ATTRACTING THE ATTENDEES

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A SPORT THAT HAS SEEN BETTER DAYS

There was a time when the old Tuesday opening day of the York Ebor meeting held the unique distinction that in staging the Benson and Hedges Gold Cup and Yorkshire Oaks, it was the only day in the UK calendar that had two Group One races on the card.

This was before the ' Pattern' was wrecked by upgrading a plethora of races to the highest level without balancing the structure by equally downgrading events,which was the intention when the whole thing was introduced.

Next week's Ebor meetings will be the seventh fixture at the Knaveshmire this year.The first day will be the twelfth day of racing of the year.The corresponding meeting forty years back was the fourth fixture of the year with the opening day being the eighth day of racing.

As with Chester, another venue that draws in the 'cult' crowds,York has slotted in extra fixtures and, quite frankly, all of them exude a trashy ambiance.

I would class a cult crowd as one made up of customers who visit a particular venue in the belief it is the fashionable thing to do so.They not only care diddly squat about the quality of racing on offer but would not be fussy about what sport they were viewing and would be just as likely to pack these venues out if they were racing motorbikes around the track on some makeshift carpet surface.

Before the Ebor meeting in 1977 we had the Mecca Dante meeting in May, where Lucky Sovereign in the Moller colours won the big one and would later chase The Minstrel home in the Irish Derby.

This was followed by the Timeform Charity meeting on the weekend before Royal Ascot. The showcase three year old sprint handicap was won by the gambled on Barry Hills trained Ernie Johnston ridden Mofida. She went on to be the second dam of Zafonic.

Then to John Smith's Magnet Cup day, the big handicap won that year by Bill Wightman's tough nut Air Trooper ridden by ultra lightweight Taffy Thomas.The spread of weights large enough then to give more of these riders opportunities and a career, although on this occasion the allotted weight
was 9 st 6 lb.

We have of course had the same fixtures and events this year too, but in addition we have had some needless, poor by course standard cards.

On the 27th May we had a Saturday card with a six furlong sprint handicap the feature event. I attended this fixture a few years back with a party of work colleagues, most of whom were so interested in the racing that they never left the bar and some never even bothered having a bet. Racegoers eh !

We discovered later that shortly after the last race a customer in high spirits sliding down a staircase banister in the stands had fallen to the ground floor and suffered fatal injuries.

Then on the 30th June they staged a fixture headed ' Summer Music Saturday', followed on the 27th and 28th July by the 'Music Showcase Weekend',which comprised of a Friday evening fixture followed by a concert, and a tiring further concert at the end of the afternoon card the following day.

The Ebor meeting itself in 1977 lasted three days.The Tuesday was my first visit to the venue and the last time I've been inside York Minster.

The Acomb Stakes was won by the Queen's Tartan Pimpernel, with the owner present to see her Epsom Oaks winner Dunfermine take part in the Yorkshire Oaks.There were three newcomers in the Acomb who the Raceform paddock watchers described as ' gd srt ', and who for this lofty description alone would have entered hundreds of note books as ones to keep an eye on

All three had lovely pedigrees to which makes you just wonder if the Raceform paddock watchers felt more inclined to add the description if there were other reasons why they believed they may turn out smart.

Peter Walwyn's Magnitude,by Mill Reef out of Guineas and Oaks winner Altesse Royale never managed to win a race with his last run the following year coming at lowly Brighton, while Bruce Hobbs's Taxiarchos out of the celebrated broodmare Stilvi,did at least prove useful and ran in the Guineas.

Clive Britain's Julio Mariner was a full brother to the 1975 Oaks winner Juliette Marny. He would go on and win the 1978 St Leger.

The Benson and Hedges promised some potentially fascinating outcomes.With the likes of The Minstrel and Blushing Groom already retired,the Piggott ridden Ballydoyle representative Artaius had won the Eclipse and threatened to prove himself the best three year old in Europe.

He ran in the Mrs George Getty 11 colours. Yes, the Gettys, those oil rich,highly eccentric, Cricket loving ones. Something about the name.

George Getty the 2nd had died four years earlier at the age of 49 after falling and hitting his head at a poolside barbecue party. The racehorse owning Mrs Getty was his second wife, her name being Jacqueline Riordan who was already an extremely rich widow before marrying him.

There was undoubtedly a more interesting assortment of owners at the top level then.They don't make owners like that anymore.

Artaius was beaten by 33/1 outsider Relkino trained by Dick Hern and ridden by Willie Carson. The Artaius aura had evaporated but the following day another Ballydoyle colt Alleged, staked his first claim to greatness when spreadeagling the Great Voltigeur field.

He would win his first of two Prix de l'Arc de Triomphes that Autumn but not before being outstayed by Dunfermline in the St Leger.

Dunfermline was beaten into third at York after turning into the straight in sixth while the winner Busaca, was ridden from the front by Eddery. Trained by Peter Walwyn she was owned by the Hungarian Countess Esterhazy, from a family of centuries old Hungarian nobility.

In contrast Wednesday's Ebor went to Move Off, owned by a commoner in David Barker, while the Lowther was won by the Richard Hannon trained Enstone Spark who would win the following  years 1,000 Guineas after being sold and transfered to Barry Hills yard.

Thursday's  William Hill  Sprint Championship saw another Ballydoyle odds on shot beat in Godswalk, caught on the line by Haveroid. The winner was trained  by the vet Neil Adam who excelled with his sprinters.Vets and sprinters always had mischief making tongues wagging.

The now established four day version of the meeting is pretty good but not so gripping or intense as the original.The Ebor feels uncomfortable on a Saturday. This year Middlesbrough, Sheffield United, Manchester United, Huddersfield and Newcastle all have home fixtures on the same day. All form part of the large catchment area for York racecourse.

There is also Belgian GP qualifying earlier in the day. Something that generates more interest than horse racing, whether we like to admit it or not.

There cannot be many more badly run sports than UK horse racing. The flat has a bloated fixture list made up mainly of poor quality cards. The top level is dominated by too few forces. It really was better back then!

A DREADFUL,LAUGHABLE AND STUPID PROPOSITION

We have seen some outlandish articles penned by writers connected to the Racing Post in recent weeks, the latest being a piece by Simon Holt who claims to be in favour of discontinuing all races for two year olds, an arm of the sport that generates much attention and anticipation from fans, and huge involvement from those with investment in the industry.

Now, apart from being unworkable, not wanted by almost all involved in the sport, and totally ludicrous too, it is furthermore hard to believe that Holt is sincere in his feelings and is either trying to create a 'niche' for himself, or possibly but less likely when you consider that this follows closely behind a couple of other strange articles, he has been summoned to write an eye catcher in a continued attempt to spice up things under the Racing Post banner.

As with the article calling for the whip to be completely banned, and the call for time trial contests between races, this latest achievement by a writer connected to the publication to make himself look a tom fool achieves zilch kudos for the person or publication.

Even more surprising is the fact that Holt, established first and foremost as a race caller, risks damaging the image of a balanced individual more than the other two who are staff writers with not much to lose. 

Or maybe it's just what happens to you when you become a 'personality', which within the confines of the sport Holt undoubtedly is. Does he wrongly believe that this 'fame' bestows a power upon him whereby he is taken seriously no matter what claptrap he spouts?

A winning point for horse racing in countries where it has a long history is the general rigidity of the calendar allied to the structure of the sport. This is something that enables us to make pretty straight comparisons with the past, whether it be ten, fifty or even one hundred years back.

The general format of the flat racing calendar has not changed dramatically in all this time. Admittedly, we've had some clueless entities doing their best in recent times to make a mess up of it to justify their easy incomes, but thankfully all they've done so far is taken some bricks from the building and replaced them in wrong positions, so to speak.

Many would have you believe that a calendar that has remained much the same for years is one reason why the sport is in decline. These are  the people who would support a total revamp as what has happened in top level football in much of Europe. They would revel in a statistic that boasts that a certain player has made a record number of appearances for his club in Champions League matches and compare it favourably against the old European Cup competition where they would play a fraction of the games they play in the mini league format that now exists.

They would have you believe that football only began with the invention of the Premier League and forget all comparisons of achievements prior to this dangerously powerful and potentially self-damaging monster.

They would want the Timeform ratings of Arkle, Flyingbolt and Sea Bird revisited and revised.They would of course never question the ratings given to Frankel or Harbinger, and would have been gutted that their latest object of endearment, the over hyped Arrogate, was beaten the other week.

In their eyes the present is always an improvement on the past. Change and modernisation are always for the good and must be encouraged while the rose tinted spectacle brigade must be scorned upon.

Two year old racing is a pivotal part of the sport. It does not require a revamp let alone a prohibition. Newbury and Newmarket maidens, questions and predictions as to how the form will work out, classic contenders or merely handicappers, the hype and excitement generated over a visually impressive 'that could be the one' display.

Even the flops linger in the mind for years on. Remember Michael Stoute's Classic Tale in the mid 1980's? Headed the market for the Guineas after winning at Ascot then reappeared in the Acomb. There was a definite buzz surrounding the colt that day. Like many I was taken in by the hype and even took a picture of him in the pre-parade ring.

But alas the bubble burst minutes after when he trailed in well beaten and the talk was silenced for good.

Holt is a supporter of the over played nonsense regurgitated about speed taking over pedigrees. He is forgetting that at the moment our top class middle distance events are flooded with Galileo's. The same happened with his sire Saddlers's Wells during the nineties and noughties. He has now become a significant influence in jumping pedigrees. 

The St Leger is likewise often brought up in these debates as though its decline is a very recent circumstance. Truth is it was losing it's mojo many years ago but on the plus side we've had Camelot attempting the Triple Crown in recent years, something that most of us were convinced would never happen again.

And what of the Ascot Gold Cup - fact is in Yeats we've had a multiple winner during the last ten years who has been the best since the Sagaro, Le Moss, Ardross run of winners.

Holt adds that damage is inflicted upon the pedigree pool with horses retiring to stud not fully proven. He believes this is weakening the breed and lessening durability. Well, oddly enough, he use to revel in commentating on races involving the 'iron horse' Giant's Causeway who was from a Northern Dancer branch started by Storm Bird, who himself never trained on at three

While it's not pleasing to see horses retired at the end of their juvenile career to go to stud this happens rarely and there is actually a genuine success story unfolding for one such animal at the moment in the shape of the thriving Dark Angel, who could even go on and leave a permanent male line and a mini dynasty of his own.

I would expect Holt is a fan of the German modus operandi whereby stallions, in addition to achieving a certain level of form, have to pass soundness and durability tests to be 'approved' and eligible for breeders premiums. Furthermore they must have never raced under medication.

There have undeniably been some success stories from German standing stallions in recents years, most notably with Monsun, fully tested as a racehorses and one who passed his class and toughness down to many of his offspring.

However this is not so straightforward as it may seem. As an example Danzig only made three racecourse appearances and is responsible for one of the most successful Northern Dancer line dynasties. Truth is, for every successful stallion that one would expect to fit the Holt approval you match it with an equally successful one who started his breeding career with 'flawed' credentials.

Holt is in a position of privilege to be given the top platform to air his views on all things racing.With that comes a responsibility to speak sense and to back up any would be controversial opinion with solid supporting evidence. He has failed abysmally to do this with his latest offering.

KEEPING ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE RIGHT PEOPLE

'Knowing what side your bread is buttered on' is an apt expression when it comes to the racing media handling delicate situations. They may proclaim to 'say it as they see it' but at the end of the day it all comes down to who the recipient is, who he is connected to, and the fear of the possible consequences of upsetting those beyond criticism.

The incident this week of course which led to restrained (they would call it constructive) analysis was the ride William Buick gave to Ribchester in the Sussex Stakes. The ride looked a moderate and indecisive one at the very best but no one on the ITV team was willing to do the deed and say so with one of the team even of the opinion that the horse may be 'claustrophobic' , something I can never recall being used to excuse a jockey's questionable ride.

The controversial Betfair Forum reacted accordingly to the ride and a thread was created which up to now has had nearly 5,500 views. Not all were of the view that it was a bad ride, but the large majority were critical and there were some well constructed points of view put forward.

A peculiarity of this forum is that while it is constantly smeared by many of the self important, thin skinned characters in the racing media, some of the threads will have more viewers than many of the articles they themselves write.

When you look at how many Racing Posts are sold each day, then consider how many reader actually read every article, then it's almost certain that many pieces in that publication get less than 5,500 views. If you've ever paid attention to someone with a Racing Post, it's nearly always the race card to the exclusion of everything else apart from maybe the footy and Pricewise.

The Ribchester case is not one that would leave so called balanced journalists in trepidation over possible libel action. Not a Top Cees at all as no one is being accused of purposely preventing a horse from winning. This is merely the case of a poor ride in an important event that is in most peoples minds deserving of critical scrutiny by those being given a platform and paid to offer an unbiased opinion.

Given it was the marquee Group 1 event of the meeting, this morning's The Opening Show or later during live coverage were ideal opportunities for them at the very least  to have revisited the incident, though I suppose if they were not prepared to question the indecision of the rider then they probably thought best not to cover it at all. Come what we now expect from them it was not such a surprise after all.

Comparisons are often made with the football media and the general willingness in that sport to speak from the heart. Players performances are often labelled inadequate, opinions clearly stated that they are not capable enough to be in their team, even on occasions dubbed as not capable enough to be playing in the league they are in.

In racing a touchy feely skirt around the issue atmosphere exists. And when it comes to praise those with the right connections receive it, often unjustly.

John Francome would sometimes speak before thinking, but even he knew when not to cross the threshhold. He frequently made reference to how well Mr J P Magnier rode the high class hurdler Rhinestone Cowboy, even when the horse was given a lot of ground to make up in the Coral Cup.

When David Wachman's  Again won the Irish 1,000 Guineas in 2009 another character who supposedly speaks his mind, James Willoughby, wrote something about Wachman being the trainer of the future when general consensus would have probably concluded that he was fortunate through connection to have the quality of horse to train that he did and was not necessarily over performing with them.

There are of course those that are considered expendable by the media. Remember how the Racing Post reported on Mick Quinn losing his trainer's licence. This was an episode where you could either allay much of the blame from the trainer on the basis of delegated responsibility, blame it all on him as the buck stops at the top, or produce a reasonable balanced argument.

Their report was unforgiving, showing the trainer in the poorest light possible.If the culprit had been one of many other certain trainers then the whole affair would likely have been reported with a different interpretation.

Of course, when it comes to foreign based riders who they will not encounter on a daily basis the tongues are loosened. Remember how The Fellow's rider  Adam Kondrat was treated. Similar to a few other French based riders including Jacques Ricou.

In fact I remember watching the runners come off the course after the 2003 Sun Alliance Chase after Ricou  appeared visually to have asked Jair Du Cochet  to make up an impossible amount of leeway on the eventual winner One Knight.

A well dressed well spoken late twenty something gent barked, ' You bum hole !' at the passing rider, to which Ricou stared directly back at him, clearly inflamed. Heart having clearly missed a beat or two the gent then added, 'You 'erm, gave it 'erm, too much to do'. No doubt a little too shaken to add the name on the end for the rhyme.

We don't expect those employed to report the sport to be abusive, but at the very least we would appreciate some fault finding where and when it's due. Wasn't it Salman Rushdie who said something about freedom of expression ceasing to exist without the freedom to offend.