AN ASTERISK RIDDLED SEASON

Anyone really believing that this flat season will be looked back at with any sort of fondness due to the unique close down, restart and catch up sequence in which it's being staged, is well wide of the mark. 

This spoilt and blotchy programme, where the winners of many of the major races should be carrying an asterisk beside their names in roll of honor lists is one in which there is an urge to wish time away to the season's end, draw stumps, with the  scorecards filed away in a locked room.

With one or two exceptions, the circumstances under which the season is unfolding have only gone and highlighted more than ever how a smaller number of  'associations' than ever before are in a position to mop up the showcase prizes at the very top end of the sport.

To make derogatory comments over the downhill direction in which the once restlessly awaited King George V1 Queen Elizabeth Diamond Stakes has been going for some time now is not to criticise a magnificent mare like Enable, whose campaign allied to her yet again remaining in training, would be an excellent advertisement for the sport if only the emerging generations took an interest.

On the other  hand, despite a facile success the lack of opposition means the we will have to wait until later in the season to find out whether she is still capable of producing her very best as we are certainly none the wiser using Japan as a yardstick who is developing the profile of a messed up performer having looked to have finally arrived when taking last year's Juddmonte.

The fact that the midsummer Ascot showpiece event has for a while been hit and miss is one of the most lamentable developments in UK flat racing in recent times. It's not uncommon for the three year olds to be completely absent, with the French runners now being more welcome than ever as many follow the pattern of giving their top performers a mid season let down before building up to an Arc prep, a route that is not a proven path to sucess, as highlighted with the contrasting paths taken last year between Waldgeist and Sottsass

There have also been some very strange looking renewals. You still have to pinch yourself to take in that in 2015 Clever Cookie started at 4/1!  Well, I suppose the ground was pretty testing, the field ordinary by normal standards, and didn't Brunico turn over the top notch Shardari in the mud in a running of the Ormonde.

Being fair, the last real celebrated Derby winner Golden Horn was set to line up after already taking in the Eclipse but connections withdrew late when conditions worsened. And the eventual winner Postponed was a likeable high class colt - nevertheless it was still an uninspiring renewal.

To give Enable credit - there is more to her than than the hardy, concentrated constitution that allows  her to come through each close season and retain the ability to win at the very top level. Of all the various ratings, rankings, course records, Group 1 victories attained, that fans will cite to support their assertion that one famous horse is better than another, the one boasted of most by long term racing fans would still be the best rating awarded by the Timeform organization, which in the case of Enable, has her on a peak of 134 which is only 2 lb behind the trio topping the best of all the fillies and mares since the end of WW2.

Admittedly, there are flaws in obsessing over such figures as they take no account of versatility in addition to also adding a subjective input in cases of wide margin winners, along with those winning without being stretched. Reference Point attained a 139 best, Nijinsky a 137 best, but we know which one was the superior animal - at all distances.

Still, as measures of ability the figures supplied by the Halifax based handicappers down the years will be referred to more frequently than other measurements of merit and on this basis we have it carved in stone that at her very best, certainly at the time of her 2017 Arc de Triomphe victory, she proved herself to be in the mix with the best of her sex over the past seventy five years.

The other real speck of light emanating through this strange season comes through the widely acclaimed feats of Stradivarius, returning yet again to the top of the stayer's league. Truth be told, if he's a Le Moss there is no Ardross to test him which is why it's a much needed boost to the season that he will now be concentrating on proving his worth in the middle distance sphere, with a crack at the Arc on the agenda.

Ardross himself produced a wonderful effort when narrowly failing to get up to win in Paris and with the Gosden horse carrying enough surplus when he made his seasonal debut in the Coronation Cup, hope remains that he still may be involved in the finish at Longchamp - it would certainly add some welcome spice to the season if he was able to put the wind up his stable bud.

And from a nostalgic point of view there is a link to a more pleasurable racing era as Stradavarius's third dam is no other than the Wildenstein's Pawneese who shone in the drought hit summer of 1976, when trained by Angel Penna to notch up a unique treble by winning the Epsom Oaks, French Oaks and King George.

For those who think the sport is not demeaned when the power is in so few hands should note that in the Epsom race the fourteen runners were represented by fourteen different owners and thirteen different trainers with Harry Wragg responsible for the third and fourth fillies home, African Dancer in the Oppenheimer colors, and Laughing Girl carrying the Moller silks. Thirteen different sires were represented with Sassafras being responsible for two runners.

In the King George the eleven runners were covered by ten different trainers and owners, with Penna and Wildenstein fielding Ashmore in addition to Pawneese, but not in a pacemaking role with the winner leading from the start. Eleven different sires were represented.

Ending on a brighter note; irrespective of whether the action will be unfolding before live audiences or not, once the jump season 'proper' swings into action during October it will be an asterisk free programme with the quality of the action out on the track unaffected by what has been happening in the wider world.  Michael O'Leary's winding down of his involvement will be welcomed by many on both sides of the Irish Sea so there looks to be plenty to look forward to.

A SPELL HAS BEEN CAST ON THIS SPORT

It would be totally absurd to pick out the areas in racing where you can just maybe find some things to be optimistic over when all they would be is specks of light against a background of gloom, leaving one with a feeling that this truly has become a cursed sport.

The news that Graham Wylie, in the week that the British Masters Golf is held in his back garden, has  announced that he is curtailing his horse racing interests does not come as a shock as his once enthusiastic restocking with quality store horses and classy ex flat racers had already ceased.

It is also an  item of news that ends hopes that he would return his focus to the north of England where he began his racing interests with Howard Johnston, who despite taking a hammering on the forums by those claiming that he did not deserve the quality of animal Wylie placed with him, rewarded his loyal owners faith by bringing him by far his most successful days which were not matched after the trainer lost his licence and the horses were shared between Willie Mullins, and to a lesser extent Paul Nichols.

Because many were yearning without hope for a return to the the heady 1970's and 1980's when the top half of the country was a match for any other region in addition to the whole of Ireland when comparing the quality of national hunt horses in training, many were complaining when Wylie came on the scene, using his instant success as a sign of how poor the northern jumping scene had become.

This was indeed so if you obstinately felt the need to forever compare with two golden decades in the past, but by Christ looking at the state of the jumping scene north of the Trent now, we were spoilt during the Wylie era as in addition there were more Trevor Hemmings owned animals turning up at the courses, plus Ashleybank Investments, formerly the Edinburgh Woollen Mill, were responsible for providing a steady supply of promising performers to Lenny Lungo who now had a bigger share of animals carrying those colours than those housed at Greystoke.

And not to forget that Robert Ogden had a spell during this period when he had some seriously good jumpers with northern trainers - many forget that Ad Hoc began his career with Lungo, Kingsmark spent the first half of his with Martin Todhunter, while Squire Silk had his best days with Andy Turnell.

Whilst quality national hunt performers are a rarity in those upper regions, the northern racecourses have somehow survived. To now at least, but regrettably we must now be nearing the time when venues will begin to fold and some of those in the top region of the country will be well and truly in dire straits. For the time being Edinburgh has been rescued but one can be certain that the few years that separated Lanark and Teeside Park/ Stockton perishing, will be shortened dramatically by the gap in between the next two northern courses to close.

It's nearly forty years since Stockton went. This at a time that the area was crucified economically which would have been apparent when the industrial chimneys and furnaces that formed part of the skyline when you gazed over to the horizon from inside the course, stopped billowing out their clouds of smoke.

Racecourses are now apt to be more discreet when the subject of their financial viability is raised.  In times gone by these issues were discussed more openly, making it common public knowledge which venues were on their uppers

Look back through newspaper archives and you will find stories appearing in the national press predicting which venues were set for the chop. And more often than not, the gloomy predictions came true - not least from one story which appeared in April 1963, predicting that no less than a dozen courses faced imminent closure, with brief but to the point reasons provided, which all amounted to why the levy board planned to withdraw support for the tracks on the list.

Stockton was on the list, being cited as an economically unsound proposition due to the cost of much needed modernisation along with the fact that Redcar, which was described as having more crowd drawing power, was situated only thirteen miles away. It took longer than predicted for the track to fold. Edinburgh also made the list, with claims that it was not economically viable due to a lack of space curbing potential development.

All told, five of the twelve cursed courses survived into the future with Folkestone marching on for a further half century. The others that survived were Pontefract, which has certainly gone and defied the doom mongers as it appeared not to have much to rejoice about being put on the black list not only due to costly building needs, but also having subsidence and drainage issues; and the West Norfolk Hunt, which soon after changed it's fixture name under rules to Fakenham.

The seven locations that the omens unfortunately came true for soon after were Manchester, Rothbury, Lincoln, Lewes, Bogside and Woore. The other venues that have gone under since that article appeared are Birmingham, Alexandra Park, Lanark, Wye - with Towcester joining Folkestone, in becoming a recent victim.

The venue that beat all the spells that appeared cast upon on it was none other than Aintree, which came perilously close to succumbing in the 1960's, 1970's and 1980's. Once the property became part of the portfolio of racecourses under the Jockey Club Racecourses banner, massive investment was put into a costly redeveloping programme which has paid off, meaning it's future is secure even if the same cannot be said of the ' Grand National In Name Only Handicap Chase.'.

There was however a near miss for another premium jumping track in the same ownership. With their  business heads on, Jockey Club Racecourses felt that it would make sound financial sense to accept an offer for Kempton Park from property developers, then use the money to plough funds into Sandown Park where the King George V1 Chase would be transfered over to.

Thankfully, what amounted to a scare for many racing fans has blown over for the time being at least but logic dictates that if the funds of even the most successfully operated racecourse ownership groups had to come under review long before Covid 19 had been heard of, then the fates will have cast spells on a number of racetracks whose futures will be in jeopardy.

And those of us who turn our nose up at the courses that have long gone after the cult crowds, who go along for a noise booze up, have the cheek to enjoy themselves, and quite like a concert afterwards, may after all be forced to have a rethink and eat our words, particular if racing's share of the betting pie continues to dwindle.

image taken by author - Munich street theatre

A SPORT LOSING ITS WAY

Television viewing figures must always be viewed with cynicism, particularly so when they are used as evidence to back up a claim that a struggling sport such as horse racing is experiencing a rebirth in popularity amongst the general populace, a theory that flies against the prevailing wind.

If any racing fan had been unwise enough to think that last Saturday presented the opportunity to encourage some indifferent soul to the sport to sit back, pay attention, then see if they had warmed to it, then they would now be regretting the decision.

It's akin to the times when we've been hooked on a sitcom, implored others to watch it, only for that particular episode to be a rare below par production. And on Saturday those causing the spike by switching over briefly to watch the main event, many already in front of the television having watched a Premiership football match which concluded five minutes before the race started, with many preparing for the next match kicking off half an hour after the end of the race, would have been as engaged as someone tuning into the Tour de France but failing to feel a buzz watching continued domination for Team Sky come Team Ineo.

Horse racing has become adept at using other more popular sports to ride on the back of and pick up viewers, and while Premiership football in particular is in for a rocky ride, it will still remain in a different stratosphere to racing in the popularity stakes. To put things into perspective, horse race broadcasting  has now for many years had to adjust programme times for a wide range of bigger viewer attractions from Countdown to Grand Prix practice, so will always be thrashed by football despite that sport bring a dreadful spectacle at the moment.

They say that the golfers who were at their peak during Tiger Wood's long lasting period of a dominance previously unknown were born unlucky, with the fates conspiring that resulted in a situation that gaining a victory in not only the majors, but in regular PGA Tour events, would be a task with an extra obstacle added.

A similar story has unfolded in European flat horse racing. No one in the press will dare say it. If they did it would not be personal criticism of individuals, rather regret in how things have evolved with the result that the sport is a less gripping spectacle than at any time during the past seventy five years.

Instead, those that broadcast the sport take the cop out route by reminding us that we should be thankful that Coolmore choose to pit their strongest combinations against one another in our top races. On the forums many threads attract more readers than articles in the racing press and on which many of the sane contributors have a better knowledge of the sport than most of the contemporary racing media.

In one thread on the Betfair Forum someone asked a pertinent question that someone with a clear, uncluttered mind process may wonder about. The post headline asked, " If Aiden Is God Then How Come His Sons Can Win Group 1's Straight  Away ", alluding to the fact that following on from J. P. O'Brien producing a Moyglare Stud Stakes triumph soon after setting up, whether Donnacha O'Brien in training the Prix de Diane winner just months into his training career was evidence that it's completely all about the quality of horse a trainer receives.

This is a subject that racing fans are far more interested in than some of the inane nonsense chatted about in broadcasts. Remember, some say that sharing out the Coolmore reared yearlings was trialed but this is not the case. David Wachman was given a steady but restricted stream of animals and probably performed no worse or better than would have been the norm expected, and while many years back their were rumours that John Hammond would be receiving a share in numbers not too far lower than at Ballydoyle they remained just rumours and did not materialize.

This would make fascinating TV discussion but it's not a subject the present racing media will go near. I'm quite sure it is something that Julian Wilson would have brought up, perhaps John Oaksey too whose willingness to play a stereotypical role on TV to fit in with the title would conceal for the casual viewer his intelligence and knowledge of the game. His Mill Reef book is one of the most enjoyable racing reads ever. I'm sure he would be dismayed at the present state of the flat game.

It was the norm to label a trainer lucky for being able to saddle a fancied runner in the Derby the year after fielding a colt similarly in the mix, regardless of how they performed. I sometimes find it hard to believe that when Peter Walwyn saddled Oats to finish third in the 1976 Derby, it would be the last time he would have a runner reaching the frame in the race. This only a year after training Grundy to win the same race. And he would continue to hold a license for a further twenty years too! 

It's a fine example of how the gold seal jam was spread wide. Nothing could be taken for granted. And anyone thinking M V O'Brien had shelves full of Northern Dancers should look through Horses In Training editions from the 1970's. They will be surprised. It made it such a more enthralling sport to follow.

If the modern TV racing broadcasters examined the balance of power in the flat game they would cop out, or at least would come up with a conclusion that would sound like a cop out even if it wasn't - with the usual, the cream rises to the top, Lewis Hamilton has the best drive for a reason ect

If they never used the multitude of M C Pipe examples, they could cite Venn Ottery as a magnificent example of how a showcase trainer improved a horse from a small set up into something with a rating five stone superior. Examples of flat trainers taking in an exposed animal racing on the level that finds such dramatic improvement racing in the same sphere are rare outside of the sprinting ranks.

A P O'Brien squeezed perhaps a small amount of improvement from the already high class Excelebration - though compared with Michael Dickinson who was put at the helm at Manton, unproven in the flat racing arena, it highlights just how spectacularly unsuccessful that venture was to think that Barry Hills came in to rescue the project and improved many of the charges, including turning Handsome Sailor into a Nunthorpe winner, an animal who had been purchased from the yard of Ron Thompson to be used as a lead horse on the gallops for Dickinson's babies.

But the area most of the media would be unwilling to delve to deeply into would be the one on the lines of Fernando Alonso being the best driver pound for pound - in racing the topical equivalent would be how John Oxx or Dermot Weld would fare with the full Coolmore support behind them.

It is the type of debate that would swing back and forth, going from trainer being a genius tag to just good, precise, devolving of powers to the most talented staff available, along with the reality that the Galileos are available on tap and will be for the next five years at the very least.

On that note, even if infirmity set in suddenly, Coolmore would still be in a much stronger position than when Sadler's Wells was well past middle age with In The Wings and El Prado his two most successful stallion sons, despite all the racing stars that he had been churning out regularly  - that was until Montjieu and Galileo came along to start a new chapter.

On what the racing broadcasters are willing to deliberate candidly over could just possibly be changing. For who would have expected ITV racing to have a realistic discussion today over the consequences of the Covid 19 crisis which concluded with the message that racing was not out of the woods yet, with a scaling down of the sport still a possibility.

Maybe this was on the agenda because it was a sensible Thursday . I somehow doubt it would be on the schedule on smiley, dumb down Saturday when all is well in the house of racing. Most would hope differently.
image from peakpx.com