PROGRESS THROUGH REGRESSION

In the grand scheme of things, the shape the UK horse racing industry will find itself in when we finally emerge from the shadow of this fierce pandemic is not a pressing concern for Government bodies.

We could find that we have slipped back to an economic climate resembling the dearly remembered 1970's. At least it will mean that the trainers who are able to continue will find the staff shortage problem solved for when jobs are scarce the prospect of working in the racing industry becomes more appealing.

If on the other hand there is a surplus of experienced staff, then hailing from the top of the tree in the physical well being department will mean those out of work will be employable in other industries away from those equine.

And for those racing fans who are averse to the modern day chocca block fixture list that has your head spinning keeping tabs on it all, we may finally have got what we have been wishing for, albeit not in such grim circumstances.

But whether this will start a 1970's style era full of so many free willed, raw but pulsating characters, not just in racing but in the wider sports world, television, theatre and music, along with the prominent figures in public life, would be more of a hope than a probability.

The month of August 1977, was just a typical 1970's month. Teddy Boys and Punks making headlines, clashing in the King's Road, clashing on the beaches. Riots in Ulster during the Queen's visit, an upcoming by election in the Ladywood constituency of Birmingham, where Margaret Thatcher, on a visit to give support to the Tory candidate, was greeted by a group of Socialist Worker Party members using an assortment of musical instruments to make rasperry sounds.

On Saturday August 6th, the week after the conclusion of Glorious Goodwood,  Lester Piggott and Joe Mercer were riding up at Redcar, the principal race on the card the William Hill Gold Cup, with a first prize of £9, 435.

Piggott was aboard the Lincoln winner Blustery, his only mount of the day, but Mercer was the victorious rider aboard the Henry Cecil trained Aliante, carrying the Carlo D'Alessio colours, which in the following years Mercer would sport aboard the exceptional Cup horse, Le Moss. Mercer rode three further winners on the Redcar card.

Pat Eddery and Wlllie Carson, battling it out for the jockey's championship, were riding at Haydock and Lingfield respectively. Carson, who was thriving in his first season as stable jockey to Dick Hern, drew a blank with his five mounts, while Eddery fared better by notching a first and last race double, which were in both legs of the juvenile maiden, firstly on the Peter Walwyn trained Bolak, then on the Robert Sangster owned Princess Of Man, who would put her name in lights two decades on when being responsible for the Epsom, Irish and Yorkshire Oaks winner Ramruma.

Newmarket made up the fourth meeting that day, hosting a mediocre card by course standards, while in the national hunt arena, the new season was seven days in with meetings being held at Worcester and Southwell, both on ground described as 'firm', All of the cards were staged during the afternoon. Outside of Boxing Day and Easter Monday, this was as many meetings in a day that would be staged, and would not occur away from a Saturday.

Meanwhile, the Lucas electrical firm, already having 9,500 idle workers, were concerned that the whole 20,000 workforce could be laying down tools after a dispute over bonus payments. While over at the besiged Grunswick film processing plant, thousands of flying pickets were expected to arrive, many Socialist Workers Party  and Communist Party Members from Bristol, Liverpool, and the Midlands, along with miners from Yorkshire, Derby and Kent.

Elsewhere, the National Union of Mineworkers president, Joe Gormley, was in hot water with his own members after it was discovered that he had joined the shipping company, Canadian Wharves as a part time, if unpaid, director. The controversey erupted from the fact that the company is closely connected to the oil industry, coal's chief foe.

In the football world Kenny Daglish was in the process of signing for Liverpool for a record British fee of £440,000, though more national newspaper space was given that week to the antics of Stan Bowles, who as usual was making headlines for the wrong reasons.

Dining in a restaurant during a night out in Bruges where Queens Park Rangers were playing in a pre season friendly, he disgraced himself by collapsing to the floor, feigning serious illness, and aided by in collusion team mate Don Shanks, prompted an ambulance to be called.

Bowles then jumped to his feet laughing when the emergency services arrived. He faced the prospect of being charged with wasting police time, with an attending ambulanceman warning " To you this might be a case of English humour, but it doesn't go with us."  Both players spent a night in the cells before being fortunate to escape with just a caution.

In the music world Donna Summer was heading the charts with "I Feel Love, "  followed by " Brotherhood Of Man with " Angelo", and Bony M's " Ma Baker". Punk and New Wave had emerged, and the charts that week included representation from the Sex Pistols, Jam, Stranglers, and Ramones.

Those holidaying in Wales could not have failed to notice the Esteidford was in full swing, where a storm was brewing over £6,000 of public money spent on an Arts Exhibition in Wrexham to mark the celebrations. The exhibition included a pianist playing classics while encircled by sacks of coal, and an Irishman wearing a crash helmet knocking over stacks of bricks with his head.

On Tuesday 9th, Carson went up to Newcastle to replace the sidelined Ernie Johnston on the promising Barry Hill's trained Sexton Blake in the Seaton Delavel Stakes. They landed the odds without too much fuss, beating the Clive Brittain newcomer Labienus, with the future Derby winner Shirley Heights back in third spot.

That evening at 8.30 you could have watched a repeat from the popular Man About The House series, that had run from 1973 to 1976, with Paula Wilcox fans perhaps already having been watching a short play, Quiet Afternoon starring the actress that had aired on BBC 2 earlier in the evening. Later on over on BBC 1, you may have watched The Fall And Rise Of Reginald Perrin.

Thursday 11th saw the start of the fourth Ashes test at Headingley amid a dark cloud  hanging over the sport. The previous evening the TCCB had announced they would be imposing two year bans, beginning in 1978, on several showcase county players ; this for joining the Kerry Packer circus. Viv Richards, who had just hit his third double century of the season for Somerset, was being urged to quit the Packer tour.

As Geoffrey Boycott was achieving his one hundreth first class century on his home ground, Pat Eddery notched up a four timer at Salisbury to extend his lead to five in the title race over Carson.

On the following day at Newbury, the diminuative Scotsman pulled one back when winning the opening juvenile fillies maiden on the future high class performer Cistus. The main race on the card was the Hungerford Stakes, then a Group 3 and with a winning purse of £8,374, in modern equivalents roughly around half of the £85,000 that went to the winner in 2019. Tony Kimberley steered home He Loves Me for the Jeremy Hindley yard, ahead of the Eddery partnered Radetzky, who had unshipped the reigning champion twice before the start, holding up proceedings by twenty minuites. Carson finished third aboard the popular seven year old gelding Boldboy.

Lester Piggott picked up a juvenile double for Harry Wragg and Budgie Moller. The first in the St Hugh's Stakes, making all on the exceptionally quick Amaranda. The runner up in the race ,Smarten Up, was destined to end up as the dam of the champion sprinter Cadeaux Generaux. The longellow's other winner on the card was Court Barns in the concluding race.

Piggott picked up another double on the Saturday, landing the odds on the Vincent O'Brien trained Valinsky in the Group 2 Geoffrey Freer Stakes, as well as the Yattendon Maiden on the Queen's English Harbour for Ian Balding. This was the second Royal winner of the day, as Carson had earlier guided Dick Hern's Gregarious to victory in the feature handicap, the ATS Trophy, cutting the deficit in the title race to three.

History shows Eddery would eventually retain his title by a score of 176 to 160, with Eddie Hide a distance behind in third on109. With a considerable less number of fixtures in those days, it was not possible to be champion by keeping to the gaff track circuit. To be champion meant that something more than it does now.

And when you pore over your old scrapbooks, form books, race cards, or even newspaper archives, you realise how poorer the sport is owing to a small number of powerhouses dominating on a level previously unseen

Back to that weekend in August 1977 - the following day, national cult hero Barry Sheene's engine blew on his Suzuki in the British Grand Prix at Silverstone. Better news in the cricket though as England gained a victory against the Aussies in the Headingley test with a day to spare,  in the process sealing victory in the series.

Two days later, Elvis Presley was dead. And in three weeks we would lose Marc Bolan. Tributes poured in for the glam icon from the likes of David Bowie, Gary Glitter, Elton John and Keith Moon.

Not all was perfect with the world then. Far from it. But in this day when sporting stars take ' vocabulary and speech lessons ' to prepare for press interviews leaving most of them speaking robot like in the same rhythm and tone, when anyone who is someone has to strictly be seen to hold and even champion views that comply with the PC brigade, and when you find that you have never heard of, yet even recognise, contemporary so called 'stars' of the music and entertainment industries, then the prospect of waking up back in the 1970's sounds more of a pleasant dream than a nightmare.

image creative commons - 3.0