HERE WE GO AGAIN

Twenty three years have passed rather quickly since 1998, but the shape of the power bases in European horse racing on the flat, bears a much closer resemblance to the present day than it did to 1975, twenty three years earlier.

In 1998 Aiden O'Brien trained King of Kings to triumph in the 2,000 Guineas, his first English classic winner. The Sadler's Wells colt was then, along with Second Empire and Saratoga Springs one of his three representatives in the Epsom Derby, and it would soon dawn on everyone that fielding multiple runners with realistic chances would become the norm.

That day was not a memorable one for Ballydoyle - firstly travel delays resulted in the runners arriving with little time to spare and those with good memories will recall the odd saga unfolding when it was not clear whether the runners were arriving by boat or via Luton Airport. Ultimately, none of the runners trouble the judge.

Back in the mid seventies the power was spread wider and thinner, with the most successful handlers operating with smaller strings than has been the norm over the past two decades. Peter Walwyn housed what was viewed as the strongest English team from his Seven Barrows base in 1975, winning the Derby with Grundy, with stable companion Patch narrowly failing to take the French equivalent for the yard, both running in the colours of Dr Carlo Vittadini, who during that summer would move Orange Bay from his native Italy to Walwyn's yard. That animal was rumoured to be the best from Italy since the mighty Ribot, and two years later his final rally failed by only inches to put his head infront of The Minstrel in the King George V1 Queen Elizabeth Diamond Stakes.

Walwyn began 1975 with 104 animals, Henry Cecil an 85 strong string, Dick Hern had 88 under his care while M V O'Brien oversaw a stable of just 42. An incredible fact about the Ballydoyle class that year was that despite this being five years on from when Nijinsky first put Northern Dancer on the map in Europe, there was not a single animal sired by the Canadian legend in the string, which demonstrates how hard they were to obtain, and furthermore how small stallion books were in those days, something that benefited the sport in one sense as it guarded against young unproven but hyped stallions flooding the markets with rubbish for as long as four years and in doing so limiting the chances of others, maybe those run by small operations who can't afford to offer concessions.

Anyone looking back at this era who never lived through it would be surprised just how strong the French were at the time. In fact in that 1975 Derby, Maurice Zilber trained a filly, Nobiliary, to finish runner up, Alec Head trained the warm favorite Green Dancer, the French 2,000 Guineas winner who failed to stay, while the third home Hunza Dancer was trained at Epsom by Scobie Breasley who would soon be moving his operation to France at the behest of his paymaster Ravi Tikoo.

Given the strength of the in depth quality of animals based in France at the time it was surprising they were not on the scoreboard in any of the English Classics though Zilber struck with the legendary Dahlia in the Benson and Hedges Gold Cup, a race which turned out to be Grundy's swansong, and the François  Boutin trained Sagaro, arguably the greatest post WW2 stayer, won the first of his three Ascot Gold Cups. 

The Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe fell to the German trained Star Appeal, formerly with John Oxx senior, the beaten favorite the Angel Penna trained Allez France, still to this day the highest rated female runner in the history of the Timeform organisation.

Forward to 1976 and the Gallic raiders took this country by storm with the Argentinian native Penna, winning the 1,000 Guineas with Flying Water, the St Leger with Crow, and the Oaks with Stradavarius's third dam Pawneese, who also won the King George at Ascot.

Zilber was successful in the Epsom Derby with Empery, the yard keeping their best three year old colt, Youth, at home for the Prix Du Jockey Club. If it wasn't for Henry Cecil's Wollow, ridden by Gianfranco Dettori, it would have been a Gallic whitewash as the runner up Vitiges was also trained in France at the time.

The point of this is to demonstrate that despite there being some powerful yards in existence the jam was spread out making the sport far more interesting - that cannot be denied. Admittedly there were rumours in circulation that some of the French set ups were not playing with a straight bat, but ways to gain edges will always be sought, we can only guess at the truth. It still doesn't remove the fact of how much more mesmerising the sport was then.

As testament to how rare it was for yards to field teams all holding realistic chances, people drooled over how lucky Dick Hern was in 1979 to field two horses in the Derby with major chances in the Royal runner Milford, and the eventual winner Troy.

Fast forward to what has happened over the past couple of decades, with the Maktoum family trying to compete with the shrewder, profit making Coolmore operation, and making some self inflicted errors in doing so.

They went through that long well publicised spell in boycotting the Coolmore stallions during which they bought New Approach and Teofilo from Jim Bolger, as a means to obtain some Galileo blood without having to deal with the Tipperary clan. Although this proved a successful ploy they did not own the two Epsom Derby winning sons of their own Cape Cross, and watched the best stallion they've had charge of Dubawi, sire a pair of Newmarket 2,000 Guineas winners that crossed the line in the colours of none of their family members.

The most pleasing development of the past few decades has been the progression of the Juddmonte farms operation who keep the numbers manageable by culling and trimming when needed, with an emphasis on concentrated quality. For the time being, the operation continues and the sport desperately needs it to. Owner breeder operations were once a most pleasing aspect for followers of the sport but many faded into oblivion after the inheriting generation did not follow suit, perhaps daunted by the prospect of  being unable to compete with the Maktoum.

To this weekend, the 2,000 Guineas, and we are back in the continued normality to which we are so accustomed to we don't bat an eyelid. Five Ballydoyle runners, four with genuine chances of winning, taken on by a Godolphin three strong Dubawi gang, two holding strong claims. 

Maybe then we should be cheering on the indies, such as the Hannon's Chindit, Jess Harrington's Lucky Vega, the two Bolger runners, Joseph O'Brien's Thunder Moon, or even Mutasaabeq who being a Shadwell animal is part indie being from a long styled Maktoum 'outpost' operation with a different modus operandi to the Sheikh Mohammed driven ones.

We'll watch and enjoy but no one could convince that the sport is not well past its heyday. The focus is now on governing the decline responsibly.

image from scrapbook 

This is the final track from an album that would of been in thousands of households during that long lasting drought hit summer of 1976, when the French trained horses cleaned up in Britain.

GLOOM AND DOOM IN EVERY DIRECTION YOU LOOK

Flat racing's outer facade in this country looked well polished this week led by the news of the prize money levels for the showcase events at York returning to their attractive pre Covid levels, something which may have surprised many.

This is a development that will ensure short term support from connections operating at the highest level as no matter how much prestige certain events carry, that element alone will not sustain the quality of these contests for an indefinite period.

It is hard not to conclude that the whole show seems to be steering towards a downsized racing model with an emphasis on retaining quality, for away from the dizzy levels at the top, the sport is in a tatty mess when compared to the other major sports that in the main survive and thrive, holding their major category status.

Think of once successful TV stars, singers or bands, who fall out of fashion and end up being thankful for a bit part to the new flavor of the day, or supporting the main show on tour. Bob Grant, alias the cheeky,  teethy Jack in On The Buses, ended up committing suicide after finding himself unemployable, unable to shake off the stereotyped character that made him popular in households up and down the country.

In fact, it's probably only those of us old enough to have seen that popular series in real time who are able to  understand just how far racing has fallen from a top tier sport, when both the BBC and ITV, covered the Epsom Derby, and when you'd switch on the telly and would frequently find yourself watching a comedy series or film where someone such as Sid James would be reading the Sporting Life.

When we are told that a certain industry or sport is  ' evolving ', it really means that it has had to change its gameface for financial purposes. Football does it regularly, cricket too, golf in a more subtle way, and racing has lately been unearthing proposals to copy ideas from these other sports.

We have this team competition nonsense on its way shortly - something developed by air heads in the hope of pulling in masses of new air heads to the sport. Those who have devised this idea may have a general sharpened awareness of the world of business, but racing is so unique that anyone a bit too cute who believes they are able to step in and play a hand in turning such an idea that is the antithesis of the sport into a success, is going to be in for a shock.

It's equally surprising that this trash has been supported by some prominent licence holders who may be able to boast of working with thoroughbreds daily for most of their lives and understanding the nuances of these great animals, but have less understanding on what attracts punters to the sport than the said punters have of healing quarter cracks.

The problem of having influential figures with no appreciation of why a punter may use more of his betting booty for a football or cricket match, a golf, tennis, snooker or darts tournament, or a Grand Prix, than on horse racing, is nothing new. In fact, where we are now with racing being overtaken by football as betting subject for the under 40's, all stems from the taking for granted of horse race punters many years back and not being able to foresee the threat which would emerge from the sports betting boom in the 1990's.

Admittedly, there are going to be some bizarre developments in the gimmicky new cricket competition about to be introduced,  but here is a sport that has been able add some razzmatazz while retaining general public appreciation of the traditional model. And at the end of the day, the audience are watching what is playing out on the field infront of them. No one will take with any degree of seriousness this random team concept in racing - the traditionalists will shun it, the party crowd will drink and spend, oblivious to it all, and if they have a bet on the day they'll return to betting on alternative sports once they leave the racecourse.

There is a serious possibility that when the true financial long term impact of the plague hits and the furlough stops, racing will be left with a programme so drastically downsized that it will result in two thirds of those involved with the sport losing their jobs. Gone will be the present day trend of stallions covering three figure books. There will be less animals passing through the chain with the sales catalogues   becoming thinner. The present model cannot be sustained.

And for those believing there is a way out should consider that the lifeblood of punters money, without which the sport could not be maintained in the UK at its present level, is not only being cut off through indifference to the sport from the emerging generations, but also from the impending affordability checks carried out by those who are forcibly self harming their own business by conducting their checks.

They talk of the moral compass changing but no thought is given to proportionality along with the fact that we don't live for an extraordinary long time. No doubt those who champion this interference have their minds wired up in a certain way, on the very same wavelength as those who support all the other daft, everyday intrusions into our lives.

You may even be doing yourself some good by exercising on a treadmill, listening to music bought to keep from i tunes, then suddenly having the volume lowered accompanied by a message that it may cause permanent damage to your hearing. No doubt this  'we know what's best for you'  action is taken by those who would like you to refrain from all the activities which don't meet with their approval.

And if you wish to advocate the glass full empty approach, add in this worrying prediction about the increase in people taking up a vegan diet, then ask yourself have you ever met a vegan who had anything nice to say about horse racing.

The flat racing model left will be a concentration of the most wealthy owners and fashionable trainers, the owners paying a higher percentage in than ever before to cover for the shortfall in punters contributions and a linked decrease in bookmakers sponsorship. 

image used under fair use policy

By ill advisedly going ahead with this coming team competition to do a 'cover version' of  other sports, horse racing will be fair game for ridicule. And more deservedly so than when this household name in Germany did a 'cover' of a gimmicky song that had been a surprise success in the UK charts during the middle of the 1978/79 jumping season.

TIME TO STOP PRETENDING THIS ONCE GREAT RACE STILL EXISTS

The Grand National, of which there was only one, has changed into something so unrecognisable from the magnificent event it once was, that to many long term racing fans its appropriate title should really be the Grand National In Name Only Chase.

Yesterday's renewal was a typically modern subdued affair, the fearful obstacles of yesteryear long gone, with no amount of green spruce able to kid observers that it's something more than an illusion. Long gone too are those Jump Sundays, at the height of their popularity in the 1970's when you'd walk the course having read the likes of Tom Forrest or Ivor Herbert's previews in the Sunday papers, then feel your stomach turn as you looked across in awe at Becher's Brook.

Admittedly, one animal sadly never returned but run a forty runner steeplechase over a marathon trip at any of the current venues, even those considered pretty tame, then you would still get regular fatalities and the Aintree event has been fortunate on that front in recent years deluding the organisers into patting themselves on the back that the lucky run on the safety front was down to the alterations they made.

If racing had stood up to those who called for changes to it's UK showcase event, many whom always and still have hopes of getting rid of the sport altogether, then it would not find itself in the back against the wall position it is in now, with nothing further to yield save perhaps a shortening in the distance and a reduction in the number of runners - it's so far removed from the race it was in the 1980's and beyond, that further changes wouldn't take much away from the present version of the contest carrying a historically famous name.

Ironically enough, when they made changes to the Mildmay course a few decades back, ironing out the sharp kink in an attempt to make it more galloping, a spokesman came out with the ridiculous comment that it would be like Newbury, when it was there for all to see that there wasn't the room available on the inside of the Grand National course to copy the Berkshire venue. 

The result was a circuit that remained on the sharp side. Forward to now with the willingness of racing's authorities to be more obedient than ever towards the wishes of those wanting to slowly dismantle the sport, then there exists more than sufficient room at the venue to tear up both the Mildmay and Grand National circuits, and build from scratch a galloping left handed track similar to Newbury, the fairest jumping course in the kingdom.

They'd still be able to pull in the cult crowds with room available for more large marquees and concert venues. The course, as a business, would be a winner and jump racing itself would be a winner. A terrific three day festival at a left handed, galloping get into a rhythm track, with a valuable 3m 2f handicap chase forming the Saturday feature event. They could scrap the open 3m 1f chase on the Thursday and make the Saturday race the richest event in the calendar making it an option that a reigning Cheltenham Gold Cup winner would not pass over.

And as well as present Gold Cup horses lining up, it would be a temption that connections of the RSA winners would find it hard to turn their backs on. It surely has to be a far more appealing prospect than trying to keep a long gone event alive in name only. If they wished to continue the play on names they could call the new event the 'New National' or something similar. 

And maybe they can finally stop transmitting the falsehood that hundreds of millions around the world watch the race, when we know that if a thirty second clip is shown on the main news in Russia, then those watching the item would be classed as viewers. Still, I guess we've  also been misled in similar ways down the years over how many worldwide view the FA Cup Final.

No doubt we are almost certainly misled over how any viewers ITV racing draw in, which had now sadly become the worst terrestrial television horse racing production in history. They are tailoring it to suit the viewers who watch it like others might watch Bargain Hunt, The Bidding Room, or Homes Under The Hammer. Just another programme that stokes up a mildly curious fascination over its content when in reality racing needs viewers who are punters, and thus are contributing to the sport and without which it could not exist on its present scale.

Yesterday's coverage was arguably the lowest and most syrupy it has ever sank to. A genuine racing fan acquaintance messaged me during it to say that he is as finding it all on the point of unbearable, also noting that the victorious rider gave the impression she just wished to be treated like a competent professional without the gender angle being used as the focal point of the proceedings.

Even in times when we are able to view all racing live, even without having a bet, I think enough is enough and many will be forced back to paying subscriptions if they want some trainer interviews or updated  to the minute news. The style along with the content of the current UK terrestial coverage of horse racing belittles a sport that deserves better.

image in public domain

A noble sounding tune from an album bearing its name and released as the 1976/77 National Hunt season was getting into full flow and when the Grand National fully deserved its heralded status.