the exciting Celtic Ryde, known for being able to produce a highly effective turn of foot coming from behind and who went into the race with his stock higher than ever before, went from cruising approaching the second last, to being a lifeless corpse in a split second, appearing to break his neck in a sickening fall.
I recall being in the stands and witnessing someone dressed like a racing professional, late forties, with tears streaming down his face as he lowered his binoculars. The front page of that Monday’s Sporting Life had the image of jockey leaning over the rails sobbing moments after the fall.
There have been some compelling renewals of the Peter Marsh since, with the most two recent Northern trained Cheltenham Gold Cup winners, The Thinker and Jodami, both winning the event but overall it’s significance in the calendar is not quite as important as it once was.
Ascot reintroduced a two mile showcase handicap to its main January card in the late eighties, sponsored initially by Victor Chandler and whose first ever running was not surpassed for excitement levels, Desert Orchid giving a mountain of weight to Panto Prince and running him down after Brendan Powell’s mount typically got away from the last in his customary slick fashion.
The race then morphed into the Graded conditions race that it has now become. It was an absolute cracker today though there was no need to wheel out Brough Scott to claim that it was up there with the Arkle v Mill House clash, two great champions, one undisputedly the greatest National Hunt horse ever. None of today’s protagonists are champions in open company yet. One at least probably will be but that dual today was stimulating and did not need any outlandish claims attached to it.The crowd did not look particularly large, the noise clearly exaggerated by the broadcasters microphones, and the so called vocal adulation of Nico De Boinville sounded like drunken football style chanting.
But all in all January does not need tampering with. The quality of National Hunt animals in the UK is overall way below those on the other side of the Irish Sea and cramming new, valuable events into the fixture will dilute the quality of the feature races even more, giving them a half bare cupboard look.
Let’s just hope those behind this ‘Winter Million' nonsense have a change of heart and this proves to be a one off.
This catchy glam pop tune was prominent in the charts on that weekend when Royal Relief triumphed in the Blue Circle.
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